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.
My experience with the treatment of my CD player has had the same effect on my vinyl habits as well. As reported a while back, it is amazing how much more organic the silver disc’s have become.
With my hearing restored, I am amazed how much more 3D it sounds now without any negatives. I will post when the 8 week time comes.
I was wary as well. But I am glad I did purchase and applied the product. The four week curing/breakin period did come with a nice focus and overall clarity. I am coming up on the eight week time frame and so far I have not had any negative things to report. Now with my hearing back I can settle in for the official, to the day, eight week curing on my main system. leading up to the eight weeks, the clarity and 3D qualities that have been discussed by others are real to me.
I look forward to learn what your findings are.
Geoffkait,
I was too sick sick and too busy to mess with any other tweaking so I will and have been reporting strictly on the TC application as the only variable.
Further, I would like learn if you have any luck with the ribbon interconnects. I have those too between my DNM Amp and Pre amp and their respective power supplies. You first!
Received TC yesterday and spent almost 4 hours pasting 10 power cables, 5 pairs ICs, 1 digital coaxial cable and 1 umbilecord power cord. And 8 small tubes and 16 el34 powé tube pins. I didn’t wanted to do some and wait for weeks, so I did them all at once.
I’m writing down few notes here for myself and for boys and gals here who has interest in TC. And see if that 4th and 8th wèek magic will happen for me or not.
My stuff.
Tyler Acoustics D2 Speakers VPI Classic 1 turntable with Lyra Delos Zesto Andros 1.2 ( 4 12ax7 tubes treated ) Bluesound Node2 Sony XA5400es Bryston BDA 3 Magnum Dynalab FT 101 tuner Custom 2 chassisTube Pre Amp ( 1 12ax7, 4 6922 in main box ) ( 2 6v6, 1 5ar4 in power supply box ). Tubes are NOT treated. Custom Tube Mono. ( 1 12ax7, 1 12bh7 and 8 EL34 in each channel ) All tubes are treated.
Clear Day double shotgun speaker cable ( treated each end of bananas ) DIY solid core silver ICs made by friend. Replaced Morrow 3 IC ( I paste 1/8 of tip of the pin ) Signal Power Cables ( treated ) All tubes are vintage tubes
All of the outside of the female RCA Jack was treated.
I will write down what’s going on with my system’s SQ as time goes on.
Day 1 ( March 21).. Done pasting. Turn my stuffs on. Nothing shorted out. For first half and hour...It sounded little nasaly and congested but it started to open up nicely after 30 minutes. I listened for 2 more hours but in between nodding off and yawning, I can’t comment on SQ. Time for bed.
Day 2 4 more hours of listening today. SQ was just a bit different. Not better nor worst. High is just bit more noticeable but mid (mostly voice) is slightly recessed. But I was impressed with the bass. There is definitely more bass and goes deeper than before. Again it doesn’t mean It’s better but different. You might think it’s better. YMMV. Soundstage hasn’t got bigger or smaller but has a slightly more airy feel to it. Nothing too dramatic.
That’s for now. I will report back in few days or if there is a big change in SQ.... good or bad.
Just to let you know, I ’m just average hard working blue collar worker. Not a smarty pants, so Don’t expect audiophile terms to describe SQ. Lol. I will just say like I would to my wife. I Don’t BS and will tell you like I hear it.
^^^ I used to listen to CD’s mostly for convenience. My preference was the LP for serious listening. Then, along came SR’s fuse upgrades beginning with their RED fuse and progressing through the BLUE fuse. It was at that point where I started taking digital seriously. I couldn’t believe that CD’s could sound that good. Then along comes Tim Mrock’s TC. Well, that product opened an entirely new experience from the CD system. Holy Cow! .... As you said Tommylion, all of the music is there. The accurate tonality is still there. The digital artifacts seem to be gone ... and it is VERY analog like and totally addicting.
I’ve been getting into early music through the Harmonia Mundi recordings in the collection. They sounded good before all of these tweaks began, but now that I can hear into the music, they have become very interesting. The precision of the musicians is superb. The vocalists are amazing. The tweaks, especially the TC, has gotten me so much closer to the music. Totally delightful.
The thing that is standing out to me in my system now is how “relaxed” it is, even when the music is driving and propulsive. The music is all right there, I don't have to strain to hear it. I see this quality most often associated with analog, but I am listening to CDs exclusively.
