Cable maintenance

I clean all my connectors at least twice a year.
I use de-natured alcohol and the Craig products.
It takes a couple of hours to do, but does make an audible difference.
I use cotton q-tips that you can get at an electronic store, you want the ones that do not use any adhesive to bond the cotton to the stick.I also use pipe cleaners.
Joe nies

Hello Tpreaves,
I do have all seperates. Pre-amp, Phono-amp, CD player, Tuner, Turntable, SUT, Mono block amps main system, Speakers with triad connections, pair of sub-woofers, sub-woofer amp, external cross-over for subs only, digital room correction for subs and all the power cables.
I do have arthritis in my hands so that slows me down.
When I'm done I make sure that the cotton swab is clean, no more black oxidation on it. Then I treat it with Craig gold except for the power cables.
It does take time, it is a cheap twesk to do, and it does make the music sound better.
Joe Nies

Hello Inna,
The deterioration of sound (oxidation) is a very slow gradual occurrence. You will not notice it happening from day to day.
I will gaurantee that if you do clean them just once you will be convinced.
Oxidation on the cable connectors and the connectors on your equipment will gradually effect the sound.
A quick method to try, just once would be to get some de-natured alcohol, some paper towels and some pipe cleaners.
Disconnect your cables and wet the paper towel, not a lot, with the de-natured alcohol. Wipe the connectors down, you should see a black residue, wipe till clean, let dry. Dip the pipe cleaner in the de-natured alcohol, not a lot, to get the pins on the RCA connectors and the sockets on the equipment.
Put on your favorite music, something you are very familiar with.
Another quick method not as good is to just disconnect the cables from the equipment a few times, this will break up some of the oxidation.
I hope you try this just once if not and you are happy that is all that matters.
Respectfully,
Joe Nies