How to Clean connectors...?

PerfectCreature

I just got some audioquest rocket 33s. I haggled the guy to give me money back after some blemishes that he forgot to state and the fact the the connectors are tarnished in some places....So it cost me about $100 all said and done.
My question is. How do I SAFELY clean the connectors and get the tarnishing of, and the connectors all shiny again. They are the banana ones.
Thanks. I was thinking a silver polish cloth (for jewelry).....but would the chemicals that are in the cloth harm the connections any?

Knucklehead

My thoughts.....get somer super fine steel wool and some deoxit, clean then re-treat with deoxit.

David

PerfectCreature

I do have steel wool, can I pick up deoxit locally or do I have to order it online?
I mean it sounds fine as of now, but still I do want them clean....

thsmith

Frys carries deoxit if one is local for you

Knucklehead

You can pick it up at your local Radio Shack, a small can is about $25 to $30, a little goes a long way. the stuff is awesome. Caig's Deoxit.

edit: Maybe not that expensive. not sure, i get mine for free from work.

PerfectCreature

Called my Radioshack they have the spray, 10.99 for a can. I'll pick that up, I have some fine grade wool from when I sanded down some metal on my car and then, what I just poish it on there after I get off all the tarnish?
Thanks.

Knucklehead

After you remove all of the tarnish etc.. wipe them clean with a soft cloth, what I do is, spray a little deoxit in a cup a and "dip" the connectors in the cup allowing the excess to drip off, then your good to go.

heiney9

DeOxit at Rat Shack........it does a great job. I recently used DeOxit on the female end of a used power cord. 6 dbl ended cotton swabs that were dark black before I got one to come almost clean. Never under estimate how oxidized connectors can be become over time. I had no idea that much could build up.

H9

P.s. Polishing most likely won't be necessary adn may damage the layer of gold. DeOxit w/ cotton swabs and elbow grease will get the job done just fine.

Echosphere

thanks folks for this,going to buy a can.

Cheers

treitz3

Dude, don't steel wool your connections. Just De-Oxit [maybe De-Oxit Gold as well] and follow the directions. I'd hate to see a good piece of gear get ruined over a thread on a forum.

Other than that? I don't care what you do. It's your gear.

Knucklehead

I didnt mean to rub the freakin finish off of them.:rolleyes:

treitz3

What in the hell did you think you were going to do with steel wool?

Knucklehead

Lightly remove any surface tarnish, not the plating of the connector.

PerfectCreature

Ok, I grabbed a bunch of cotton swabs, some deoxit, I got a soft cloth just to polish to a shine. Thanks for the advice.

Knucklehead

Glad it worked for ya.

PerfectCreature

Havn't done it yet.
I am in a few minutes though.

PerfectCreature

Well, it seemed to shine it up...got off a little of the tarnish, but it seems that I cant get it all off.
I will scrub some more with my toothbrush. See if I can't get it all off...

PerfectCreature

Well, from what I can tell, I have gotten off what I probably will ever get off, it appears that some of it is just to far gone, mostly on the treble part, which I odd. I would have thought the bass, wanting more power would have gone first.
Oh well. They are super shiny and I am a little light headed because I didn't read the part where it said "Proper ventilation"
Just letting them dry, I will just put them in and leave them be until my next re-arrange.
If it gets worse I may just have AudioQuest replace the bananas....

treitz3

Just hook it up and enjoy. You are done.

PerfectCreature

I plan too, I don't think a tiny amount of polished tarnish is going to do anything. They are as far as I can tell, with further listening really nice cables.

mshan242700

My Luminous Audio Synchestra Signature interconnects have Cardas silver-plated RCA connectors which tarnish over time.

Luminous Audio told me to use some Tarn-X on them.

Removed much of the tarnish, but maybe not quite as shiny as new afterwards, so maybe also removing a slight amount of silver plate (I am guessing).

But it does work if you have highly tarnished silver plated connectors and procedure was recommended to me by a reputable cable manufacturer.

YMMV.

My favorite overall contact cleaner is Kontak (I always though Caig sounded slightly bright and grainy in comparison, but that could also just be my imagination.

PerfectCreature

Eh, I think i will just leave them.
I will just pay to have the connections replaced if they get to bad, or just sell them and buy a new pair...
As of right now, I think they are fine and the sound great.

