RCA cleaners

They were made by Signet and were absolutely the best cleaning tools ever. I still have a few packages left, bought all I could find in the market place when the product went belly up.

There was a knock off built a couple of years ago by someone and I rejoiced until I bought a package and tried them. The material the new ones were made of did not clean. For some reason they missed the formula and the "pores' of the new product were closed and did not remove debris.

If you find anything equal to the original let me know.

Here they are

http://www.fatwyre.com/accessories.html

(At least I think these are the ones...)

Same experience as Albert Porter.. wish I had bought more!

Descartes,

I just emailed FatWyre and ask if the ones advertised were the original. I provided a description and the product number off one of my packages. If they answer yes I will buy a few and determine if they are as good as the "old" ones.

For any who care, the old package of cleaning tools from Signet were marked "Made in Japan."

FatWyre confirms the ones they have in stock are made in Canada. Nothing against Canada, but obviously not the original. I'll pass on this opportunity to do the test.

Damn, you got my hopes up. Those little Signet tools were just the ticket. Albert, some time ago you recommended a brush. Are they still available?

I ordered some anyway; I'll let you know whether they're what they used to be.

Matt

Matt, please do!

If the Canadian version is the same I will go for several packages. I have enough of the original Japan version that I did not want to buy and return to FatWyre if disappointed. Do you have any originals to compare with?

Unsound, a brush? My mind has gone blank, please remind me what the topic was or what the brush was for.

Unsound/Albert - perhaps this is the brush:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=CAIAB100

Also, here's a thread from last year that has some opinion on RCA cleaning:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?fcabl&1115777162&openfrom&1&4#1

I also ordered some of the cleaners from Fatwyre, and anxiously waiting for them to arrive . . .

I don't have any of the originals, but I remember them very well. These are described as porous, so, we can hope they're the same... I'll know probably as soon as I touch one; I'll certainly know after I put some cleaning fluid on them and start getting into those RCA jacks.

So, news to come as soon as I get any...

Matt

My Signet RCA cleaners were delivered today. They're molded from what looks like is recycled plastic. One end is male to clean RCA jacks, the other female to clean interconnects. The instructions say they may be used dry or with solution. I ran one sample cleaning and was reasonably pleased. I can't compare to the model Albert has, only to what I have already which is basically nothing (ie qtips and towels). I was surprised that the cleaning solution adhered to the cleaner as well as it did, and it appeared to do a good job of cleaning all contacts (+ and -) with one easy motion. Since the amp I cleaned has not been placed back in service it's too early to vouch for the results. I'm going to work over my whole rig this weekend and will try to report.

The plastic is harder than I remember in the original cleaners. So, if I had to guess, I suspect the cleaner and dirt won't stick to them as they stuck to the original plastic. But I won't know for sure until I try.

The original Signets were made of this fairly soft, pretty obviously porous plastic. These are made of harder, glossier plastic.

Matt

Matt, the ones you describe

The plastic is harder than I remember in the original cleaners. So, if I had to guess, I suspect the cleaner and dirt won't stick to them as they stuck to the original

These (slicker), more recent plastic versions are the kind I obtained a few years ago, thinking I was buying the Japanese original. Since then I've often wondered why the original is no more.

The only possibility I came up with, the originals fit the RCA connectors VERY tight. That made this tool particularly effective, but in one case I actually broke the bond of the RCA male center pin (allowing it to spin) while spinning the Signet tool back and forth.

Granted this was not one of my good Purist cables, but rather a common video connector for the TV. Perhaps the new slicker version was designed to reduce that risk? After all, most of the world revolves around the cables that come packed with VCR's and such.

When my old stocks are depleted I can go for the newer (less effective) version or do without.

I appreciate your hard work searching and testing.

What cleaning fluid to you guys use for RCA's? I heard rubbing alcohol (can't remember where though) works well. I was trying Deoxit. Anyone have good or bad experience with any fluid in particular?

BTW, the deoxit clings nicely to the Fatwire tool and seems to do a good job. As slick as the plastic is I expected it to run right off and do no good at all. This isn't the case though.

Resurecting an old thread. These are available from MusicDirect. Here is the link:
http://www.musicdirect.com/product/66435

Has anyone tried the current version of this device? If so, what is your impression? Thanks in advance.

YES they are avail now from Music Direct... I bought two but have not yet used them.