New Tweak --- Its Fantastic
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
Hello Guys, Its been about 2 weeks since I applied the TC. Very good improvement. Certainly the best contact enhancer that I have tried. Up until now, the improvements have been very linear. Pretty much day by day. Will this be the case between now and the 4 and 8 week milestones, or will there stability for a time, followed by a jump in performance? If I change components, do I have to reapply to a cable that has already been treated? Thank you for a great product. Mas |
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I had just a little bit of TC left, so I pasted all of the connections that I could find in my little computer system with TC yesterday. Its just a PC desktop using Audioengine 2A+ speakers. For the Grado headphones, I use the Audioengine DAC. The improvement was significant, especially in the area of imaging and instrument tone. This was the first program I played ... just a simple competition featuring children around ten years old that play like they are thirty. What a gift! Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbzK5KVOmS4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDJdh13gHrE&list=RDLbzK5KVOmS4&index=9 Frank |
I started a thread about my experience with TC and the High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5 Waveguide, for anyone who is interested: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/high-fidelity-cables-mc-0-5-waveguide-and-total-contact |
I just hit the 8 week mark yesterday. I sat down and listened to some of my favorite music and it was just awesome. It had been about a week since my last chance to listen but everything did seem even better. One thing I have gradually noticed is that the bass not only gets deeper, but the detail in the bass is amazing. Hotel California has some deep detailed bass that I was never really hearing before I applied tc. Soundstage is greatly improved and the new background details were giving me goose bumps. It was really emotional that my system was sounding this good. And to think I almost gave up on my speakers and now they sound just unreal. The musical presentation is more powerful, producing more meat on the bones, There is a more focus and the sound is just much more clean now then ever before. Needless to say I am very happy with my purchase of tc |
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. 😀
This will keep me going for a week I think. Nice one geoffkait. |
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! |
amg56 My apologies to you and to anyone in any Country that has not been able to purchase the product! This has been a on going problem here since day one. I have emailed and talked directly to support. Seems to be fixed then, not. This site is nothing more then a launch pad, for a small one man operation trying to turn a dream into reality. Website and Amazon roll out will happen, however a key piece of machinery is my next top priority. Please keep in mind I also run another business. In the morning I will modify my ad with my email, if you can not purchase, email me directly and I will get you taken care of. We are very friendly when shipping to other countries. I WILL ALSO SPLIT THE SHIPPING WITH ANYONE PURCHASING OUTSIDE THE US UNTIL I ROLL OUT A WEBSITE OR AMAZON. |
@oregonpapa Apologies for my previous post. I am having a hard time and with no relief I used this forum and you, TC and fuses to "blow my fuse". I was rude and there is no excuse for that. Please accept my apologies. We (Aus) cannot access TC through the link provided which is a shame. I have read the link from its inception to end and all the gushing reports of success. It would be nice if someone in my hemisphere were able to try it, just so it can be proven that it works upside down. :) To the other posters, apologies too. Adrian |
Geeze, first you complain that the thread is an encyclopedia of texts, then you ask if I'm on commission. Why the complaint about the length of the text when you haven't read it? Obviously you haven't read it because the snarky question about commissions and employment has already been covered here. You're a bit late to the game pal.
Again, read the thread in it's entirety. You'll find that some of those who have tried TC are saying that we've understated how good the product is. Not available to friends in Australia? Did you order the product? And so far, our "friends" in Australia haven't really been that "friendly." Something in the water down under?