Echosphere

PerfectCreature wrote: »

Eh, I think i will just leave them.
I will just pay to have the connections replaced if they get to bad, or just sell them and buy a new pair...
As of right now, I think they are fine and the sound great.

Hey, congrats on your Rocket 33's! They are great cables!

know you were excited to get them and while it's been a tumultuous time, hope they treat you well!

Can you post a few pics when you get a moment, would love to see them!

PerfectCreature

Yeah sure. My camera battery has died on me again. Anyone want to karma some rechargeable batteries haha.
As soon as I buy some I will post some pictures. They really are a sharp looking cable in their own way. Nothing fancy though, just a pvc jacket.
Here is a stock photo.


They look just like that, gimme a day or so and you will get real life photos. :P

Echosphere

We can wait, love to see them in action!

PerfectCreature

Yeah, I would have loved the mesh ones, but you know?
Honestly after some thought and study I think the mesh ones look kind of tacky.
One thing i noticed is you can tell that it is a solid wire, just from picking up the cable...It is stiff, but yet flexible, it is an odd type of flexibility, like you can bend it but you know that there is a solid wire, and not tons of twisted ones.
It also appears to give a more open sound compared to my other cables, plus the plugs are a more solid fit. They really do look nice, although 10 feet was way overkill for my current placement....of about 3 feet away form the receiver.

PerfectCreature

All four connection on my right polk monitor 50

Close up of the connector, perhaps one of the best quality pictures I have ever taken. You can see towards the black where it is slightly tinted....

Other side.

Another of all four, a bit better quality.

Picture of the wire, it grows on you, kind of a nifty design.

Both the right and the left plugged into my HK 3490.

Pulled the receiver out of my tv stand to show the silver and then the red symbol.

Another picture.

All in all they seem to be a very sturdy cable. I took them over to my friends, and he must have a different cable. They look nothing alike. I think he may have a different type...I am not sure.
Oh well, how are the pics? Taken with a GE 7.1 camera. Model A730.
Yep its a $50 camera...have to skimp somewhere to pay for all this audio stuff.

Echosphere

Very good photos and AWESOME cables!

PerfectCreature

I didn't know exactly what you wanted to see, so aside from disconnecting everything I just took shots of the main part.
They are ten feet long by the way.
They really opened up my speakers a tad bit more. They sound more defined.
I am not sure what my friend had but his sounded a lot worse than mine did, even though they are the same cable.
I am not sure what the deal there is. Ah well, who cares. I am making my way in the audio world~!

heiney9

PerfectCreature wrote: »

I didn't know exactly what you wanted to see, so aside from disconnecting everything I just took shots of the main part.
They are ten feet long by the way.
They really opened up my speakers a tad bit more. They sound more defined.
I am not sure what my friend had but his sounded a lot worse than mine did, even though they are the same cable.
I am not sure what the deal there is. Ah well, who cares. I am making my way in the audio world~!

You are a walking oxymoron!

"They really opened up my speakers a tad bit more". Just like Jumbo Shrimp, eh.

"I am not sure what my friend had but his sounded a lot worse than mine did, even though they are the same cable."

You don't get this kind of entertainment just anywhere, folks .

Rock on, glad they seem to make a little bit of a huge difference.

H9

Echosphere

PerfectCreature wrote: »

Yeah, I would have loved the mesh ones, but you know?
Honestly after some thought and study I think the mesh ones look kind of tacky.
One thing i noticed is you can tell that it is a solid wire, just from picking up the cable...It is stiff, but yet flexible, it is an odd type of flexibility, like you can bend it but you know that there is a solid wire, and not tons of twisted ones.
It also appears to give a more open sound compared to my other cables, plus the plugs are a more solid fit. They really do look nice, although 10 feet was way overkill for my current placement....of about 3 feet away form the receiver.

Again, great cables! the stiff but supple feel is a good sign of a good cable in my mind.

10ft might be overkill now, but if you have to move them farther apart later you're just going to grin from ear to ear, as in the beginning when you first got them. Trust me, been there, done that! (yeah, I did a little dance when that happened...)

Mesh does look nice and has a function. But it is on everything now, to the point where not having it is unique and fun to look at. If EVERY woman wore a nice red dress, at some point you'd get bored. Well ok maybe not... But you get my drifting?