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.
"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." Grannyring
A well-stated, well-defined observation, Grannyring. As much as we have tried to make TC understood, the cynics are hanging on to their egos, the biggest obstruction to new learning. That this thread may appear as a product promotion is only because the OP beta-tested it and published his review in the same glowing terms as any reviewer of an audio product would. It seems some folks can't handle that.
Jetter-to answer why Wolf is a troll, he has personally attacked me in this forum, denigrating my name, my heritage and I think my religion. He insults people and behaves boorishly. Besides that, his last comment on the medical danger of graphene use is comically impossible unless one ingests it through eating it or breathing floating graphene. Graphene in a binder is not going to kill you or make you sick. As stated earlier, it is being used in water desalinisation as a filter. Some experiments using graphene are being done for cancer therapy.
The Mad Scientist graphene preparation is reportedly oily or slimy and does not cure after application. I have not tried it. It may improve sound but I don't like what I heard concerning it's application characteristics. TC is based on decades old product which has been greatly improved through Tim Mrock's experimentation with several unspecified trade secrets he has added.
As to how important TC is in my audio systems, I place the Shakti Hallographs, Stillpoints and SR HFTs above it, with TC equal to the SR duplexes and fuses. That's in my systems. Taming my main music room's slap echo while eliminating unsightly acoustic treatments using the Hallographs and SR HFTs was of greatest importance. Taming mechanical resonances in my equipment was next. Altering the sound properties was third with TC and cable changes in that group, more like frequency and dynamic controls. As I stated in another forum, the room is 50% of the sound. Get that right and you can start to correct for electronic and vibration irregularities.
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.
This thread has become a kindergarten brawl on steroids. It's amazing how the gamut of personalities and interactions change little as the decades march on. One kid brings something he thinks is interesting to class to show and tell and he gets bashed by those who disagree. His friends then rally back because they too believe it to have merit. Those sitting on the sidelines either do nothing or throw in an occasional jab. Y'all need to lighten up a bit. I've followed this thread from day one, initially with skepticism that this product had any merit at all. I'm still waiting after 6 months for ONE person to step up and say they've tried this and it sucks. It won't be me. I'm guilty of sitting on sidelines and doing nothing. I'm posting now primarily because of Elizabeth's post. If it is a marketing "scheme" I'm really happy I got pulled into the vortex. I don't see this as a scheme at all quite honestly, just 2 groups of people escalating their views and no one backing down. As the rhetoric flies each side has become more defensive and aggressive. One group "experienced" and the other not. Cut to the chase, please. Two months ago I pasted my system. The results are exactly as has been previously described-awesome. In particular, Elizabeth, my cd's which I had largely abandoned years ago in favor of vinyl now sound nearly as good, and in some instances better than my vinyl rig. I've had my Meridian 508 for many years now and the change is anything but subtle. The improvement was so profound I have played more cds in the last 3 weeks than the last 5 years put together. As others have noted earlier the digital improvement is much more than I've noted on the analogue side. THIS also is being honest. I have no dog in this fight. I will now return to wallflower mode. Now, everyone try to play nicely.
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.
All, although up to now and may be every now and then, I will add a post. I am NOT a Troll or a newbee. I did not denigrate the product. I asked about it's apparent allowance regarding advertising on the Forum. As it stands I stand corrected as this has been allowed to continue. I have no further problem.
I do have a problem with the various comments which went very personal. None of my comments were personal, they were to the allowance and practice of posting product on the in a thread. I have discussed this with the Administrators and understand their oversight of the forum a lot better.
I have watched, read and have learnt about the American psyche from the thread "Do you think U.S. Tariffs on Aluminum and Steel will affect domestic audio manufacturing?"
The topic of the thread has ranged right around politics, both past and present, and why the US is where it is today. But I must say, the US is not alone in the degeneration of society (and politics) in general. But it did allow me to see into the lives and opinions of the various posters, so I can understand what is happening (in general terms) to peoples lives over there.
Additionally, to get some pretty nasty people off my back, Lord knows I have enough going on in my life, I am NOT against TC as a product or against Tim or Oreganpapa or any other supporter, or not.
Tim knows I have said I will buy the product when my new house is built and my new system is ready to be put together. Nearly all of you were pretty disgusted with my previous posts on this thread. however, no one said negative posts were not allowed.
But please, leave personal issues out of the posts. The threads and posts are about opinion on a subject, not directly of people. I have been and remain very timid about posting my knowledge again on this Forum.
In the above mentioned forum one post mentions the increase in mid life suicide or suicide at any age. It is a huge social problem brought on by the apparent view that there is no future in their own lives and they are so mentally beaten down, this is the final resort to stop the hurting.
