For those so worried about passive connector degradation, Frank, why not put some dielectric grease on those connections?
Only proper dielectric grease will do, and even that might be audible. Better 'squeaky clean', and tight connectors.
I presume you mean grease with conductive properties, dielectric normally means non-conductive silicone compounds. And, yes, I have used the silver grease and variants for quite some time, and have found them to work, long term - not the expensive, audiophile variants, just the standard stuff.
The main things are to very thoroughly clean before applying, only use just enough to do the job, the less the better; apply as much pressure as possible to the parts so that excess is squeezed out - and most important of all, once in place do not disturb. If for any reason the connection is undone, or jiggled, then treat as a bad connection, and go through the whole procedure again ...
Edit: I have tried 'squeaky clean', and tight connectors, many times - and it's never done the job for me, it always degrades unfortunately
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I agree that a nice tight connection is probably all we need as long as it was clean when the connection is first made. My wife had some Monster interconnects and those were so damned tight that you would practically ruin the female chassis mount connectors trying to get them off, over the top tight.
Study the subject, fas42. Silicone grease is a no-no. Yet, Stabilant 22 is NOT conductive. It is more complex, but you can learn with Google.
Cramolin and Stabilant 22 are very good products. I don't know how they work but they do in my experience. Stabilant is now required for all Diamond aircraft and recommended by Cessna. I do have some faith in this part of the government.
What you want to understand is the concept of surfactants, specifically nonionic surfactants. In the now-long-expired patent, DW claims that it somehow switches conductivity on and off, which is highly doubtful. But as a surfactant, it can help soften and allow penetration of contact dirt. Because it's nonionic, it won't tend to cause an unintended electrochemical reaction.
It would be good for everyone to Google: Stabilant 22 , which was used first by the Canadian Telephone (whatever) for THEIR switch contacts, and then come to understand how it works, AND the measurements of how well it works.
John, thanks for that, but I went through the whole Cramolin, etc, thing quite some time ago - and it just didn't work. Short term, yes, but the degradation still occurred - only was less noticeable as it was occurring. This was determined by pulling the connections, thoroughly cleaning with solvents and retrying with a bare connection - ah-ha, sound is back to normal ...
Tried several times, never was happy with the behaviour - hardwiring made the problem go away, permanently.
I've read accounts of people going off the silver greases, but my suspicion is that they overdo them, use far too much and are generally sloppy about how they go about applying and maintaining them - I noted at one stage that the highly regarded Sanyo OS-CON caps uses the substance internally on junctions.
I've got access to one but... you're trying to image something physically quite tiny, so resolution is an issue.
This is not a trivial measurement.
Stabilent 22 (DW electrochemicals) was developed by Mike Wright of the Dayton Wright SF 6 gas bag electrostatic speaker fame (infamy?). I believe he made more from Stabilent 22 than speakers in the end.
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I recently replaced an Electroswitch 23 position 4 pole balanced 10k pot made with non magnetic Holco resistors with remotely controlled Omron G6K relay selected Vishay bulk foil resistors. I had put off the change for years expecting I was trading the convienience of remote controlled relays for a loss of resolution, but was pleasantly surprised at the improvement in low level detail and resolution that I heard.
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Didn't know it was the same guy. Interesting, thanks!
While we're at it...
BASF- Product Information BASF Chemicals NAFTA -Pluronic
Long winded article on Stabilent 22 that only leaves out it's curative effect for erictile dysfunction
Posthorn | Stabilant 22
Posthorn | Stabilant 22
Low level detail, and treble clarity is what's gained - the ability to hear deep within the recording soundscape is greatly enhanced, IME, with improved connections.
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