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.
Graphene is the most impermeable material discovered. Helium atoms can’t even get through graphene. Graphene conducts electricity much better than copper. Graphene’s current density is 1,000,000 times greater than copper and its intrinsic mobility is 1,000 times more conductive than silicon.Aug 26, 2013
I don’t even have to bring up the issue of micro arcing. Which is why it’s a good idea to treat all non audio power plugs 🔌 . You know, refrigerators, computers, lamps, perhaps light bulbs, too. 💡
Glad you’re liking it sgordon1. Don’t forget that it’s very conductive, and do consider insulation for certain cable applications. Clear shrink tubing?
1. I used the Caig prpducts for years. I just applied the TC on the connections without cleaning them first. They were already cleaned by using the Caig products.
2. There is enough paste in each tube to treat two large systems. If you really get into it and discover more effective places to paste like a lot of us have, you'll need more than one tube.
3. Apply to all cable connections. I even pasted my phono cartridge pins. Use your imagination. And ... read this entire thread. There's tons of info to be had here.
oregonpapa, If I have already apply Caig DeoxIt and Progold on my connections, do I have to remove it with alcool, or if I can reapply over, Total Contact
Enhancer ? Would I have enough product to treat all of a stereo system: Turntable; Phono pramp; CD; Preamp; Power amp; (2) speakers; Ac Cable; IC cable ? Which would add better inprovements AC cable or IC Cable ? Thank you
Last week I was getting my trusty LP12 tuned up by my long time dealer/friend. He got done and we played a few LP cuts to fine tune my speaker placement. A tweak to toe end and all was spot on.
I asked him I he had tie to listen to a couple of songs on a cd from a artist we both like. He agreed. Though mostly retired he is always ready to go tune up another Hi-Fi. We played the two short cuts and an hour later and two discs later he said that the bass was way better than what he gets out of his, identical to mine, Opus 21 player. He had not heard it since I placed the mat and e-cards on and over the power chord connection, umbilical and interconnect connections to the preamp, a couple of months ago. I showed him what I had done since he last heard it. The reaction was of a subtle dis belief. He had to go and no more was said. He called me the next morning and congratulated me on the sound of my Hi-Fi. In the thirty-eight years that I have known him that has never happened. He has seen and heard it all. I think I will loan him a couple of e-cards to play with.
I also treated my Active Grounding Block AC cable yesterday. Totally 100% end to end, tightly wound with liberally coated, 40mm cut strips. Then Insulated both termination plugs.
Ordered the fo.QTA-32 tape today. I will be trying it with the Total Contact on the Synergistic Research Grounding Block and connecting wires. David Pritchard
My latest tip for Total Contact : If you have run out of things to do with your remaining Total Contact, and if you don’t want to waste the leftover by letting it dry out in the syringe over the next 6 months, do this :
Get some fo.Q TA-32 tape via eBay. Lightly brush all the tape with the remaining TC. Spread it very thin. Now you can use and re-use the tape on any cable terminations etc. in future, and the TC won’t be wasted.
TC is very, very effective when applied to fo.Q and wrapped around cable terminations.
Call me late to the party, but I have found another fantastic use for TC which I don’t think has really been covered here. Someone earlier mentioned pasting the glass of signal tubes. I did that a couple of weeks ago, and the result was great. I applied a reasonably full coating, in hindsight probably thicker than I needed to. I did not do the power tubes - until today.
This morning I applied a micro-thin coating to each EL34 power tube, all over the glass. You can’t even see the coating, it’s so thin. For each of my 16 EL34’s I used maybe a pinhead size morsel of TC, and brushed that tiny smidgen all over the glass until it disappeared. Amazing! Truly amazing results. If you haven’t done this already, maybe you should. I don’t think it can harm the tubes, mine seem perfectly ok after 10 hours running full steam. As I said, a incredibly tiny amount does the job. It’s a lot safer than doing the tube pins, and the results are...well try it. If you don’t like it, wipe it off. The tiny amount used for the whole amp costs maybe 2 or 3 dollars at most.