I personally know that black hole, and I have saved my own daughter several times from it. She spent months on a psychiatric hospital and was finally diagnosed with BPD (for those that don't know it, look it up). She is married with 2 girls. She is 30 years old, so mental illness is not relegated to any age group. Hopelessness can effect anyone at any age.
I am not writing this for sympathy, but to state my position in all of this.
"If the posts “seem over the top”, then perhaps the product is that good." Grannyring
Yes, TC IS that good. We have believed that our high-quality, over-sized connections of gold and rhodium plating were top notch. Materials science has now shown us that connections can be made even more conductive, so much so, that anyone who has connected up various components into a "system" will benefit from TC. We put so much into separating functions out, e.g. transports, DACs, pre-amps, phono stages, mono blocks, power supplies, subs, speakers, and then we put a lot into bringing them all back together, but there is a sound degradation in that, as well. TC is meant for the home system, where pieces are not often unmated, where connections can be made more seamless for a more integral soundscape, and this is the result I am hearing with TC.
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.
Finally got around to treating all my terminals and interconnects with Kontak cleaner and then cardas contact conditioner. Very happy with the results. All the usually improvements for $60 and 30 minutes of my time. Also noticed that had to turn down gain of amp for same previous volume. Have you TC users noticed that too? Looking forward to trying TC someday.
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.
Apparently, sharing your actual positive experience with an audio product, and saying it does what it claims to, is not legitimate “discussion” on an audio forum. Especially when someone, who has zero experience with the product, somehow “knows” that it’s all hype, or “over the top”.
Using a forum as your "telemarketing outlet" is sleazy and wrong, and that's my main beef. As to Fleshler's odd comment, I've never left the forum for any particular reason except maybe for an internet free vacation. Note again that if you think about what connections in an audio component pile are doing, and if the signal is getting through to you somehow due to gold connectors or any other reliable plugs or spades or whatever, you likely don't need to enrich some paranoid and tasteless stranger by spending 300 bucks on this stuff. Micro arcing is something that nobody should worry about, and outside of this thread I doubt anybody does...the hyperbole oversells this product for obvious reasons, the salesmen who rave about it are clearly thin skinned and paranoid about the possibility the money stream could be slowed somehow, and deeply concerned that perhaps some individuals could criticize their motives and "fabulous" reporting, and on it goes. I don't care if personal attacks are aimed at me as I can take it, but if TC is ever to be taken seriously I suggest Tim Mrock simply man up and do real marketing instead of relying on fanboys and magic tweak addicts...and let the forums be for discussion.
Well Frank, the reason I make the post is because that’s what the forum is for. You’re putting your thoughts here, and I’m telling you what I think. Maybe you only want people to post that agree with you that TC is really fantastic. If you don’t buy into the TC cult, go away because you don’t have a clue about our goo. Maybe if the hype wasn’t so over the top... ok I’ll go away post-wise. But I’ll keep watching cause you guys are really funny
Even as consevative as I have been in the application of TC, it is quite stunning that the amount of sonic gains that can be achieved with such a minimal investment. My biggest gain in SQ has been in my digital front ends. I never thought that I could sit through an entire cd or my computer based office system and listen to two or three songs without getting tired of it. I have been a vinyl lover for about forty years, but after upgrades to interconnects, power distribution and the TC application, I now enjoy digital as much as my vinyl front end. I did not ever think that could ever happen. I just wanted it to be more bearable.
Now after these upgrades I am so impressed with the removal of the digital glare from my system, that I am seriously looking at a reasonably priced server and dac.
Hard to believe 56 people actually bought this stuff.
Of those who have bought it, a number of them have shared their TC with friends, so the number of people using it exceeds the 56. I know that I've shared mine with two other friends so far. As of this date, I haven't heard anyone complaining ... except of course those who haven't used it, haven't seen it and haven't heard the results.
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😕
I am tired of wasting my time reading posts about whether a product can possibly work, or how stupid people are for buying it, or whether it is being advertised, etc. I am very, very interested in reading posts about how to get better sound from my system, usually from someone who has already tried a product, or made a comparison between products. There is a lot of collective experience, knowledge and intelligence here that i value and want to tap into.
Right now, both types of posts are intermingled in a given thread. I'm not just talking about this thread, but this phenomena is very common here on Audiogon.
I propose that we as Audiogon members separate out the two types of posts into two separate threads, and if a post is off-topic, it is flagged and deleted by the mods. E.g.,
New Tweak --- Its Fantastic: Discussion on sonic effects and uses
New Tweak --- Its Fantastic: Discussion on topics other than
sonic effects and uses
That way all the voices can speak and be heard, but those of us that have productive things to do to help society, but want to come home at the end of the day and listen to great music reproduced at a high level, don't have to wade through the BS.