You can give yourself a break. Is anyone twisting your arm to participate here? Frank |
Wow, the thread on Black-Blue Fuses and TC magic graphene goo takes up nearly an encyclopaedia of texts! If both are so good why are they NOT available to "friends", the Aussies Why are these products not used, in general, all HiFi-or at least in the high end, in components, cable maker connectors, or available to anyone who buys HiFi at a shop At AUD$400 for TC you have to be kidding! Tim is going to be the darling of silicon valley and all telecommunication/computing uses, and is going to be a multi-millionaire very shortly, if not already. Oregonpapa, are you on a commission for TC and Blue Fuses? Boy, give us a break! |
sonti ... You can order it through Audiogon. Here's the link: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis8hhdd-perfect-path-technologies-total-contact-electrical-contac... As you can see via the reviews here, its an amazing product that just keeps on giving. :>) Frank |
Bob, Your experience is similar to mine. I thought my main system was resolving and very musical after tweaking and upgrading for two years. Then I stumbled onto the TC foum and like you, I was enjoying more of best of what my system had to offer, right out of the tube. It should be a fun ride. I look forward hearing the progress of your system in the coming weeks. Have fun, rc |
Dorkwad (Bob) ...
I did the same at Tim’s suggestion. The improvement was huge! I’d say that of all the applications of TC that I’ve tried, it was the most positive improvement yet. I've gotta say ... Tim Mrock is really on to something special here. Amazing product and well worth the asking price. Frank |
Finally, time to chip in to this discussion. I’ve had an audio plan that has taken about 5 years to finally come together where I love the sound my components along with cables are putting out. That part is now done unless something breaks. A friend of mine had extra TC left over from his system and let me use part of it. I felt pretty confident that all changes were now done so it was time to do a little painting of the connectors. I did my WHOLE system at once taking about 5-6 hours. Figure there was over 210 contacts to paint if you count the individual pins on tubes. I did the tube pins, fuse ends, RCA pins, IEC blades, AC plugs, banana plugs, spade lugs, and the screens covering my ribbon tweeters along with the plastic jackets that cover the bananas--Tim said this would make a nice difference. After pulling all my components from my Sistrum racks, painting, and replacing them in the rack again, I was beat and just relaxed the rest of the evening. Today, I gave it 30 minutes to warm up and then listened. Already, there was more definition, more precise images, and the biggest change so far, more articulate and powerful bass. I purposely listened to some very mediocre sounding albums to see if I was gaining or losing the desire to listen to MORE music. The answer, so far is gaining. EVERYTHING sounds more involving. After about 5 whole albums, I put on a couple that are excellent recordings. They were spectacular. It’s going to be a fun ride to the 4 week and then 8 week jumps in performance. And Tim says there will be gains for up to 1 year. And I now have to do NOTHING to achieve these. It’s going to cost approximately $60-80 each to do out systems. How good is that? You’ll be hearing more from me fairly soon. Bob |
I finally switched out my office system’s powerstrip from a Office Depot powerstrip, with a simple Eichman powerstrip and Crimson power chord (given to me by my dealer/friend). He felt sorry for me I guess. I proceeded to treated all new and existing power chord ends with TC. I thought it would make a positive difference while suffering a major setback, since I had 10 weeks of TC curing beforehand on the Office Depot strip. However, the positive effect was way beyond what I thought possible with my office system. Now I can look forward to the 4 and 8 week TC curing period. I will report back when I reach those curing periods in the office system. This product keeps making everything better. rc |
My "panel service" was finished yesterday. An electrician and the power company met at my house at 9am. The power company opened the meter and we went to town disconnecting the utility service, removing the conductive grease, pasting the TC on the outside meter connections, and doing the same inside on my electrical panel. It took about 1.5 hours. The power company technician treated the incoming utility lines and even the meter. I went back to work afterwards. About 5 hours later, I listened to my system and played the same 6 recordings that I'm using the evaluate the TC product. All I can say in Tim's words is "WOW" ... lol. The monoblock tube amps I'm using are known to have a muted transient response as compared to my $28K reference solid state amp. I had improved it over the last five days by replacing the stock fuses with SR Blue fuses and treating all contacts on the monoblocks with TC. When I listened last night after the panel service was complete, the last hint of transient response deficiency was gone. The transient response of my tube monoblocks are now on par with the ss reference amp, I'm hearing much deeper into the recording, and the front to back layering is of a much higher density. The piano which can be a difficult instrument to accurately reproduce is fleshed out before my eyes. |
