Looking for a technical explanation...

As I posted over in the Cables forum, I dropped a whopping $40 into a DeoxIT / DeoxIT GOLD Kit and spent the next 5 hours treating every cable and socket on every single piece of equipment.

Here's what I can't explain: My LP playback is MUCH more quiet (not only a "blacker background", but pops-n-clicks). I was honestly considering a less-sophisticated stylus profile because I thought all the "transparency" of an Optimized Contour Line Contact stylus was revealing stuff I didn't want revealed.

The only explanation I can come up with is that I'm using an Ayre P-5xe phono stage (balanced from the cartridge to the phono stage) and the oxidation was asymmetric with respect to the legs, exaggerating any playback imperfections(?). I don't know. Looking for thoughts.