Kontak Electrical Contact
Cleaner
 Contact cleaner? What the…?
Who needs a contact cleaner?
We all do, actually. Let's face it: Even the most
fastidious among us still lives in a dirty ol' world. Airborne pollutants and oxidation
build up in the unlikeliest places -- even between the metal surfaces that comprise the
connectors in your stereo system (RCA plugs, XLR connectors, speaker connectors, and
suchlike). And when dirt and oxidation build up between those metal surfaces, signal
transfer becomes a hit-or-miss proposition.
Dirt on electrical contacts can act like a resistor,
effectively changing the signal as it is being transferred through the pipeline -- or it
can cause intermittent dropouts. Even worse, since the build-up is gradual, your sound can
change slowly over time, meaning you don't even notice.
Scary, huh?
Fortunately, there are solutions. (That really took you by
surprise, didn't it?)
There are industrial solvents, which average about $8-$10 a
bottle (or spray can, in some cases). These are frequently sold as "tuner
cleaners," which generally include a lubricant to keep moving parts (such as the
contacts in an old-fashioned wiper-style tuning mechanism) operating smoothly. My problem
with these is that that lubricant seems to attract and collect even more gunk than you
initially cleaned off the contact surfaces.
Gunk is bad.
That whole gunk problem is why I'm not a huge fan of many
of the audiophile-approved contact cleaners either -- they also contain
"preservatives."
Oh, they tell you that the preservative forces out water,
seals the connection, or improves conductivity -- and I have no reason to doubt these
claims. But still, they all seem to attract gunk and (repeat after me) gunk is bad.
That's why I like Kontak. It removes the gunk from the
connectors and it leaves behind nothing except a nice clean surface.
Ahhhh! The simple life for me.
Only connect!
Of course, there's a catch. The stuff costs $39.95 for
25ml. That's almost $50/ounce! What's this stuff made of -- gold?
Actually, I have no idea what it's made of. The company
doesn't say -- except that it contains no CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), which means that it
doesn't contribute to ozone depletion. The product comes from the aviation industry,
where, the company claims, it was developed for "military applications" -- which
probably explains the price.
But it does all I ask it to do, and there's enough of it in
the bottle to clean all the contacts in my system many, many times.
Only connect . . . the beast and the monk
So how do you use Kontak? Sparingly.
Kontak packaging includes a handful of pipe cleaners, which
can be handy for cleaning out the insides of RCA jacks or binding posts, but I prefer
Q-tips for the outside parts of connectors. No matter which implement you choose, the
technique is the same: Wet your tool of choice with a few drops of Kontak and swab away
until the surface of the tool is covered with dirt. Repeat until you stop seeing any
foreign substances on your cleaner.
That can take a lot longer than you anticipate -- and
that's just one channel of one connection. Cleaning your whole system will take a while.
And what will you hear when you're done?
Everything.
Well, that's a tad facile, perhaps. A lot depends on how
dirty the contacts were in the first place. I've cleaned older components that had been in
storage for a while and heard remarkable transformations -- including instances where
noisy systems quieted down considerably. That's extreme, but it's a useful trick to
remember if your system develops steady-state noise.
When I moved my office system recently, I took the
opportunity to clean all the connections before hooking it back up again and wowsa!
Day and night? Ummm, no, but everything sounded a lot clearer. Keep in mind that I
didn't think it sounded too shabby before, but the greater detail and clarity were most
welcome.
Only connect the prose and the passion
Obviously, it's all but impossible to compare the sonic
differences in electrical contact cleaners -- and I'm not sure I would, even if I could
figure out a logical way to do it. I do believe I'd rather undergo root canal.
Therefore I won't definitively state that Kontak is the best
electrical contact cleaner. It may not, in fact, be superior to tuner cleaner or any of
the other solvents and emollients sold to do the same job. I like it as much for what it
doesn't do as for what it does.
It makes me feel all minty fresh from my source components
to my loudspeakers.
"Let's talk about your car, it's screaming 'wash me,
please.' Now, if you're a Mr. Common Sense you won't believe me when I tell you that I've
got an envelope that will clean your car while you're driving it home or to work. Well,
George, believe me this time, because this one isn't like the Austrian self-sharpening
razors. No, friends, no overheating like the tropical fishes. No zizzing and dripping like
with the dike . . . (sound: TV click) "
Oh, sorry -- in my enthusiasm, I started channeling old
Firesign Theater routines. But even if the claims sound too good to be true, Kontak really
delivers. It may not be cheap, but it's good.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
Kontak Electrical Cleaner
Price: $39.95 USD/bottle.
Warranty: NA.
Kontak Audio Products
Peterborough, England
E-mail: kontak@talk21.com
North American distributor:
The Sound Organisation, Inc.
11140 Patel Street Suite 350
Dallas, TX 74238
Phone: (972) 234-0182
E-mail: steve@soundorg.com
Website: www.soundorg.com
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