Yes I have tried the fo.Q turntable mat, and some of the fo.Q carbon fibre/piezoelectric damping footers. I was not overly impressed with either product. They were good but not amazing, in my system. By way of contrast, TA-32 tape lightly brushed with TC is totally insane on cable terminations.
I forgot to mention that you should apply fo.Q and TC to the terminations at both ends of the grounding cable. This applies to SR cables with grounding connections especially.
A tip for anyone who has an SR active grounding block (should work on the passive block as well). As well as pasting the pins as you normally would, tightly wrap all the HR grounding cable terminations with TA-32 fo.Q tape, then thinly paste the entire outside of the tape with Total Contact. Then paste the copper grounding strip all over. After doing this, the fine grain resolution in your system should be hugely improved. Mine sure is! The effect of doing it this way is multiple times better than just pasting the grounding pins. Pasting the tape is the essential step. The tape can be removed if you don’t like the effect. Which I simply can’t imagine.
So, ive had a week off work and ive managed to paste a good deal more of my system.
inside the amp ive done all the tops of the round caps and the top of an R core transistor. I could not find any fuses that i would readily recognise. I didnt do the DACs yet.
opened up my Rel stentor III. This is old school circuit board with lots of space. Painted all the caps on top, fuses, all the larger solder joints and any power connections and connections to the driver as well as the fuse in the IEC and then i painted the flat plate and bolt on the large torroid transformer. Pasted the input RCA and a shorting plug that I put in the unused RCA. finally the pins in the IEC. Then i taped 2 alpha cards to the amp chasis either side of the torroid transformer bolt.
i use a cisco network switch, pasted round caps, IEC and placed an alpha card over the top of the power section of the switch. I grounded the chasis to my power block and pasted that connection.
i have this Russ Andrews passive power conditioner called an ultra purifier, pasted bare wires and solder inside looks like 2 very large caps in there but they and most of the components are covered in a black rubberised plastic so left it there.
ive now done all my power leads plug connections including fuses and my double power outlet at the wall including a good pasting to the inside of the metal casing that houses the socket and an earth connection.
ive also invested in some Townshend speaker bars to isolate my speakers and stands and ive put some stillpoints ultra SS under the sub.
My amp, power bar , switch and apple Tv are all on black ravioli mk 1 pads stacked on to oak cones , additionally the amp sits on a granite chopping board and that sits on a partially inflated wheel barrow inner tube 😉.
ive got to say that the system is sounding very good now , the addition of the townshends and stillpoints and the extra pastings have really taken the soundstage to a different level the details coming out of familiar tracks in some cases is like listening to a remix. The best bit is the tone and musicailty of the system it just feels like its spot on for tone and timing and the soundstage is embracing now its all around the room, not holographic in my case more like a wall of sound with some effects to the side and behind me. I think if i had different speaker cables I would get more holographic sound staging, however I like it as it is anyway. Got to say that sitting inside the soundstage is actually a little wierd at first almost disconcerting , like travel sickness , but now that Im used to it I really love it.
ive got about 70% of my paste left and ive not put any in my consumer unit yet.. i need to get an electrician in to fit a switch between my meter and the consumer unit so that I can work on it.
ive also managed to paste my patch cables i just pasted then removed from the plastic by carefully wiping away.
very happy customer here Tim thanks 🙏🏼 and i know there is more in the tank so to speak.
Getting a noticable improvement tonight from my pasting efforts on Sunday.
Also i opened up the mojo and painted the 2 caps and the top of the DAC chip yesterday. I wasnt sure what the Op-amp chip looked like , would have thought it was fairly simple , i stayed clear of the big chip with all the inputs on 4 sides for fear of shorting those...