@jetter Smaller quantity, yes it has been requested several times. It is under serious consideration. As far as your system not being resolving enough, I will share this with you. I have been recently working with a top manufacture, who has been implementing TC into one their top tier pieces of equipment during construction.
The manufacturer called me a few weeks ago, and shared as a experiment he went to Best Buy and purchased a $199 Sony receiver. He went through it, mechanical connections, painted cap tops, fuse. I think he said he spent about a hour or so inside. He was very taken back as to the sound. Same type of relaxed organic sound signature that you get with better components.
To be clear, I am not saying that if I had a fine, highly resolving system like many here, that I would not hear the difference and love the product. My system is just not resolving enough at this time for me to worry about my connections. I do believe that when Tim recoups his investment and if he can lower the price a bit that sales will dramatically increase. A lower price, even if for a smaller volume of product, has been requested by a number of the posters.
I just hope this advertisement thread keeps going. It has to be the dumbest thing I ever saw on this forum. The magical gunk is being attacked and defended ferociously and I can’t stop reading it. Very amusing. Hard to believe 56 people actually bought this stuff.
I agree with jitter. Why go after Wolfie? He’s too easy a Target. 🎯 If you’re going to pick on someone pick on someone your own size. Besides, we don’t really know why Wolfie behaves as he does. For all we know Wolfie was in a bad motorcycle accident.
Hi fleschler, I don’t understand why you need to talk so negatively about Wolf and the "other slanderous trolls", he seems like a experienced and honest person. To judge someone by their view of a material object seems closed minded.
I guess another way to look at it is that viewing the TC A’gon sales ad, if I understand it correctly, 56 vials of the product has been sold as of now. Yet there have been over 80,000 views and 2,000 posts on this thread. So it appears that some of the 56 people who bought the product are repeating themselves, and are not really convincing many others to buy the product. The majority of viewers and posters appear to not care enough about micro arching to spend $300 on it, not unlike Wolf.
And for the record, I hope Tim and TC continued success, but what you 56 people think about anyone on this forum who is expressing their opinion is not relevant, that is why this forum exists. Just one person's opinion.
I think Wolf left the forum for a while when other slanderous trolls inhabited it earlier this year. Now he's back and their gone (or just gleefully enjoying him). Who would want to know a person with his attitude? Only others like him might tolerate him. He spews invective against a product he hasn't tried and claims absurd medical "facts" that are blatantly untrue. Yech!
What surprised me was a facebook video of the use of a graphene web filter system for water purification. It is being tested for use in impoverished areas whereby filtering seawater is instantly made into fresh, potable water without using a pressure system such as reverse osmosis. Engineers are thinking that graphene can be used without adverse health effect. Interesting. https://www.nature.com/articles/am2017135 There are many other references one can google too.
Yeah, no one has felt pressured to purchase TC. The decisions to buy have been based on users' testimonies. What we have from the chief accusers here are a big pile of failing complaints.
I was thinking about pasting my entire head and the inside of my mouth and throat with TC in order to think and speak more clearly, but now that Wolfie has done the research I think I'll just stick with the electrical connections.
" And to be specific regarding "not caring" about the fanboy responses, it was clearly said in the context of my opposition to using a discussion forum for an inappropriate hard sell opportunity led by you, Frank."
Dude, you wouldn’t know a true "hard sell" if it hit you upside the head. A truly skilled salesperson can apply so much "pressure" in a sales situation that blood streams down the walls. As the prospects leave, their final comment to the salesperson is ... "Do you know what we like about doing business with you? ... You are so calm and low pressure. Thanks for helping us make the right decision."
I don’t expect you to believe the above Wolfie ... but its coming from someone with 50 years of experience in the selling field. I’ve seen ’em come ... and I’ve seen ’em go. :-)
“Andrew Maynard, *Director of the Risk Science Center at the University of Michigan* is not entirely convinced that there is an issue. “Donaldson’s work certainly demonstrates the potential for graphene flakes to present a health risk if they are able to be inhaled and enter the lungs, or penetrate to the region surrounding the lungs. But that is a big ‘if’,” he told Materials Today. Pharyngeal aspiration delivers particles – or platelets flakes – to the lungs within liquid droplets and the droplets determine where the material is deposited. “This allows early experimentation on what could occur if the material could enter the lungs under handling and use,” Maynard adds. “But it doesn’t provide information on the plausibility of exposure occurring.” We do not yet know whether graphene flakes can become airborne and inhaled in a form that is dangerous during use.” Questions concerning health risks – while important – remain speculative,” Maynard says.”
Whoa! Perfectpathtech, methinks you need to develop a sense of humor and thicker skin. This thread is becoming a little bit unglued. Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot. Great come back, by the way. Ouch!
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