I've never seen or tried that contraption that Orville and Wilbur built, but I know for sure that it can't possibly work.
New Tweak --- Its Fantastic
THE NEW TWEAK
Over the good part of this past year I’ve been beta testing a new tweak, the name of which is "Total Contact." Its a hi-bred graphene contact enhancer that is different from all other contact enhancers that have come and gone for one reason or another. I’m not new to these contact enhancers, having had quite a bit of experience with a product developed by the late Brian Kyle and his "Quick Silver" contact enhancer. The "Total Contact" is different ... a LOT different.
"Total Contact" is graphene based and is not a vibration control. It eliminates micro-arching between two contacts. Micro-arching, much like Micro-vibration smears the sound in our stereo systems. Its the type of distortion that we don’t know is there .... until we eliminate it. There is no break-in as we know it. The sound is improved right off the bat, but what you hear is only a smidgen of what’s to come.
I tested three generations of "TC," each of which was an improvement over the previous incarnation. The final mix was cryogenitically treated and made for a more effective, much smoother application. It comes in a large hypodermic needle type plunger containing 1.5 ml of product and includes a instructional DVD and an application brush.
The application should be applied with a very thin coat to all of your electrical connections .... from your cartridge pins to your power cords. I did my entire system, including the ends of my fuses.
Upon initial application, you will notice an improvement in clarity, correctness of tonal balance and a more overall organic sound. But ... that is just scratching the surface of what this magic paste does. As it cures, the improvements become more apparent. Much more!
There are two real break-through events that happen almost to the day with "Total Contact," one at four weeks and another at eight weeks . At four weeks, you’ll get a real jump in clarity and overall improvement. That’s only a taste though of what’s to come at eight weeks. At eight weeks your system’s focus will make a jump in SQ that is so real - its surreal.
After 40 years in the hobby, and a total tweak nut, I have never heard anything that does what this graphene paste does. The see-through clarity at eight weeks becomes simply amazing. The "paste" eventually cures into a kind of polymer plastic and it seems that the sound improves with each listening session. So, its important that you leave your contacts alone for the duration. If you’re the type of person that continually switches wires in and out, you’ll have to re paste until enough time has elapsed to get "the cure."
The only problem I had was with the first batch and that had to do with shorting out a tube pin in the line stage. Use the "TC" very sparingly on tube pins, if at all. I only had problems with the line stage tube pins. The Amp, CD Player and Phono Stage has had no tube pin problems at all.
Tim Mrock, one of our fellow A’goners, is the developer of the product. Its taken Tim 15 years and several patents to get it right. Tim has "pasted" every electrical contact he can find in his audio system, all of the switches in his circuit breaker box, every contact in his car ... and has used it in commercial applications such as hospital circuit breakers, surgical lights ... and other places where efficiency and long life of electrical components are deemed important.
This product is highly recommended to anyone who truly wants to get the most out of his/her audio systems. There’s enough product in each tube to do at least two audio systems as it just takes a very thin coat on each application to be effective. The last tube was enough to do my system twice and then a friend’s system this past weekend.
Frank
PS: There were a couple of other A’goner beta testers of this product as well. Hopefully, they will chime in here with their experiences for comparison. I "pasted" both of Steve Fleschler’s systems a few days ago, perhaps he will comment on his results too. We forgot to paste Steve’s power cords though, so there’s a lot more to be had from Steve’s two fantastic systems.
Frank
Over the good part of this past year I’ve been beta testing a new tweak, the name of which is "Total Contact." Its a hi-bred graphene contact enhancer that is different from all other contact enhancers that have come and gone for one reason or another. I’m not new to these contact enhancers, having had quite a bit of experience with a product developed by the late Brian Kyle and his "Quick Silver" contact enhancer. The "Total Contact" is different ... a LOT different.
"Total Contact" is graphene based and is not a vibration control. It eliminates micro-arching between two contacts. Micro-arching, much like Micro-vibration smears the sound in our stereo systems. Its the type of distortion that we don’t know is there .... until we eliminate it. There is no break-in as we know it. The sound is improved right off the bat, but what you hear is only a smidgen of what’s to come.
I tested three generations of "TC," each of which was an improvement over the previous incarnation. The final mix was cryogenitically treated and made for a more effective, much smoother application. It comes in a large hypodermic needle type plunger containing 1.5 ml of product and includes a instructional DVD and an application brush.
