Actually I know exactly what the phrase begs the question means and how to use it in a sentence. My father was an English professor.
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
rel, I’m right and you’re wrong. It wasn’t an appeal to anything. Fleschler said it had been seven months since first applying TC. The unanswered question, the one begging to be asked, is has he reached the end of the line with TC, since hasn’t done anything in seven months, or so I concluded from his statement. And apparently the answer is yes, he has. He reached Nirvana. Follow? |
I’m shocked. (When worlds collide. “Fuses have only one purpose.”) But seriously, we’ve had all silver fuses for like forever. HiFi Tuning Supreme. 99% pure silver and 1% pure gold tip to tip. And they’re directional! We’ve also had silver fuse holders since Fabio was an audiophile. From Acme, the company that supplies Wiley Coyote with those cool rocket skates and other fun stuff. |
rel Sorry, Geoff, but son of an English professor or not, you're just flat-out wrong. Any form of argument where the conclusion is assumed in one of the premises. Many people use the phrase “begging the question” incorrectly when they use it to mean, “prompts one to ask the question”. That is NOT the correct usage. Begging the question is a form of circular reasoning https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/53/Begging-the-Question For example: Q: Why do you hate him so much? A: Because I can't stand him! Now THAT is "begging the question." It’s a pretty stupid criticism. I see what you mean but so what? Talk about petty. It’s a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees. Besides, you didn’t catch my obvious appeal to authority, “my father was an English professor.” So that makes us even. |
Tom, I’ve asked you several times to explain what in Tarnation you’re talking about. The last time I asked you to explain, a couple weeks ago, you copped out by saying you had to catch a plane. So, I’ll ask you again. Instead of repeating the same, “it’s the Polarity of Shear” mantra of yours over and over can you try explain in detail what the devil you’ve been trying to say all these years. If you have some big breakthrough to announce the stage is all yours. This is your Big Chance. Am I not fair? |
amg56 I thought redneck discrimination had been cast to the annuls of history. it would seem that some of you have not caught up with the modern times. I am sorry if what I say disturbs some of you, and creates ripples in a cosy pond. And I am vilified by casting a stone into the water. What next? Am I to be crucified? Hung drawn and quartered? Expelled to the naughty room? I thought free speech and guns are what Americans valued and held dear to your hearts. At least we banned the guns. >>>Good grief! Could you be any more of a drama queen? |
grannyring When customers like a product and talk about it on a public forum that is called a thread. This public sharing of experience is also a form of “word of mouth” marketing and impossible to separate. Some of you are asking to separate what pragmatically can never be separated. Word of mouth advertising will always and nessessarily be a consequence of sharing one experience with a product. I suspect this one’s a little different, however, what with the use of proxies to initiate the marketing campaign and the use of Audiogon as base of operations. Perhaps this represents a paradigm shift in the way audio forums operate, probably is. Exhibit A - most other audio forum web sites are, what’s the word, moribund? Super over modulated expialidotious. |
grannyring @geoffkait No, nothing new here. Folks have always accused the excited OP and others on a given thread of being on the payroll and promoting a product when they post their experiences. >>>>The reason they were accused of being on the payroll is because they were on the payroll. 💵 💵 The OP and all of the original Beta testers were given the product *free in exchange* for posting a few nice words on Audiogon. So don’t give me this baloney about the excited OP and enthusiastic audiophiles. Wake up and smell the coffee, dude!! |
oregonpapa OP I’m laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. Yep, as a beta tester, I got a free sample. >>>>>Bingo! Pop Quiz - Now see if you can figure out why you in particular were selected. And why the others who frequently post on Audiogon were selected to be Beta testers. Like your friend and humble scribe. Let’s see if you can figure it out. Answer at 11. 🤡 |