I pasted my tube pins a couple of times during the beta testing. I had a problem with the first tube of TC because it was prior to the cryogenic treatment that allowed for a smoother product. The first tube of TC had little specks of graphene in it, and evidently one those specks caused a short across the tube. No damage to the equipment though.
After pasting the tube pins with the last version of TC (the same as you have), I’ve had no problems at all with the tubes. I’d recommend that you paste the tube pins only about half way up, then let your installation push the TC further up the tube pins.
This is an amazing product that has transformed my audio system. Tonight, I'm going to paste a few things in the analog system. I got to thinking (always a dangerous endeavor) what would happen if I pasted my tonearm wiring and a little bit of the phono cartridge. Hmmm ... stay tuned. :-)
Just thinking....If I paste all the pins of power tubes, would heat from tube and power amp itself will make paste runny or would it maintain It’s consistency and still cure in time? Who has done power tube pins?
How about a pin on the interconnects? Why not do the positive (pin) side of the RCA?
^^^ I tried it on my $10 CD player. Once pulled out, they are a real bear to get back in. A little too much eyestrain for me. I've pasted a lot of different areas on the inside of my "Grover" CD player though ... but not the little ribbon connectors.
At the risk of repeating myself, has anyone had the nerve to apply contact enhancer to the teeny tiny little pins on ribbon connects that are oft found in CD and Blu Ray players? Just pull the ribbon connector apart exposing the 10 or 12 or whatever teeny weenie little pins.
It's your time, money and will. Nobody can tell you how to spend those. Thanks for lettng me know you are getting a good result. It seems TC has a lots of way to use it. I should be able to do my system this weekend. Fun time..lol.
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 🙁
Paste all three prongs on AC plugs. Directions say 3/4 of the way down, and that works for me. I did the grounds on my male RCA plugs, but not the female chassis ones. Probably need to break everything down and do/redo all the connections at some point.
Seems there's always more you can do, but I'm pretty darn happy with what I've done so far.
Do you paste all of 3 prongs of the power cable ? All the way from tip to the base or is it better to paste just half of the length and let it paste itself when plug it in?
I hope red pill doesn't cause diarrhea. My matrix...my reality. Maybe, I should have taken blue pill.
Did you guys remember to paste the outside of the grounds on all of your female ends of your RCA jacks? How about pasting the ENTIRE binding posts on your speakers? Lower noise floor happens when you do. :-)
I don’t wish to be rude but are you guys saying you’ve done nothing to your systems in all that time except wait around for the contact enhancer to cure? Most of us audiophiles are trying something every single day. Maybe two things in one day. 😃 There’s not nearly enough time in the universe.
Eight weeks on my CD player and power chords on my main system and tommylion has it right on. Even coming off a left ear infection where I can not fully hear out of that ear, it is highly noticeable. I have been able to turn down the volume and still get the detail.
As I get my full hearing back I will be more specific.
Once again Bob, you are more than welcome. I'd like you to come back for another listen. "Things" are breaking in nicely here. As a result the transparency is better than what you heard last. I mistakenly had the line stage set on "mono" the whole time you were here. I discovered it after you left ... Once switched off and turned on to the stereo mode, things really opened up. Sound stage galore!
Frank was kind enough to invite me back to his house for a brief listening session; its been a while since my last visit, and as has been described, Frank has been busy pasting everything in his rig. When I first sat in his listening chair, and enjoyed the sweet spot, I heard the best bass and deepest sound stage that his system has ever produced. The changes and improvements were not subtle. I am a believer, and all the tips that Frank has been kind enough to share regarding technique and patience are spot on. I will get some TC and now start pasting my power cords, fuses, and HDMI cables, which have not yet been treated. Thanks, Frank...from a believer. Bob P
I used to cut up Stillpoints ERS paper and wrap around some power cables using electrical tape. I had heard that these cables were unshielded. It did seem to make a difference but it was ughly. I also still use copper plumber sleaves over the plugs on my power cords as I heard this is an area that was supposed to be unshielded on power cables.
It’s a fine bunch of nervous Nellies we have here. I painted the pins of my Audioquest Carbon HDMI Cable a few weeks ago. I used the brush. No problem. Faint heart ne’er won fair maiden. 💃🏻
When I treated my system, I delayed doing my digital cable because I was nervous about painting XLR pins. When I finally got up the courage a couple weeks later, I realized it was no big deal, and felt silly 🙄 I believe tube pins will be the final frontier for me. I definitely want to treat them, but I've got over a grand invested in 6 tubes 😱
Anyways, my DC is behind the rest, and passed the 4 week mark a couple days ago. Another nice bump up in TC goodness. What stood out to me was how the overall presentation got even more relaxed and airy.
