Website link? Very expensive for such a tiny amount.
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 grannyring
I applied TC to my system yesterday. All speaker and power connections. No doubt it changed my sound, unfortunately not all for the better. Mid bass body is improved and that is good. Improved “meatiness” and body. However, the music has lost some of its life and is a bit dull and diffused. Not what I expected or desired overall and I hope it improves shortly. I will report back. So much for expectation bias 😁 |
@oregonpapa No RCAs in my system so no need to treat. Not sure what you mean by internal wire connections? They are already soldered etc....Are you suggesting applying at all the soldered connections in my crossovers etc...? Not sure how this would help make contact as it is only a surface application ...... not contact points. Thanks for your thoughts. |
Morning fellow Agoners. Frank, thank you for this thread. After treating driver connections inside the speaker cab, speaker cables, power cables and assorted other places I am left with my jaw on the proverbial floor. Frank has not exaggerated his claims of this product based on my system’s net result. In my system it took a couple of days for things to settle in. Right now the improvement is across the board. Here is a recap of what I hear for improvement ..... not change... but improvement. - more powerful and full mid and deep bass. So much so I feel I no longer need to consider a sub - improved body, weight and bloom to the music - improved dynamics - improved resolution - far taller, wider, and filled in stage - greater scale and ease - smoother upper mids and highs - stage depth is also improved - reach out and touch you realness that is so gratifying One word seems to sum it up best. This same word was used on this thread by another poster. Bloom. Glorious bloom. The music unfolds with improved beauty and bloom. This is certainly a game changing tweak that should be tried by any open minded Audiophile. My Living Voice speakers sound about twice as large as they did prior to the TC tweak. Well done Tim! Now you need to sell a half or third size so more would in fact buy it. A half size is more than what 99% of audiophiles would ever, ever need. This paste goes a long way. |
I want to publicly thank @ronrags for letting me use some of his TC stash to learn first hand about this wonderful music making tweak. @antiwolfe. Thanks to you for turning me onto TC also! I am now ordering more to finish out my system and split with three other Agon Audiophiles. Great community. This is what the Audiogon community is all about at its best. Thanks again Ron! |
Paste the entire tab connections of your individual drivers where the internal speaker wire is soldered to the driver positive and negative terminals. Paste all point to point crossover runs and connections possible. Paste the wire leads feeding your AC outlets. Paste solder connections of your speaker and amp binding posts. Paste internal power cord leads (wires) to your power cord connectors. The aggregate impact is quite satisfying. |
@rotaryphone. Yes it was a lot of work. I didn’t even mention other places for fear folks would think I am truly nuts! The results are well worth it however. I am an avid DIYer so it was all really quite routine for me. Must be very careful not to paste unwanted conductive bridges causing potentially catastrophic gear events 🙁 |
Actually the safety or health concerns pointed out are reasonable questions that demand a clarifying answer. I did read a great deal on it (graphene) last night and emailed the designer and marketer ..... Tim. This stuff will get on your hands as it is unavoidable. Plugging and unplugging gear and pasting causes it to get on skin. I expect some response here very soon. |
Yes it did get it on my hands . Bad timing as out of the blue I needed two cortizone shots. One in each knee due to a sudden onset of knee swelling and pain. Strange. No way to link with TC. Need to hear from Tim. This topic is a HOT button for me and I expect answers beyond ignorance and not sure. No room for not sure answers here. |
Yes we should wash our hands and common sense should always prevail. Still does not answer the question of toxicity and impact if on your skin. Can it be absorbed into the skin? How long on your skin before an issue? Is this stuff even toxic on the skin? No reason for over reaction here, but it is certainly reasonable to ask the designer what testing, if any, has been done regarding safety and toxicity. |
@tomfoolery Thanks for sharing. What is interesting to me is how my own system sounds different from day to day or even daypart to daypart. This is real for all of us as our mood changes, level of general physical fatigue, emotional or stress factors etc... Add to that humidity levels from one day to the next and we have yet to even talk about quality of AC and how that changes hour to hour etc..... Just too many factors to really make a one moment in time conclusion on any system. One must live with a system long term before they can really accurately detimine long term sonic changes. Goodness, we also have poor sonic memory in an A/B testing situation with just minutes between cuts, never mind days or weeks. |
geoffkait9,046 posts04-19-2018 4:36pmYou might contact georgehifi down under via PM and see if he’ll go in with you. He seems pretty open minded. 😀 Oh my huge and bigly LOL! Post of the week! |
Another update on using TC inside your speakers. Paste the driver tab connectors and internal speaker wire where they are soldered or connected with push-ons on the back of the drivers. Paste the wire leads going from the voice coil to the tabs. Paste the point to point wire leads and solder joints in the crossover. The impact really takes a couple of days to experience based on my experience. Immediatley after treatment you may not hear improvements and perhaps even reduced musicality. However, after two days all I can say is wow! This is a must do if you are comfortable removing drivers etc..... Don’t forget the solder connections to the speaker binding posts internally. |