thecarpathian Truth is, if there were a money back guarantee, I would be quite tempted to try it, just to see if it remotely lives up to the hype. It seems pretty obvious the reason for the absence of a money back guarantee - if it’s true there isn’t one - is some folks, I’m not accusing anybody, might be sorely tempted to use just enough product to treat quite a few contacts, it goes a long way, and return the rest for a full refund. Give me a break. As someone mentioned before, you can always go in halvsies or thirdsies with others to defray costs. I had some palooka pull a fast one on the Teleportation Tweak, which came with a money back guarantee, it still does. The original $16 Intelligent Chip from Golden Sound that treated only 10 CDs was similar, and there was no money back guarantee. As a dealer for the chip I offered a $25 recharging fee, just joking around. 😁 |
wolf_garcia Many critics of this thread are absolutely NOT "knocking the product," (except for the simple fact that graphene is extremely carcinogenic...be on the lookout for my new asbestos based contact enhancement products, as it’s no biggie, right? Fearmongering is a common tool of the overly excitable pseudo skeptic. I did not see that coming. 😳 |
cd318 Audio is unfortunately not like motoring or computing where the numbers are almost everything. Hence the unpleasant infestatation and proliferation of charlatans and snake oil peddlers. Geoffkait “Yeah, right. It’s the other side that uses ad hominem arguments. Are listening to yourself? Go infest some other thread.” To which cd318 replied, Well, so much for open debate! I wonder what’s bugging mr kait? Business not going well? No need to be obnoxious geoff, never good for pr or profits. >>>>Ain’t nothin’ wrong with open debate. Why, are we having one? And what’s with all the ad hominem attacks? If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen, dillweed. |
That’s interesting but in the application we’re talking about, I.e, electrical contacts for audio, the water disappears, i.e., dries. Then you’re left with only the Graphene oxide, you know, the non-conductive stuff. It’s the suspension of Graphene in water that’s conductive. Am I missing something? 🙄 |
sbayne Good point. Maybe my system will sound worse as the solution continues to dry. Based on what I’ve read, graphene oxide is used in the manufacture of many products including graphene itself, batteries, and solar cells, for example. Total Contact is some type of graphene solution. I highly doubt its pure graphene and from what I can tell they don’t claim it is. >>>>Graphene is the super conductor, not Graphene oxide. Graphene oxide is a super non-conductor. If something looks too good to be true it’s probably not true. I’m not sure I’d call TC a Graphene solution, either. And it’s obviously not pure Graphene since Graphene is a solid. Whatever it is, it acts as a super conductor. But perhaps @teo_audio would be interested in the Graphene oxide suspension for his liquid cables, who knows? Of course, it’s not my intention to rain 💦 on your parade. For the record I’m not convinced putting water solutions on electrical contacts is a recommended practice. 🙄 |
Another problem contact enhancers such as The Product solves is the dissimilar metals phenomenon. One reason why people often say they can find no evidence of such and such on the web is because they don’t know how to search properly or thoroughly. 😬 Who knows, a competent pseudo skeptic might not even search at all. He’ll just say he did. 🙄 |
Glad you asked. I just found this tidbit from the original blurb for Xtreme AV’s Quicksilver Gold contact enhancer that was introduced about 12 years ago. In addition, there are at least a few technical papers from IEEE etc. addressing arcing and micro arcing in electrical contacts. Ditto the dissimilar metals issue I mentioned. “Machined and/or plated electrical contacts, when viewed under a microscope, actually have a rough surface finish allowing less than 5% of the contact’s surface to actually make contact and transfer vital energy to your electronic components be it AC Power, Audio or Video signals. In addition, these rough contacts cause micro-arcing to take place generating noise which is then transferred and amplified in your system along with the complex, multi-frequency Audio and Video signals resulting in a dramatic loss in resolution, low-level information retrieval and a less natural 2-dimensional presentation. It does not have to be this way!” Also, this is from Mapleshade’s website regarding their Silclear contact enhancer, circa 20 years ago, “Technically, the SilClear engineering objective is simple: to create the thinnest possible continuous layer of silver between the two mating surfaces of any electrical connection. The test results are unequivocal: SilClear improves sound. The reasons are not so obvious. We hypothesize two mechanisms. One is the beneficial effect of a near-monomolecular layer of silver in reducing skin effect (i.e., the velocity disparity between signal propagation on the surface and in the interior of a conductor). Second is eliminating the distorting diode effects (i.e., unequal resistance to the + and - halves of a music waveform) of the inevitable oxide films on any conductor surface.” |
