Connector Problems NOT Linked to DeoxIT® & DeoxIT® GOLD

I purchased DeoxIT® spray (D5S-6) and DeoxIT® GOLD spray (G5S-6) about four months ago, and now my audio sound is worse than before.

I used DeoxIT® GOLD on almost every connection in my main stereo system. On the ends of interconnects, in the jacks they went into, a wall outlet, the outlet on my electrostatic speakers, my speaker cable spade lugs, the outlets in my power conditioner, and the outlet/jacks in my cd player and preamp.

I don’t think I treated the tuner, video equipment or second system. I used DeoxIT® sparingly and only on a few components, especially the tuner, as it was 13 years old at the time and had never been treated or thoroughly cleaned.

I also cleaned off the brass speaker terminal posts on my Classe amplifier with brass polish, per the manufacturer’s recommendation. These terminals were also later replaced by Classe when I returned the unit to them for the second time because they had adjusted the bias too low.

Essentially, the process was the same for all the units that I sprayed, except only a few units were sprayed at all with DeoxIT®. For those units, I believe I used the DeoxIT® first.

I carefully read the directions for both products, adjusted the spray heads to L before spraying, did a test spray into a paper towel to see how much would come out, then sprayed each interconnect, etc once; waited a minute or two and sprayed it again.

Some areas I only sprayed once. I wiped excess spray off with a paper towel. Later on, as I heard what a horrible difference this made, I went back and rubbed all the connectors with a soft cloth (they were already dry since this was days later).

I waited years to start tweaking my system (adding spikes, your products, changing cables, etc.); and have spent many exhausting hours troubleshooting. I swapped out every variable, including cables, amps, etc. and only two things improved the sound at all.

The first and biggest improvement, worth maybe 50-60% of the 100% needed to get back to square one, was repairing the Classe. The second was from rubbing the interconnects, etc., for perhaps another 10-20% improvement. I estimate I am 30% away from where I initially began, let alone any improvement.

I have wasted perhaps 80-100 hours on product swaps, etc. Any “antidote” for your products, along with a foolproof way of applying them, will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your prompt assistance.

M. Birnbaum
.....

The following response is courtesy of Mark J. Lefebvre, the General Manager of a company involved exclusively with the repair & service of high end audio equipment used by professional touring groups:

"I would highly recommend that you test all of your interconnect cables. Disconnecting and reconnecting all the cables will usually enable defects to finally rear their ugly heads.
The cables may be molded, soldered or IDC (insulation displacing connectors). Cold solder joints and oxidation are known to frequently occur internally. Flexing the cables with music playing through the system will usually assist in finding defective cables, but not always!

In some cases, a high quality Ohm meter must be used to test for resistance as well as for resistive short circuits between conductors.

It is highly unlikely that DeoxIT® and/or DeoxIT® GOLD are the source of the problem. There may also be cold solder joints and/or oxidation inside the other components (tuner, preamp...).

In the case of broken or cold solder joints, the device may perform at an acceptable level until physical pressure is applied to the connectors, usually when disconnecting and reconnecting the cables.

The faulty joints may now open completely and cause an obvious fault. Usually, however, it causes resistance to be added in the circuit causing a degradation of sound rather than a complete loss of sound. In some cases, applying back and forth pressure to the component connectors will assist in locating problems (BUT NOT ALWAYS).

Cold solder joints are also a problem within the circuitry of electronic devices. The deterioration is usually gradual, but may be accelerated by impacts, simple vibration, or the apparent benign connection and disconnection process.

Another potential problem can be the deterioration of the electrolytic capacitors. This is a common problem in older equipment. We recently needed to replace all 47 capacitors in some high end gear because their Effective Series Resistance (ESR) had increased by 125 to over 500%. The gear was 6 years old.

90% of problems in electronics can be attributed to cold/broken solder, oxidation or faulty power supplies. It is my opinion, based on 25 years of experience, that DeoxIT® and/or DeoxIT ® GOLD are not the cause of the problem, but rather that the application of the products enabled faults to be discovered.

I hope this helps you to identify the root of the problem.

NOTE:
DeoxIT® GOLD (formerly ProGold)
DeoxIT® GOLD GxL (formerly ProGold GxL)
DeoxIT® SHIELD (formerly PreservIT)
DeoxIT® FaderLube (formerly CaiLube MCL)
DeoxIT® FaderGrease (formerly CaiLube MCL P20 & P40)
DeoxIT® Grease Type M260 & L260 Paste (formerly CaiLube Grease)