Who cares? A little bit too much angst. A little angst is OK. There’s nothing more unseemly than the threat of a negative review by a disgruntled customer. What did the mascochist say to the sadist? Hit me! To which the sadist replied, No! ha ha
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 geoffkait
Search the forum archives using the little magnifying glass icon and you’ll find, https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/carbon-fibre-sleeve-over-existing-cabling-incredible?highligh... Your friend and humble scribe, Geoff Kait Machina Dramatica |
You never put your toe in the same stream twice. You do not (rpt not) have to actively do anything to your system for the sound to change all by itself. You know, time of day, day of week, weather, etc. I don’t believe anyone who says he can track the sound of his system for weeks or months at a time. No offense to anyone personally. |
I just responded to your question in my previous post as I still had some time left on the clock. Use common sense in all things. Do you take such precautions when using a pencil? Graphite, uh, Graphene.....you know....Graphene is simply two dimensional graphite. Rule no. 1 for the intrepid audiophile: Don’t freak out! 😀 - your humble scribe |
jetter Geoff, why not just admit that in all the chatter about graphene, it was wolf that brought up the concern first about a potential safety hazard if it is used incorrectly. You will notice I did not bring it up about TC, I discussed cutting it from its sheet format, as do the articles. Wolf did not discuss its application, he discussed potential consequences from inhaling it when removing the application, using a rather tongue in cheek delivery. So I am not sure why you took such objection to the rather informative posts. >>>>Are you pretending to be a little slow? There are a great many household products, some very common, that should not (rpt not) be ingested. Maybe you can think of some off the top of your head. The TC itself comes in a rather small syringe making it quite difficult to swallow, just as your and Wolfie silly warning is hard to swallow. Also the TC product is not a liquid, but a paste. NOTE If you see or suspect a child has swallowed any toxic substance immediately take him to the hospital. Use your brain. The suggestion by the primary knucklehead that Graphene powder could come off of tube pins when removing tubes from their sockets and have toxic consequences has got to be one of the most absurd cautions ever posted by a pseudo skeptic on these pages as these contact enhancer cure to be a hard solid. Obviously you guys have been watching too many Alien movies. It’s something only a pseudo skeptic with no experience whatsoever would say. Ironically none of you has thought to suggest Graphene is cancenogenic. You guys are slipping! Good luck with your quest to put together a decent system one day. I’m sure we are all atwitter. If Graphene or any substance you believe is toxic gets on your hands or fingers, which can sometimes happen, be sure and wash your hands. Who wouldn’t? Your your noodle. Thanks for all the “informative posts.” 🤡 |
Don’t freak out. Research. http://www.thegraphenecouncil.org/?page=GrapheneToxicity Your friend and humble scribe, who by the way plays tennis with a Graphene racket. Should I freak out and wash my hands after playing now? 😛 Did I understand you to say you already got some TC on your hands? You said it “does get on your hands” as if it did already. If so did you have any effects? Did you get sick? Any itching? 😳 I’m imagining a scene in Alien Covenant.....Tim has been handling this stuff for years. Does he glow in the dark? |
Oh, geez, what’s next? A federal investigation of Quicksilver Gold, Nanotech CD treatment, WA Quantum Chips, Intelligent Chips ( one can never be too careful when handling artificial atoms!) or the Teleportation Tweak, which can not (rpt not) be reversed, just to let you know. Can we expect CHILD WARNING labels on Marigo Dots, Golden Sound Acoustic Discs, Silver Rainbow Foil. OK, now you can Freak out. |
As I’ve oft mentioned on this thread, I’ve painted the teeny tiny little pins on both ends of my rather expensive Audioquest Carbon HDMI Cable (controlled for directionality, thank goodness). I actually used the applicator brush that was provided, no problemo. In fact it worked better than a toothpick that I tried first. It all depends on the lay of the land. It’s not difficult at all for the Carbon HDMI connectors but I imagine there could be big troub in Little China for ribbon connectors, though I would also do ribbon connectors if I had any. Best not to drink too much coffee prior to applying contact enhancer to HDMI connectors or ribbon connectors. ☕️ |
mapman So Geoffkait, in your scientific estimation then, is there actually intact one atom thick sheets of Graphene in there somehow that survive when shmeared or something else, some other form of carbon perhaps? If Graphene, how might that be pulled off? Moops, I suspect you just answered your own question. Someone please be sure and send a notification to moopman when a $10 bag is available for homeless people. |