The application should be applied with a very thin coat to all of your electrical connections .... from your cartridge pins to your power cords. I did my entire system, including the ends of my fuses.
Upon initial application, you will notice an improvement in clarity, correctness of tonal balance and a more overall organic sound. But ... that is just scratching the surface of what this magic paste does. As it cures, the improvements become more apparent. Much more!
There are two real break-through events that happen almost to the day with "Total Contact," one at four weeks and another at eight weeks . At four weeks, you’ll get a real jump in clarity and overall improvement. That’s only a taste though of what’s to come at eight weeks. At eight weeks your system’s focus will make a jump in SQ that is so real - its surreal.
After 40 years in the hobby, and a total tweak nut, I have never heard anything that does what this graphene paste does. The see-through clarity at eight weeks becomes simply amazing. The "paste" eventually cures into a kind of polymer plastic and it seems that the sound improves with each listening session. So, its important that you leave your contacts alone for the duration. If you’re the type of person that continually switches wires in and out, you’ll have to re paste until enough time has elapsed to get "the cure."
The only problem I had was with the first batch and that had to do with shorting out a tube pin in the line stage. Use the "TC" very sparingly on tube pins, if at all. I only had problems with the line stage tube pins. The Amp, CD Player and Phono Stage has had no tube pin problems at all.
Tim Mrock, one of our fellow A’goners, is the developer of the product. Its taken Tim 15 years and several patents to get it right. Tim has "pasted" every electrical contact he can find in his audio system, all of the switches in his circuit breaker box, every contact in his car ... and has used it in commercial applications such as hospital circuit breakers, surgical lights ... and other places where efficiency and long life of electrical components are deemed important.
This product is highly recommended to anyone who truly wants to get the most out of his/her audio systems. There’s enough product in each tube to do at least two audio systems as it just takes a very thin coat on each application to be effective. The last tube was enough to do my system twice and then a friend’s system this past weekend.
Frank
PS: There were a couple of other A’goner beta testers of this product as well. Hopefully, they will chime in here with their experiences for comparison. I "pasted" both of Steve Fleschler’s systems a few days ago, perhaps he will comment on his results too. We forgot to paste Steve’s power cords though, so there’s a lot more to be had from Steve’s two fantastic systems.
Frank
Showing 50 responses by tommylion
Now that I've reached the 4 week point, after treating my system with TC, I realize I had no clue how good my system really is, or what it is capable of. Others will share their own experiences, and I am confident they will be similar. I have no control over what some may believe or say about this, nor do I really care. I can sleep well at night, and look myself in the eye in the mirror, because I know I am telling the dead honest truth about my experience with TC. |
I have now passed the 4 week mark for all the connections in my system I have treated with TC, except for my digital cable. I've got two weeks on that. Among the qualities that TC has brought to, or increased in, my system, transparency and clarity especially stand out. The natural detail that can be heard with very little effort is remarkable. Organic, palpable and solid are some other words that come to mind. There is an increased sense of life and energy. The feeling of real people singing, playing real instruments, working together, interacting with one another, and blending together into a wonderful whole. After the live performances I have had the pleasure of attending, what it reminds me of most is exceptional analog sourced systems that I have heard, and coveted the sound of, over the years. Not bad for a CD based system. |
When I treated my system, I delayed doing my digital cable because I was nervous about painting XLR pins. When I finally got up the courage a couple weeks later, I realized it was no big deal, and felt silly 🙄 I believe tube pins will be the final frontier for me. I definitely want to treat them, but I've got over a grand invested in 6 tubes 😱 Anyways, my DC is behind the rest, and passed the 4 week mark a couple days ago. Another nice bump up in TC goodness. What stood out to me was how the overall presentation got even more relaxed and airy. My system will be passing the 8 week mark (except for that pesky DC) next week, and I am really looking forward to it. Not changing anything in it for this many weeks feels like a real accomplishment 😉 |
Paste all three prongs on AC plugs. Directions say 3/4 of the way down, and that works for me. I did the grounds on my male RCA plugs, but not the female chassis ones. Probably need to break everything down and do/redo all the connections at some point. Seems there's always more you can do, but I'm pretty darn happy with what I've done so far. |
