My overlooked cheap tweak


I was lubricating the gears on my transport last night, and after reassembling it, decided to clean the digital cable and the jacks. There was a lot of junk on the Q-tips I used. After the cleaning, there was a really big improvement in sound. It wasn't the transport lube that did it, as it was just the gears that open and close the drawer, not the CD playing mechanism.
I used to do this regularly, but hadn't done it in +/- five mos. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could do my system maintenance a bit more often. Of course I've bought a new PC or two in the last 5 mos at a few hundred a pop. This two Q-tip tweak was right up there with the new PC's. It was the best 10 cent tweak I've had in a long while. Hope this reminds someone out there.

If you haven't cleaned your IC's and jacks before, and don't want to invest too much, you can use isoprpyl alcohol and Q-tips with most of the cotton pulled off. Rub in and outside the RCA jacks and the IC's. Wait until they dry before plugging them back in.
tsquared

Showing 1 response by megasam

Kontak provides best improvement, as Bob said. I have tried Caig pro gold and some others, Kontak clearly provided greatest improvement in sound.

I just use whenever changing cables, dries almost instantly,
pipe cleaners (tobacco dept) are better than Q-tips, don't leave behind fiber strands. I do use the little Caig brushes
for cleaning certain items, but apply Kontak to them.