To be fair, having been invited to CES many times and having been in some of the most outstanding systems ever assembled, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that some if not many exhibitors will use every tactic they can think of to improve their sound to get the very best sound they can. Why wouldn’t they? It’s good to be King. And they wouldn’t necessarily mention whatever tweaks they use or promote them, either. I’m pretty sure the same tactics are probably applied at audio stores. Why wouldn’t they? Race cars use every trick they can possibly think of to gain an advantage. Why wouldn’t they? I even used the photos in the freezer tweak at one show. Was that wrong of me? |
There is no absolute sound. High end sound cannot be defined. One high end system can sound remarkably different from another high end system. In fact one high end system can sound excellent whereas another high end system can sound atrocious. There is more to high end sound than connecting a bunch of expensive components and cables together. This is the Hierarchy of Sound. You tweak one system, it might sound better than a more expensive system that hasn’t been tweaked. It’s not guaranteed but it might. And the more expensive (better) system itself can be improved by tweaking. It is very possible for a tweaked Mid Fi system to sound better than a high end system. That’s the Hierarchy of Sound. There is no glass ceiling. There are no real boundaries. It’s not Black and White. 🦓 |
Into the life of every controversial tweak promoter a little rain must fall. - Old audiophile axiom One assumes this particular controversial tweak is The Last Tweak for the regulars on this thread. I have not seen any evidence to the contrary. That’s what I like to refer to as The Last Tweak Syndrome. It’s when the intrepid audiophile hangs up his spurs and sez, “that’s all folks, it can’t get any better than this.” It’s also called resting on one’s laurels. Addendum - A good name for the first, apparently unsuccessful, version of Total Contact would have been Total Recall. I’ll be back. |
theaudiotweak All about a change in response where the compressive wave switches over to shear wave at the intersection of the plate and drywall. The treated plate becomes a speed and polarity shifter..More treatment places to follow. Tom >>>>Whoa! What?! Hey, let’s not get too crazy. It makes more sense that the TC is simply acting as an RFI shield. |
tobor007 I have my dream system consisting of $20k of new McIntosh equipment. I contacted them about this pasting procedure. They basically told me if I past my contacts it’s a dumb idea and may void my warranty. I think I will listen to their advise. >>>>>Bingo! That’s what I’ve been saying all along. Amp manufacturers are the most conservative of all the food groups. They are at least two paradigm shifts behind the power curve when it comes to anything beyond circuit hyper focus. 👀 Anything even remotely resembling audiophile woo is quickly dismissed. Contact enhancers, vibration isolation, fancy fuses, directionality of wire, anything more than 2 Sigma off the flatline of moderation. “Oh, protect our precious circuits. The ones that are already perfect.” |
Just another indication that circuit focused high end amp manufacturers never got the memo regarding contact enhancements, fancy fuses, expensive power cords, wire directionality and other advanced audio concepts that audiophiles have been using for like forever. Oh, well, no harm done. Anybody can do it all himself. Why these high end companies don’t employ these well know tricks for the big audio shows, you know, to optimize their chances for obtaining great sound with lots of witnesses, is another question. You’ll have to ask them. 😳 |
Bad news. I was subjected to a long barrage of hyperbolic praise and over-excited ranting and raving about how good his sound was and how his TV picture for DVDs was now better than Blu Rays after an acquaintance of mine applied a smidgen of the new product I had sent him to only two power cord plugs, a refrigerator plug and some video connectors. I could hardly get a word in edge-wise. I’m not hot doggin ya. (He was one of the mystery Beta testers for the first version of the product, which was not exactly a big hit. I got quite an earful on that occasion, too, gentle readers. |
Actually frank you cannot over-do mu metal. Now I’m suspecting we might be talking about different things. Maybe you didn’t use the right mu metal or maybe it wasn’t even mu metal at all. Who knows? The correct mu metal is the low frequency high permeability alloy. Besides there are many reasons why folks sometimes don’t get the results they were hoping for. Happens all the time. Probably not a good idea to generalize those results, though. |
Sorry, Frank, there must be some sort of misunderstanding. Mu metal is not applied in little pieces and it does not dull the sound. Dunno what you did, what Magnan used or did or why it dulled the sound. Hmmmm, is mentioning David Magnan an Appeal to Authority? In any case, I wouldn’t generalize your particular results to apply universally. Mu metal is an absorber of magnetic field, one complete covering of the transformer absorbs about 75% of the induced field. A second covering increases the percentage to 95%. The mu metal does not have to touch the transformer. And the second layer should not touch the first layer. |