My system will be passing the 8 week mark (except for that pesky DC) next week, and I am really looking forward to it. Not changing anything in it for this many weeks feels like a real accomplishment 😉
Guys, I always hesitate joining such discussion as my experience with TClargely parralel those of Tom, but I know virtually no one has most of my equipment. My amp, line stage, and phono stage are all of Roger Paul's innovation at his North American H-Cat shop, my speakers from BMC, my grounding unit from Tripoint that is very labor intentsive and expensive, and my ICs, PCs, and speaker wires from High Fidelity Cables, in the Tripoint's Troy grounding unit, and in a Avari DAC, a DSD music server runnind Synalyst software, and finally a Ikeda Kai cartridge on their 407 Long arm and a Nantais/Lexon tt.
I have an essential tremor in my right hand and am right handed so I have been hoping it would go away to allow me to paint the signal cables and PC spades.
I have heard high end and bass end improvements with my treated speaker cables, but nothing with my treated grounding connection of the Tripoint grounding unit.
You're description is right on. There is no way I would want to go back to pre-TC days with my system. Well, maybe I would give it up for a couple of days so I could get some sleep. :-)
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!
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.
Steve is being modest about his systems. Yes, that’s plural. He has two really fine audio systems plus his TV system. I haven’t watched his TV, but both sound systems sound fantastic to my ears. Its Steve’s music collection that I covet. Its fantastic too. The very last person who should be called a "shill" or a "fanboy" would be Steve.
I always enjoy my visits at Steve’s home. And by the way, if anyone is considering swapping equipment, I’d give Grover Huffmann a call. His amps, line stages, cables and CD players are "killers." He has mods for the Dynaco ST-70 that are to die for if you have efficient enough speakers that like 35 wpc.
I’ve heard Steve’s ST-70 in his living room system a number of times and can vouch for the fact that Grover has turned it into magic.
Its ideal for the Legacy Signature III’s (94db) which Steve has in his living room system. I use the same speakers for my main system. They play WAY beyond their price point, with the tonality of the Harbeth 40.2’s, except the Legacy’s get deeper bass.
I had Grover build me a CD player. He uses a Pioneer Elite DVD player as the basic unit, then upgrades the caps and beefs up the power supply. How good is it? It is replacing my ARC CD-7se that has to go in for repairs. How good is Grover’s player vs the ARC? Well the ARC retailed for $10,000. Grover’s CD player is actually more enjoyable to listen to because it has better bass and highs. The mids are right there too. The only drawback between the Pioneer and the ARC is that the ARC is a tube unit, so with the Pioneer, you'd be lacking the last vestige of the 3-D artifacts that tubes provide. The trick is to find a good working, reliable Pioneer Elite DVD player. You’d be looking for a Pioneer DV-05 like this one:
Well, thank you fazee and tommylion. It was Shadorne who called me a shill and/or fanboy. I am not a billionaire but am actively operating several businesses/investments and have the cash to buy Magico's (which I dislike upon hearing them maybe 15 rooms in four years of the LA Audio show). I don't like to swap equipment. Most of my gear/electronics/analog/digital are 12+ years old with the oldest being my 1989 purchase of the SME IV tonearm. There are bargains for middle income people to hear great sound at reasonable cost of used gear such as EAR Acute CD players. The EAR sounds like analog with NOS tubes and a high end power cord ($450 from http://www.groverhuffman.com/empress-1 whose cables I do plug on forum sites as they are superior for the price).
TC did not cure my room acoustic problems that SR passive devices did. It is tremendously cost effective for what it does do, electronically.
I don't want to put words in fleschler's mouth, but it sounds like he's saying that TC, at $300, made a difference comparable with spending $7500 elsewhere?
Most people in this hobby can find, or save up, $300 within their budget.
I don't know which troll you were referring to as a few posts were removed but I enjoyed reading your reviews and experiences with regards to TC as well as SR products, as I do have the HFT's and Black fuses in my system.
I especially like the part where you said you were wealthy, :) that sounded so refreshing. I look forward to reading whatever tweaks guys like you and Frank discover and share from time to time.
As for me, I am loving my simple system everyday and how TC has taken it to new heights.
Most people are not so wealthy and will have to discriminate to a greater degree whether or not to throw hundreds or thousands of dollars at "esoteric" tweaks.
For a balanced perspective, they will have to look elsewhere. Too bad!
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