This is just another thread of owners/users that love a product and like to post on their experiences with it. There is always one initial excited owner that starts the thread and remains active. This has been done on countless threads since the inception of Agon. I know because I have been active all these years here. It is actually one of the top purposes for these threads in the first place. This is a completely righteous thread! Real learning and discovery about products that are fabulous and improve our audio systems. Owners and users posting actual experiences. Goodness, this is the way it used to be here and it was a glorious thing. Threads like this are where we learned about products like the TRL Dude, Supratek, Lightspeed attenuator, and so many others. Amazing to me some want the perfect example of a helpful audio thread removed? Astounding actually. The only portion of this thread that is not righteous is the bashing of the product from folks who have never even used it! This is a strange phenonima indeed and it seems to be growing in popularity. It is insidious and ruining this site slowly. While that happened some in the past (bashing), it was usually from folks with actual experience with the product in question. Sharing a negative experience after actually using a product properly is always welcomed and reasonable. |
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. |
@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. Nothing more than an excited sales type personality posting their experience and belief. Nothing else but the personality of the OP coming through here. No back room plan here. I was accused of the same thing here with TRL. Others have been accused of the same thing. Nothing new. It is simply a person excited about a product and wanting others to also enjoy it. Yes, I am also a sales type personality. Some just think, still, we are all lying. Well, I can’t help that mind set or life view filter. |
@geoffkait No bologna, just free range, grass feed beef is what I served up. They liked the product and posted their findings. If they did not like it, then no thread. Sure it’s word of mouth advertising, but they are not on the payroll. Beta testers are not employees, owners, stake holders etc... they are just consumers who liked the product. I see it far differently then you. My background is marketing and sales and these beta testers used various iterations of a product and gave feedback. That’s all. They are most certainly not on the payroll. I would regularly give customers prototype samples for feedback as part of my product development process. These were food products sold to the food service industry. No, I did not charge for prototypes. Why would I charge them? They Simply used the product and give me feedback. Goodness, they did if for free and I was greatful for them. The OP tested for free just like my customers. |
Answer: Because they are reputable, honest, respected and others would value their experience with TC. That simple. I would also add they would tell others about how great it worked in their system. Again, good word of mouth customer testimonials! Why do you have such a hard time with this truth? They still are not on the payroll or anything like that. |
Well, we have to remember these folks have not even tried the product, have only been on Agon for less than 1.5 years and really are young and not experienced in all things home audio. They just don’t know and are mere babes in audio experiences beyond what is normative and old news. They are rather funny however in their innocent and ignorant ways. |
Problem is this. I agree with everything you said. However, Tim would be wasting his time and money legally as it common and usual to have skeptics in these hobby forums and no harm is being done legally. Go back and read Wolf’s posts and see it is just like all other skeptic posts here and throughout the net. That simple. His posts are common and usual. I think his posts are in poor taste, but legally he has the right and freedom to be a skeptic in this medium. Tim is not blowing smoke, but he will be blowing money. He would be far better served having his product tested for safety and then acting accordingly based on the independent results. This is the only place Wolf comes near to causing harm. Since this testing has not been done Wolf is fine. The legal standard of proving harm is a hurdle Tim cannot come close to clearing here. |
Goodness this is just an audio thread. Wolf can say what he wants here. We may not like it because it is based on ignorance. I use the term ignorance in the sense that he has not used it and knows nothing about the product. Wolfe is a smart man and I often like his posts and humor in other threads. What he says here has no meaning or relevance in our legal system. None. This is an open hobbyist forum and that’s it. He is a skeptic and posts his skeptical views. Sure he does it in a colorful manner, but there is no real harm in it. The closest statement to potentially harming the brand is the proposed carcinogenic claim. However, TC has not gone through extensive testing in this parameter and thus his comments do not harm legally. I think TC is the single best audio product I have ever used in my system. Big fan of it. Love it. |
Being an avid DIY guy modifying all manner of gear and building several tube preamps, amps and such, I can tell readers that TC is just wonderful sounding. I find the result as good or better than spending 5x the amount on upgraded caps like Duelund and Jupiter. It also surpasses other mods I have done including resistor, rectifier, and tube rolling upgrades. The qualitative posts from folks who have not used it are useless for the Audiogon community. Most of us don’t know how it is possible for a paste to improve sound quality so dramatically, but that does not change the fact that is works wonderfully. I have treated my speaker crossovers, internal speaker wiring, all outlets, power conditions, amplifiers, source, cabling and LPSs. The result is stunning. All my recordings sound better. All of them. TC avoids the pitfall of causing your system to only sound great on great recordings. TC manages to help your system play all recordings with greater musicality and improved listener engagement. This is a huge benefit. I find myself playing artists that in the past sounded just awful, but I loved the music. I can now say I enjoy these these recordings in my home and not just in the car! For me this attribute is the real benefit of the product. My system is less fussy now. The Audiophile part of me can relax and just enjoy my recordings with sonic contentment. I have cap rolled, tube rolled, gear rolled, part rolled and tweak swapped for decades. I build and sell cables and spend many hours listening for those fine tonal nuances as I try different wire, dialetrics, and build designs. Through all of this, and as a result of all of this, I can confidently say TC is a music lovers best friend and ally. This product and other innovations that spin off from it will become an indispensable tool in both manufacturing and in our homes. No, the owner of TC did not pay me. Actually, I tried to pass along some advice and he seemed a tad agitated with my sage advice😕 |
