Matt, the ones you describe
The plastic is harder than I remember in the original cleaners. So, if I had to guess, I suspect the cleaner and dirt won't stick to them as they stuck to the original
These (slicker), more recent plastic versions are the kind I obtained a few years ago, thinking I was buying the Japanese original. Since then I've often wondered why the original is no more.
The only possibility I came up with, the originals fit the RCA connectors VERY tight. That made this tool particularly effective, but in one case I actually broke the bond of the RCA male center pin (allowing it to spin) while spinning the Signet tool back and forth.
Granted this was not one of my good Purist cables, but rather a common video connector for the TV. Perhaps the new slicker version was designed to reduce that risk? After all, most of the world revolves around the cables that come packed with VCR's and such.
When my old stocks are depleted I can go for the newer (less effective) version or do without.
I appreciate your hard work searching and testing.