I rearranged the components in my rack on Saturday, and took the opportunity to go through and treat all the connections I hadn’t got to with TC yet (IEC sockets, female chassis RCAs, etc.) My system was sounding really good the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Flash forward to today. It has gone to a whole new level of realism and “life”. I thought I had a handle on what what TC can do, and was VERY happy with it. Now I am just dumbfounded (in a really good way). |
The audiotweak - I know one vendor at the last year's LA Audio show who used the stock tubes in his demo and when I suggested he try a certain brand/tube to elevate the SQ he brought out the identical pair he just received from the same dealer I purchased many NOS tubes from. What a coincidence. He said he was saving them for his personal use. The stock tubes did sound good though in the EAR Acute Classic. |
Show me a maker who displays their parts lists and sources for those parts on the entry door of the sound room. Do they list their preference for tubes and maker at the show and hand you a print out of the tubes in use and other parts. Both fuses and tubes are in the signal path so why would one matter and the other not? They both have a conductive filament..Fuses come well before any other device in a circuit..Fuses are maligned by some just as were power cords 20 years past. Fuses or breakers are hooked at the end of a mile long feeder cable coming into your home. An 8 gauge 5 pound power cord banging the heck out of a filament made of mostly terrible conductive material and some UFO solder how could that make an impact on anything after that fact? Would that mono filament present a bandpass or a compressive function along with noise injection on a select component on the other side? What about the differing transfer functions presented by the 3 or more materials contained in a fuse, noise may result..what about vibration of that filament? Pass labs does offer up info for all of their different output devices used in their many products for the consumer to evaluate. I know they use breakers on some of their products and thats very appealing. If a vendor is using premium select parts that are not standard to their product then that modification should be stated. Tom |
To be fair, having been invited to CES many times and having been in some of the most outstanding systems ever assembled, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that some if not many exhibitors will use every tactic they can think of to improve their sound to get the very best sound they can. Why wouldn’t they? It’s good to be King. And they wouldn’t necessarily mention whatever tweaks they use or promote them, either. I’m pretty sure the same tactics are probably applied at audio stores. Why wouldn’t they? Race cars use every trick they can possibly think of to gain an advantage. Why wouldn’t they? I even used the photos in the freezer tweak at one show. Was that wrong of me? |
Tom, If manufacturers or dealers have done this; IMHO it would be unethical if they did not inform the public or potential buyers. I like to think that the manufacturers and dealers at Axpona are Honest, hard working people who try to earn our buying $$$ the old fashioned way. They earn it; without trickery. You, theaudiotweak even suggesting this kind of activity is happening should be discounted by all members of this forum. |
Dave, I do not know what Pass amps you are using. Mine are XA 160.8s ; They have Thermal Magnetic Breakers. No Fuses. geoffkait, I will not be converting. I tried HiFi Tuning fuses (a decade ago ?) in my Spectral monos. One blew the next day at turn-on. The second mono still has the HiFi tuning fuse in it. I replaced the blown fuse with a ceramic fuse I got at Ace hardware. I have not noted a difference in sound between the amps. Fuse experiments are done. |
nkonor At the show Batman asked Superman to use his xray eyes to see inside speakers and equipment chassisez so as to reveal what fuse, glass or Gucci replacement may be hidden from sight.. He has not compiled the results ..Truly out of this universe would be a magnet treated with Total Contact. As for Total Contact in use, how would you know what it looks like after application as you seem to have never used any. How would you know if it was applied to something already plugged in? The application of TC when applied to internal circuitry can be an intensive labor of love not offered up as a standard consumer option...but maybe for a standout highly refined showpiece it could. Did you look? Tom |
