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
oregonpapa

Showing 4 responses by willgolf

This was an extremely painful thread to read.  It was like listening to the Democrats and Republicans in Congress.  I have an open mind as I did when I purchased various fuses.  I really think upgraded fuses helped my high end system just like upgrading my power cords.  If you are a naysayer and an audiophile, I have to believe $300 is not going to break the bank.  If it will you are probably not an audiophile and tweaks in sound improvement shouldn't even be discussed.  I have wasted $300 on many things in life.  If I can improve my system for $300 then i will give it a try.  If it doesn't improve, I just move on to something else.  Currently, I have been testing various power tubes for my Raven Amp.  It is fun to hear the subtle differences amongst the different tubes.  

Based on what I read, I will apple the substance to all component fuses and speaker connectors and the male end of the power cables.  I assume I do not have to take them apart.  If I do then this is not for me.  I am hesitant about applying to the tubes in my amp.  It is already hard to take the tubes in and out and I don't want grease anywhere near my amp.  I am not sure where you would apply the solution to the actual wall socket which is already an upgrade.  In my theater room, I have an Laser Epson 10000 projector.  Are you saying that it will improve the picture quality of the projector if I apply to the power connector?   Based on what Frank said, I can brush the solution on and not have to wait until it dries or cures before plugging back in or connecting.  Am I missing anything?  
Going on 4 weeks.  I think it is hard if you have high end components to hear major differences.  I have said that about fuses and now TC.  I ordered a custom set of Sonus Faber Amati Tradition speakers about 3 months ago.  The dealer gave me a brand new pair to listen to while my speakers were being built.  I had treated all of my plugs and  RCA cables.  I am not sure I really heard an upgrade in quality.  The borrowed speakers were broken in and sounded great.  My new speakers came in and I hooked up the system.  It sounded lifeless...meaning they were not broken in yet.  I was bummed.  I had not treated the speaker cables yet.  I treated the bare wire and the spade.  As soon as I turned it back on my speakers came to life.  So, despite my reservations, I did hear an improvement and I suspect it will get a lot better once the speakers break in a little.
I have also treated all of the components of my theater room including my Epsom 10500 projector and 75 inch TV.  I can honestly say I have not experienced an improvement in picture quality.  I was hoping to see a change. 
 I have not treated the tubes of my Raven integrated amp.  I did treat the Blue fuse and Power cord.  I just am not comfortable doing the tubes.  
Finally, I called Tom on a Sunday Afternoon and he spent a lot of time with me teaching my how to apply and what I could use it on.  I was impressed that he took the time.  
Was it worth the $300.  Yes.  I just spent 5 figures on a new media server and I know I won't realize the kind of upgrade in performance of my two channel system as I did with TC for $300.
I have pasted everything except my tubes for my Raven integrated tube amp.  My results are noticeable.  I have been nervous about pasting the pins to the tubes to my amp.  I don't know why other than I have a high end amp.  Can people tell me about your experiences with pasting the pins on the tubes?  Did you hear a further improvement in sound?  How much of the pin did you paste?  Did you have ANY problems at all from pasting the tubes?
After much intrepidation, I finally pasted the pins on my Raven Tube amp.  I found the clarity of vocals and instrumentation to be be improved immediately after pasting.  My next upgrade is a Laufner Teknik Memory player.  If the sound improves even more I have my dream system.