If the posts “seem over the top”, then perhaps the product is that good. It just may be that simple. It seems easier for some to attack the posters suggesting we, me included, are not credible, trustworthy, suspicious and not worthy in their minds. Fascinating behavior really. I am only here to help others enjoy great sound by sharing my knowledge and first hand experiences. I hope to also learn from others. I thought that was the main reason for this community? It is illogical to claim a product cannot be that good or hyped when the person saying so has never experienced it first hand. Right? This is common sense is it not?! I know folks are just trolling, but this site has evolved to a sad place. Early adopters who shared about great new products used to be thanked and then post experience comments and questions filled the thread. Today an early adopter shares and then is basically told directly and indirectly they are liars, paid cronies or just silly and stupid. In this case near universal praise has been shared by actual users and the more positive reviews that come in the more the trollers attack the judgement and character of the posters. Strange behavior indeed. Perverse in the sense that this attitude tears apart the very fabric this community was built on. There can be no real community with all the attacking of good natured early adopters simply sharing. I know several folks who won’t share their positive experiences here because they feel it is not a friendly and safe place to do so any longer. They have opted out. Just the thicker skinned remain. |
Ok I am sorry in your case. Troll like behavior is more accurate for your surprising post. Some other posters were from the T word however. No, not Wolf either. Just some newbee posters here looking to derail and agitate. I did not say it was perfect, simply one of the very best additions in our imperfect and flawed systems. You can speculate as to the degree of its sound quality improvement powers, but in the end you simply cannot know until you try. When you do I would love to read your humor infused review. As for your statement “When the praise turns into nonsense, someone has to say enough.” Again, how can you possibly judge what is nonsense from truth or anything in between without actual experience with it over the long run? I have used it in several systems and in many different pieces of gear. I have listened over time and invested real time and effort to know for myself. |
The assumed conspiracy theory would be humorous except for the fact that it is often used as a means to discredit and vilify innocent parties. It seems Agon may not be the place for the open minded assessment of cutting edge innovation. Innovation that is not understood is assumed to be an overblown hoax. At least this one and fuses fall into this category. I understand this fear and how skeptics must join together and feed and nourish this particular reality filter. The crowd conspiracy shared above also applies to the skeptics of coarse as we are all human. I guess it just comes down to different personalities and perception filters. I am good with just saying we all don’t see this thread and product the same. BTW, as an avid DIYer I have indeed tried other contact cleaner and enhancer products. Problem is this product is really not a contact enhancer/cleaner. It is much, much more. Pasting over caps, trannys, wires that are already soldered etc.. really takes the impact to another level. |
We agree that all posts should be respectful. Wether folks use it and say it is bad, good, or great is all I wish for. If owners say it is nothing special, then fine they posted real life experiences. Wether here or the fuse threads I just tire of the posts saying hoax and scam without these folks even trying the product. I can’t get my small mind around how folks with no direct product experience can judge another’s experience. I for one just want more user experiences and really don’t care where the review of it falls. I have no reason to think or want all the reviews to be positive. It would be nice if non-owners would cease saying I am overblown, influenced by others, have a vested interest or some other reason for my review of the product. |
I am a mere enthusiast. Look at my posting and review history plus feedback. Easy to see I post on a myriad of different topics and am a long time member. Best way to try the product is to spend $75 with three other people and pass around the paste. Paste a few simple connections. Give it a couple of days and if you like what you hear then go for a full purchase and paste your entire system for even more fantastic results. In crossovers paste all solder connections and bare point to point wire runs. Yes, cover all those cap and resistor leadouts. Inside speakers paste the leads exiting the voice coil to the tab connectors. Paste the tab connectors and any solder connections. Paste the solder connections at the speaker binding posts. Paste the entire post inside the speaker. Pasting just one power cord or connection will give you a taste of the SQ improvement. On its own the improvement level is like cap or tube upgrade. However, when you take the time to apply throughout your system, as outlined in many posts, well then the improvement is on the order that makes the skeptics anxious. To get to this level requires a willingness to get inside gear, speakers, outlets etc...Simple to do but does take time. Enjoy! |