Ultimatezap, I too found that eight week curing period somewhat arbritrary. However, since this material needs curing vs. break in I kid of get it. The most important thing is the results. As I have stated many times before, TC is huge bargain that is hard to beat with the quality of the improvement in sound quality. Lack sleep is also my main gripe, but that’s on us! rc |
nkonor: You have a well thought out system that shows a passion for great sound production. As an owner of Nelson Pass amplifiers, I can relate to the sound you are achieving. But I do hope you will audition the Synergistic Research Blue fuses in your amps. I did find a noticeable improvement using them in my Pass Labs INT-60 amp, the First Watt F7, and also his Headphone amp HP-1. I think you will enjoy the sonic change. David Pritchard |
No Total Contact could be found at Axpona. A lot of great sounding systems that did not need “Acoustic Spit” Vendors showing at a new venue made mostly good to great sound without resorting to “acoustic spit” You do not need fantasy fuses and acoustic spit to get great sound. At least, Not in Chicago. Just hard work and attention to setup details. That’s the way we do it here. Other takes from Axpona. Is High End Dying? The answer would be, YES ! 20-30 year old - Non Existence 30-40 year old - Only in tow with an old guy. 40-50 year old - some and only in tow with an old guy. 50-55 year old - some 55-65 year old - A LOT 65+ My group; I am still hanging in; my friends are passing younger. Those that are left; are passing in front of TV. My buddy’s comment; He has never seen so many old, white, middle class guys in one place. |
OK. I just went over the eight-week mark. I figured it was a pretty random amount of time. Eight weeks pretty much exactly and there's another benchmark? And I have to say: yep. Wow. I'm listening to Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes. I've been listening to this album for more than twenty years. And I just heard stuff that I've never heard before. Buried deep. And I caught a phrase that I'd had to consult the printed lyrics for in the past. My speakers are gone and there's just a performance going on for me. I love Tori. And Janis Ian's "Some People's Lives" right before Tori? Dear Gods, I could barely breathe. I'm waiting for news on another site (AudioCircle) about some upgrading that I want to do to my main front speakers, but damn it man, it sounds so good right now that I don't know if I really want to make the effort! Tim, my man, bully to you, fine Sir! Only negative is that I'm getting far less accomplished around the house these days. Eh, I think I'll live. |
I did my panel in steps. First the main breakers, then the bus bar and left side grounds, and finally the right side grounds. Each step was a noticeable improvement in terms of noise floor reduction. To finish my electrical panel, I have an electrician coming over to treat the mains and grounds in the panel and at the meter. In Kansas, this requires the KCP & L to open the meter. This has been quite the journey so far and Tim is a blast to work with. |
Jim ... I couldn't agree more. One of my favorite albums is a live performance by John Williams (guitarist) and Julian Bream. Prior to the Blue fuses, TC and Herbie's tube dampeners, the two performers seemed to be on top of each other. Now, they are two separate humans sitting on chairs on the stage with each voice and instrument in their own distinct places. Check it out: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Julian-Bream-and-John-Williams-Live-2-Beautiful-E-LPs/292490280735?hash=ite... Just wait until you have the entire system pasted and reach the 8 week point. Zowie! Frank |
I just want to share a few notes about my experience with TC, which I paid full price for. My system is a Equi=Core 1800/Core Power Technologies feeding everything; MacBookPro running BitPerfect and iTunes>USB Disruptor cable>Schiit Yggy (v1 and Gen5 USB)>Clarus Crimson XLR>ARC REF6>Clarus Crimson XLR+Audioquest Irish Red Sub Cable>MartinLogan BF210 sub and >ARC REF150SE>Clarus Crimson Speaker Cable or TA Gen5 Ultra>MartinLogan CLXs. The first weekend, I pasted all the power connections from the wall to the 1800 and out to all the components, except the IEC connectors on the REF6 and Yggy. I noticed an immediate drop in the noise floor, even though I had not been aware that I had a noise problem. All the music came out of a blacker black and I could hear more fine details. The second weekend I pasted the outside grounds of the USB cables, the IEC connector and XLR cables coming out of the Yggy, and the cables going into the ARC REF150SE and ML BL210 sub. There was again a noticeable improvement. After hearing Laurie Anderson perform at the Town Hall in NYC in February, I have become quite taken with her new album with the Cronus Quartet, entitled "Landfall" (44.1kHz/24bit files). What become quite clear after this second round of pasting was that the violin phrase that opens