December 2017

Great Audiophile Gift Ideas For The 2017 Holiday Season
Enjoy the Music.com celebrates our 12th annual gift ideas to give your audiophile!

GE Silicone II Clear Sealant

  Deep inside each of us there is a little Do-It-Yourselfer waiting to come out. For those who have cleared the hurdle of changing light bulbs, consider a tube of GE Silicone II sealant, clear version–not colored or tinted with aluminum. Next, spin off the collar of your RCA connectors and if there is not already a sealer filling the cavity and covering the solder joints, squeeze some clear silicone in there and let it harden overnight.

You may need a very small screwdriver or Allen wrench to remove a set screw if you have higher quality RCA connectors before you can unscrew the collar. (Hint: place towel on your workspace to keep the set screws from rolling off and getting lost on the floor.) The silicone will harden and reduce the micro-vibrations caused by the mere fact of electricity passing through the wire.

The resolution of your connected components will improve, the music will sound smoother and you will relax as you listen. All this fun for just $3.98 at your local Home Depot. One of my audio gurus has also said I should run a bead of this silicone around my small signal tubes to reduce microphonic distortion, but I haven't gotten up enough courage to try that, yet. Maybe next year.

Recommended by Enjoy the Music.com's Rick Becker.