System is sounding very nice this weekend. Decided I better get pasting. I have a 6 gang clearer audio copperline mains gang. Opened it up, its star wired did all the connections plus the plug and fuse on the end and 2 power cords. That took me 2 albums to finish. Still a good bit to do with the total contact, i will get on to the sockets at some point , will pull the old stentor iii out at the same time and do some stuff inside
I want to know if I can paint HDMI and patch cables ? If so how is the best way to go about it ?
Got to see Leyla McCalla in London on Thursday, what a treat that was only 200 seats and we were 3rd row. No keyboards or brass but still managed to get a very good rendition of most of the latest album as the guitarist would play the melody. Must see more live music , just booked another up and coming American band on a tour here in November, the Delines from Portland great couple of albums I play them every week at least once each.
I also have a Chord Mojo headphone portable DAC. It is a little tricky to open up and close but I did it. I pasted the big opamp and the capacitors with Total Contact and it does make a difference. I put an Alpha Card on the I- Phone 6 which I have attached to the Mojo. David Pritchard
My system is definitely lower noise and more musical. Need to paste more bits but not had the time yet. I think I could experiment with mat and card placement and orientation to get a bit better too.
I have 1 alpha card in my chord mojo dac. It doesn't quite fit in the case snuggly but I can close it. There is a very noticeable improvement in SQ on the headphones with it. Just streaming you tube at work into senheiser 700s. I wonder what I can paste in the mojo or headphones ?
Looking forward to your results. Please post them here. Thanks ...
We are about six weeks out from pasting the circuit breaker box. There was a major breakthrough in clarity two nights ago.
In addition to pasting the circuit breaker box, I also pasted the inside of each (2) receptacle covers and replaced them. Got a nice improvement there also.
Then, I replaced all of the Cardas "dust covers" in the unused RCA female jacks behind the CD player and line stage with the new PPT covers. At $10 each, they are a reasonably priced tweak that gave more improvement yet.
Its getting kind of freaky around here. I have a cool recording of Beethoven's 5th played entirely on classical guitar by an exceptional guitarist. The tones, speed, and decay are right on.
Ive just started my perfect path journey, pasted my speaker crossovers and connections to the drivers and speaker cable. Put 1 alpha card in front of the crossover stuck to the foam. Tested and the speakers still work thankfully (first time inside a speaker cabinet). Ive got an e mat under my amp which is also my main source for streaming spotify. Emat outside the breaker box. Aplha cards on modem , network switch , apple TV and 2 currently stuck near the subwoofer heatsink but will put them inside when i get brave, maybe tomorrow. To late for critcal listening tonight....
The results from the circuit box TC pasting two weeks ago continue to improve the SQ. These PPT products are all about lowering noise and letting the music flow. The system is to the point now that it’s getting scary. *lol*
This was dug out of the CD vault last night. It’s a wonderful recording with super realism. Demo quality, really.
Robert Bonfiglio is a world premier Chromonica and harmonica player. This CD is a live event recorded at the Grand Canyon and is the music of the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhart. Lots of great jazz and blues. Highly recommended.
One last point, I don't know how my name got dragged into this forum conversation, very seldom in fact it's been years since I have posted anything on this site, simply because of the untruths and BS. However I am a realist and pride myself on integrity to the fullest. I must say that when I hear something that's worth talking about, I don't keep my mouth shut. I was very impressed with what I heard so take it for what it's worth. The PPT or Total Contact will be used in my system. No doubt about it. Once I get a taste in my system, I will report back in a few my observations. Happy Listening.