How does Caig DeoxIT Gold work? from Caig web site, “To avoid detouring into a discussion in physics, simply stated, electrons travel from one side of a thin film of DeoxIT® Gold to the other without passing through (this is the same effect that gave the tunnel diode its name). DeoxIT® Gold fills the gaps in the contact surfaces, increasing the surface area and current flow (conductivi- ty). DeoxIT® Gold penetrates the plated surface and molecularly bonds to the base metal to seal and protect it (see FIGURE 1). Unlike other products, DeoxIT® Gold provides long-lasting protection and will not gum-up, evaporate, varnish, char or breakdown.” and, DeoxIT® GOLD is effective on stationary and moving contacts and connectors with similar or dissimilar metals. When a treated and untreated connector mate, DeoxIT® GOLD migrates to coat both surfaces. When connectors separate, DeoxIT® GOLD recoats both exposed metal surfaces (see FIGURE 7). DeoxIT® GOLD's unique formula contains conditioners, deoxidizers, preservatives, conductivity enhancers, arcing & RFI inhibitors and anti-tarnishing compounds. |
More on electrical contacts from our good friend Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_contacts Excerpt: Electrical contact theory Edit Ragnar Holm contributed greatly to electrical contact theory and application.[10] Macroscopically smooth and clean surfaces are microscopically rough and, in air, contaminated with oxides, adsorbed water vapor, and atmospheric contaminants. When two metal electrical contacts touch, the actual metal-to-metal contact area is small compared to the total contact-to-contact area physically touching. In electrical contact theory, the relatively small area where electrical current flows between two contacts is called the a-spot where "a" stands for asperity. If the small a-spot is treated as a circular area and the resistivity of the metal is homogeneous, then the current and voltage in the metal conductor has spherical symmetry and a simple calculation can relate the size of the a-spot to the resistance of the electrical contact interface. If there is metal-to-metal contact between electrical contacts, then the electrical contact resistance (as opposed to the bulk resistance of the contact metal) is mostly due to constriction of the current through a very small area, the a-spot. Contact force or pressure increases the size of the a-spot which decreases the constriction resistance and the electrical contact resistance.[11] When the size of contacting asperities becomes larger than the mean free path of electrons, Holm-type contacts become the dominant transport mechanism, resulting in a relative low contact resistance.[12] |
cd318 wrote, “Before we get carried away by the wondrous qualities of various contact enhancers etc please bear in mind the size of the electrical tracks on circuit boards, coil wires inside loudspeakers crossovers and cartridges etc. Somehow, miraculously the signal still gets through. Even 50 year old wires. Amazing isn’t it? (Another post headed towards deletion methinks).” >>>>Actually when you say “the signal still gets through,” that’s not completely accurate. What gets through is a combination of signal, noise and distortion. As enthusiasts we try to maximize signal and minimize noise and distortion. There is no substitute for signal over noise plus distortion ratio. That’s why we use contact cleaners and enhancers, to help accomplish that. Of course you guys are free to do whatever. It’s no skin off our noses. ”No matter how much you have in the end you would have had even more if you had started out with more in the beginning.” - Old audiophile proverb |
perfectpathtech @stoplitz Glad you tried the Black Discus, other makers of the same device include Stein, Bybee, Albat, and others. >>>>Really? That’s very interesting. How so? Are you saying these manufacturers and others all discovered this same type of device independently? Who are the others? What is it about all of them that makes you say they are the same? |
resolution1 The interesting thing about those trashing TC is that they have not tried it for themselves so that they can prove that it is detrimental to the sound quality or physically causes harm to their systems. >>>Well, don’t feel too bad. It’s the same with any new product. Actually I’m surprised this product brings out the trolls to the degree it does since there really isn’t that controversial, and can be easily explained to a five year old. There are much more mysterious and preposterous things out there to tempt the guys lurking under the bridge. People don’t seem to know how the internet works yet. It’s a little game we play. Action, reaction. It’s a little thing called Whack a Mole. It’s a lot of fun and anyone can play. Batter up! |