the first track, "CNN Predicts a Monster Storm", was not one violin, but very clearly two. Likewise, on other parts of this track where I thought it was one instrument, it was now clearly two (e.g., viola and cello). Beautiful music made even more captivating with TC. The third weekend, my Herbie’s tube dampers (HTDs) had arrived and I replaced all the tubes in the REF6 with new ARC tubes with HTDs, but not before pasting the tube pins. Also the IEC connector, along with all the input and output cables. Again, a clearly audible improvement was heard. The instruments in the Kronos Quartet became even more obviously separate and the human voice (including Laurie Anderson) would at times become spookily realistic. Great stuff. On the fourth weekend, I went skiing in the Canadian Rockies, but on my return last night and again tonight, the system sounds amazing. So much detail and realism. I have a few things left to paste: 1. SR Blue Fuse in REF6, once I decide proper orientation 2. Tube pins in ARC REF150SE, after installing HTDs 3. Speaker cables, once I decide which of the two are better in this system. I am traveling again this weekend, so these final touches will have to wait for week six. I would have preferred to do everything at once, that was not possible with my other responsibilities. In terms of order of magnitude of improvement of TC, I will make one comparison and that is to replacing the mains fuse of the REF6 with the SR Blue. The first week improvement of pasting the power connections had approximately twice the beneficial effect than the fuse. Everything after that has been a further improvement. So, in terms of value of Blue fuses vs. TC, TC is the clear winner. Jim |
^^^ And it seems to just get better as time goes by. The listening session tonight was incredible. The SR Blue fuse (end caps pasted with TC) is breaking in nicely in my Grover Huffman CD player, and boy the combination is amazing. We were listening to the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the realism was uncanny. The drums were most noticeable in their rightness and the bass was right there. Ramsey Lewis' piano was out of tune in all of its glory. Zowie! Frank |
Frank, My week later application of the power chords, power strip, television, and power conditioner just hit the eight week period in my main system. All I can say is that this product has done everything that was promised on cue. The music is much more dynamic at lower volume levels. The detail, top to bottom, is incredible without any hard glare. The Power of the music is also communicated with the appropriate force and tone color. Just to give a bit of perspective as to the level of improvement that took place at the 4 and 8 week curing points of the TC treatment, I think this might be helpful. The 4 week period was just as noticeable as when I installed a Shunyata “ Venum Defender” along with an Audience AU24 SE-i M Powerchord into my main system at the same time a year and 3 months ago. Further, About 6 months ago I finished breaking in an Audience AU24-SX interconnect between my amp and preamp and that was incredible. However, this last 8 week curing period was just as incredible as that experience. All this improvement came without any draw backs, save one SHORT term issue, I noticed on both systems at there 8 week break-in periods. With about 3 to 4 days left in the eight week period, the system got very bright for 3 days. I hesitated to report this since it cleared up on the office system right at the 8 week deadline. However, It has not reoccurred on the office system which passed the 8 week perriod two weeks ago. This product has proven itself in my system in an incredible way in audio terms. It won’t be coming off. I am very glad I tried it and would recommend it if the upgrade bug hits. Thanks for taking the hits while helping Tim bring this product to market. I have never participated in any kind of forum prior to this and I am glad that I did. Now I enjoy listening to music more than ever. My audio dealer/friends will surely be kept informed on my systems progress since they asked me to keep them apprised. One said after six months, another said one year. Now it’s time for me to treat the rest of my interconnects in my main system. I will keep you guys posted. Thanks, rc |
I am at 4 weeks on my tube pins in my Int. Amp and 3 weeks on the folloeing: Silnote Anniersary bi-wire speaker cables, my Teo Ultra interconnect and several SR Blue fuses. I still haven't touched my power cords though. The sound has definitely improved again over where it was two weeks ago when I last reported. I did feel that last weekend the sound may have slipped back a little. I thought I was hearing some sibilance on some of the treble area here and there. This week though a real nice increase in tonal texture and tonal density and furthering of the 3 dimensionality to the soundstage. Very happy. I can't wait to hear this system with my soon to be modded by Ric Schultz of EVS Oppo 205. |