I was a bit skeptical about the Perfect Path Tech (PPT) when I first heard about it last year. However upon paying a visit to Mike Girardi house to listen to his system I am now a firm believer in the PPT revolution. Mikes system was off the chain, if you read his review on StereoTimes, he is spot on with his observations and feedback. To be certain I could mimic and vouch for everything he wrote. The system sounded real, with zero compression and very holographic throughout. I was amazed how the keyboards from Keith Jarrett played on the album Tokyo 96, it was just like being there. His room was decked out with PPT mats, etc, and Synergistic Research throughout. But back to the music. As he played song after song, I realized I am now a fan of the PPT revolution. His system is the real deal. I will start slow with my system and work from there. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. As I read through this forum, I notice a bunch of skepticism and doubt. To this I say your loss. All you naysayers have no idea of what you're talking about. What Mike has written about in his review is spot on.
@stray_cat If a system makes all music sound in room it means the lower level reverb and highs have been removed or obscured, in addition to the distortion. An uncolored system will reproduce both low level and high level reverb. I don't have a problem with people liking this sound, but it's a coloration. You're welcome to like what you like. The coloration just makes these products unwise to use in mixing & mastering. It's sad that many professional reviewers can't understand & explain the difference.
@mikeg Thank you for proving my point! You are putting your words and opinion in Moreno Mitchell’s mouth. That is called conjecture. Even anything he states to you could be untruthful, but at least you could then quote his exact words. I’ve seen multiple of the biggest names in reviewing tell another reviewer how good his system sounded & then admit to me about the flaws. Moreno Mitchell can go on the record in print or the forum if he so wishes to provide his opinion.
Update, I have discovered that one gets more top end air with Cap'n Crunch with the Crunch berries. By comparison in the test group are Post Toasties and Sugar Pops and regular Cap"n Crunch. The box top with Sugar Pops Pete on it provides more low end grunt IMO. I have heard he was always a bass man.
Ah, the defender of the faithful rises from the depths. I applied liberally to cereal boxtops and got the same effect as E mats. <3. The Mad Scientist lube that is. Any help there? <3. Noise floor dropping and I could swear I can hear another full octave. Imagine if i had used Total Contact lube?
So, obviously, you have tried both products and made an in-depth comparison. What were your results? Can you describe the differences?
There are those who in the past have elected to use the Mad Scientist's product thinking it was the same as Total Contact. Haven't heard back from them as yet though. Hopefully, you can be of help.
jay23, Having lived with TC on most, if not all my external connections a few months now, I *sense* that it actually minimizes colorations in that chain allowing me to get closer to the truth. When a replacement piece of gear is a real upgrade or is a better fit, it just stays. I'm compelled to use it whenever I break a connection and plan on getting inside components to treat *all* connections. If anyone has gotten inside a Node2 please post how lol.
I'm 100% sure, like most complicated systems, more than one leg of wire or piece isn't absolutely neutral.
What colorations have you identified in TC, and did you resolve them?
jay23, coincidently, Moreno Mitchell was over yesterday to hear my system, since he was in a hurry previously, the first time, he drove out to my house to deliver speakers. He lives about 3 hours away and if was wasn’t impressed the first time when he heard my system, I don’t think he would have driven over a second time to hear my system. Why don't you seek your fulfillment else where and inhabit some other thread.
Yes, a "real" reviewer. One that has to "name drop" to try and support his reviews of questionable products.
"To confirm this wasn’t the placebo affect at work here, I repeated the same test with my 17-year-old son (first chair saxophone in his high school band) located in my system’s sweet spot. My son agreed with me on all points listed above." http://www.stereotimes.com/acc020813.shtml
"Four weeks after my 'AC panel service' was completed, I hosted a local audiophile friend, who is highly discerning when it comes to music reproduction and system set-up and hadn’t heard my system since applying TC."
"Recently, Moreno Mitchell, a fellow Stereotimes reviewer, dropped in and heard my fully-treated PerfectPath system....."
I don't question that the pTP products can change the sound or reduce noise. I don't care for colored products that roll off the highs along with the distortion. I don't have a problem with people liking colored products that sound like the artists are in the room.
Thanks goodness a 'real' reviewer is reporting the same audible improvements as us delusional gullible slubs. Will the skeptic's be tempted to make the plunge and report back in they were wrong?
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