Popular Post mourip Posted February 16, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2019 I have been using Silclear "contact enhancer" for several years. The concept seemed obvious and logical to me. To be honest I cannot say that I ever heard a difference but it seemed like a proactive practice to use for cleaning my IC pins and especially my tube pins....until this week. I recently bought some new 12AX7 tubes for the input position of my Linear Tube Audio Ultralinear amp. After putting them in I listened for a few days but found that something just was not right. For some reason it occurred to me that in a moment of muddled confusion I had inserted both tubes in the same channel so that in one channel I had also replaced the 12AU7 phase splitter with the new 12AX7. This did not break anything but the channel balance was off and so was the sound. This was actually the good news! When I went to correct my mistake I found that the Silclear on my existing tubes had somehow migrated UP the tube pins and had formed a thin but noticeable layer along the glass between many of the narrowly spaced pins. I was shocked since Silclear contains silver and is very conductive. The likelihood that small unwanted electrical currents were now passing between various tube pins seemed high. I read the instructions when I first purchased the Silclear. They specifically say to use the smallest amount possible however there is really no way to ensure that, even if you are careful...as I was. The instructions say: " All tube pins; SilClear will improve tube cooling and will be left unchanged by tube pin temperatures." My theories are that either the Silclear gets pushed UP the pin as the pin is inserted or contrary to the instructions it flows upwards as the tube gets hot. I used alcohol to clean off all of my tube pins and inspected all tubes to be certain that none of these "bridges" were still present. I was treated to the best sound that I had ever heard from my system. Clarity was vastly improved. I could now hear what my system was really capable of. I can say that although I never heard an audible difference after first applying it, removing it produced a profound improvement. YMMV. Jeff_N, Paul R and crenca 1 2 "Don't Believe Everything You Think" System Link to comment
mourip Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 Thanks. I used to use Tweek. The tiny bottle lasted about 20 years. I am going to toss my jar of Silclear. "Don't Believe Everything You Think" System Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now