(26-Apr-2015, 14:59)brit Wrote:

(26-Apr-2015, 12:46)GuillaumeB Wrote: Small update. I just treated my AES/EBU cable between totaldac streamer and Devialet master.

What can I say?! I am now hearing more detail, the notes are sweeter and the voices feel even more real. 

This is a stunning upgrade! For under £50 I now have a much better sounding system. This is an absolute no-brainer as far as tweaks are concerned.

Still have the SPDIF to go between Master and Companion but I'm taking my time with this, savouring the changes. 

Guillaume

Hi Guillaume,

Sounds (no pun intended!) like a winner  . Must invest in some for myself . 

Point for clarification - do you need to apply to both plug and socket, ie male and female part of connections?

David

(26-Apr-2015, 15:07)GuillaumeB Wrote:

(26-Apr-2015, 14:59)brit Wrote:

(26-Apr-2015, 12:46)GuillaumeB Wrote: Small update. I just treated my AES/EBU cable between totaldac streamer and Devialet master.

What can I say?! I am now hearing more detail, the notes are sweeter and the voices feel even more real. 

This is a stunning upgrade! For under £50 I now have a much better sounding system. This is an absolute no-brainer as far as tweaks are concerned.

Still have the SPDIF to go between Master and Companion but I'm taking my time with this, savouring the changes. 

Guillaume

Hi Guillaume,

Sounds (no pun intended!) like a winner  . Must invest in some for myself . 

Point for clarification - do you need to apply to both plug and socket, ie male and female part of connections?

David

I almost think it should be compulsory for everyone on this forum! 

I'm wondering if whether a .5 ml bottle would be enough for most, that's £14.83 on Amazon!!! 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stabilant-22-N-A-0-5/dp/B00L37JRQ2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ce_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XNXEA4G7922VRAXYVZB

You apply it to both end of your cables but not the sockets themselves, although you probably could do that too. I started with ethernet cables and worked my way through the signal chain. Still have the SPDIF between Master and Companion to do.

I also applied it to the micro SD firmware card that goes into my totaldac server.

What's interesting is that at first it made my system sound bright (and detailed) but it settled very quickly. Now I'm getting improvements further down the register. The decay of notes seems to have improved a lot in my system but that's me just picking out one aspect. Everything feels more coherent.

Here are some notes from then manufacturer re applications in hi-fi:

http://www.stabilant.com/appnt15.php

Guillaume

(26-Apr-2015, 17:08)brit Wrote: On the general subject of keeping contacts clean I thought that the following link might be of interest:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?1652-Contact-Cleaning-The-Right-Stuff 

But note the section on "What does not work well" Tweek (aka Stabalint 22) does not get a favourable mention!

David

(26-Apr-2015, 17:53)GuillaumeB Wrote:

(26-Apr-2015, 17:08)brit Wrote: On the general subject of keeping contacts clean I thought that the following link might be of interest:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?1652-Contact-Cleaning-The-Right-Stuff 

But note the section on "What does not work well" Tweek (aka Stabalint 22) does not get a favourable mention!

David

Thanks for sharing this. I guess it's a case of buyer beware. To my ears it sounds pretty good I have to say!

It does start off sounding quite bright and emphasising the higher frequencies but this soon settles. There also appears to be some fluctuation in sound quality as it settles but this is nothing unexpected really.  

Perhaps those with more experience can chime in and offer their perspective.

Guillaume

(27-Apr-2015, 15:43)brit Wrote: As Sibert Instruments, the supplier of Stabilant 22, is not too far from me (less than 15 mins by car, I found out), I went over this morning to pick some up (5ml pack).

Have spent a couple of hours cleaning and coating all my Ethernet & digital connections on my Ethernet switch box, W4S Server and Wadia ipod dock, and all connections, including phono, on my D400 units (including digital interconnect between Master and Companion), with diluted Stabilant 22 (mixed with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol - roughly 1 part Stabilant 22 to 3 parts Isopropyl Alcohol) - inputs and outputs all treated. Have also applied some diluted Stabilant 22 to Digital output of CD Transport and to phono cartridge pins. Have not yet treated Tuner output (more difficult to reach in my hi-fi cupboard!) but will get around to it sometime.

Have had a brief listen to Music Server and CD player but, to be quite honest, I am not too sure what the difference is! I suppose that my problem is that I have great difficulty in remembering exactly what I was hearing before - I would like to be able to say that the highs were clearer, and more detailed, and that the lows were lower and had more definition, but I can not - they may be, but I am not conscious of it ! The sound of my system, at least to me, has always been detailed and transparent and since my Wilson-Benesch ACT1s have been "SAMed" the bass is more defined in relation to the rest of the frequency range. I did not experience any extra "initial brightness" in the sound, as per Guillaume in his system. I will be doing some more concentrated listening this evening, but now impossible to do a pre/post comparison, so I am happy to know that at least all my connections are clean and shiny, and at a relatively low cost!

Will report back on any relevant findings!


David