I treated the pins on the tubes in my DAC and amp yesterday and today. I have about a grand in NOS and modern tubes, so I was a little nervous, but took the plunge. No fireworks, and I’m glad I did it. I was surprised at how much improvement there was, pretty much right away. I’m looking forward to hearing what 8 weeks brings. If you’re thinking about treating your tube pins, I say go ahead, it’s worth it. You shouldn’t have any problems, as long as you’re careful. |
I rearranged the components in my rack on Saturday, and took the opportunity to go through and treat all the connections I hadn’t got to with TC yet (IEC sockets, female chassis RCAs, etc.) My system was sounding really good the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Flash forward to today. It has gone to a whole new level of realism and “life”. I thought I had a handle on what what TC can do, and was VERY happy with it. Now I am just dumbfounded (in a really good way). |
I started a thread about my experience with TC and the High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5 Waveguide, for anyone who is interested: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/high-fidelity-cables-mc-0-5-waveguide-and-total-contact |
I’m at the point where I know that if I change anything in, or add anything to, my system, and it involves any plugs or connectors, I’m going to treat them with TC. This means waiting 8 weeks for the TC to fully cure before I hear the final result of the change. I’m less motivated to make a change, unless I feel pretty certain that it will be worth all that. |
Not “hanging up my spurs” as you say, I’m just going to be more choosy about any (non-TC) changes. For example, if I change interconnects, I want to be reasonably assured they will be a substantial improvement over what I have currently, not just try some to see what kind of difference they make. I don't believe TC eliminates the difference in sound between ICs. Given two different sets of ICs, both treated with TC, I'll likely still prefer one over the other. |
It’s been 4 weeks today since I treated my Blue Fuses and the pins of the tubes in my DAC and amp. Right on cue, my system has opened up with even more transparency, clarity, and sense of air & space. It's nice to hear things improve, right before my ears, without doing anything 🙂 Thanks for sharing that, I've heard from other sources that solderless connections make a difference. |
My passive pre has two transformers (actually autoformers) as volume controls, one for each channel. Yesterday, I decided to do an experiment, and painted just the top surface of the square shroud on both with TC. The results were immediate, and the already fantastic sound I was enjoying got even better. Add transformers to the list of areas where TC is effective. What a fun ride! My system is doing all the things I've hoped and wished it could over the years, and I know there's more to come. |
“I painted all the shiny centers on the tops of 20 or more capacitors in my transport..Simple and easy pretty much an obvious bulls eye. Sound stage became even more coherent and much denser. One of the best returns of any of the TC applications I have performed.” Tim had suggested I try this last week, and I just did it with my CEC TL-5 CD Transport. From the early results I am getting, I have to agree with you. |
amg56, I don't believe you are a moderator here? Bottom line, if the moderators agreed with you, and others, that this thread was in violation of forum rules, they would have shut it down by now. They haven't, so...? You can protest all you want, but, just like I have no control over what you post, you have to live with what the moderators decide. |
Advertisements are intrusive and generally not easy to avoid. This thread is NOT intrusive (Just the opposite, you actually have to navigate to it, and open it, in order to read it.), and is EASILY avoided by those who are offended by it in any way. The real problem is that some think it should not be allowed to exist, merely because it offends them. |
amg56, It’s more like choosing your battles. If something really has little effect on you or others in the grand scheme of things, and you don’t have any authority to do anything about it anyway, what’s the point in getting worked up about it? You're offended by this thread, I'm offended by others, but neither one of us are moderators. |
When I am offended by something, my first response is to simply avoid it, if possible. There are lots of threads/posts on this forum I find offensive in one way or another. Fortunately, I can avoid them with little to no effort. The response that, unfortunately, seems to be becoming more prevalent is “That offends me, it must be eliminated!” |
“This is like the stoning of the sceptics (Oxford Dictionary; skeptics: Funk and Wagnalls), by the religious zealots who believed the earth was flat. Even Nicolaus Copernicus was confined to his house.” Wow, you come in, guns blazing, clearly offended and antagonistic towards this thread, then you claim you are being persecuted?! |
It’s 8 weeks today since I treated the connections on the speaker side of my SCs. This means I have finally reached the 8 week mark on all the connections in my system. Sound is amazing. Prior to TC, the only way I would have envisioned myself hearing reproduction like this, is through someone else’s megabuck system, hoping I could afford it some day. |