aniwolfe,
Make sure you treat the MC-0.5s, they respond very well to TC.
Make sure you treat the MC-0.5s, they respond very well to TC.
New Tweak --- Its Fantastic
THE NEW TWEAK
Over the good part of this past year I’ve been beta testing a new tweak, the name of which is "Total Contact." Its a hi-bred graphene contact enhancer that is different from all other contact enhancers that have come and gone for one reason or another. I’m not new to these contact enhancers, having had quite a bit of experience with a product developed by the late Brian Kyle and his "Quick Silver" contact enhancer. The "Total Contact" is different ... a LOT different.
"Total Contact" is graphene based and is not a vibration control. It eliminates micro-arching between two contacts. Micro-arching, much like Micro-vibration smears the sound in our stereo systems. Its the type of distortion that we don’t know is there .... until we eliminate it. There is no break-in as we know it. The sound is improved right off the bat, but what you hear is only a smidgen of what’s to come.
I tested three generations of "TC," each of which was an improvement over the previous incarnation. The final mix was cryogenitically treated and made for a more effective, much smoother application. It comes in a large hypodermic needle type plunger containing 1.5 ml of product and includes a instructional DVD and an application brush.
The application should be applied with a very thin coat to all of your electrical connections .... from your cartridge pins to your power cords. I did my entire system, including the ends of my fuses.
Upon initial application, you will notice an improvement in clarity, correctness of tonal balance and a more overall organic sound. But ... that is just scratching the surface of what this magic paste does. As it cures, the improvements become more apparent. Much more!
There are two real break-through events that happen almost to the day with "Total Contact," one at four weeks and another at eight weeks . At four weeks, you’ll get a real jump in clarity and overall improvement. That’s only a taste though of what’s to come at eight weeks. At eight weeks your system’s focus will make a jump in SQ that is so real - its surreal.
After 40 years in the hobby, and a total tweak nut, I have never heard anything that does what this graphene paste does. The see-through clarity at eight weeks becomes simply amazing. The "paste" eventually cures into a kind of polymer plastic and it seems that the sound improves with each listening session. So, its important that you leave your contacts alone for the duration. If you’re the type of person that continually switches wires in and out, you’ll have to re paste until enough time has elapsed to get "the cure."
The only problem I had was with the first batch and that had to do with shorting out a tube pin in the line stage. Use the "TC" very sparingly on tube pins, if at all. I only had problems with the line stage tube pins. The Amp, CD Player and Phono Stage has had no tube pin problems at all.
Tim Mrock, one of our fellow A’goners, is the developer of the product. Its taken Tim 15 years and several patents to get it right. Tim has "pasted" every electrical contact he can find in his audio system, all of the switches in his circuit breaker box, every contact in his car ... and has used it in commercial applications such as hospital circuit breakers, surgical lights ... and other places where efficiency and long life of electrical components are deemed important.
This product is highly recommended to anyone who truly wants to get the most out of his/her audio systems. There’s enough product in each tube to do at least two audio systems as it just takes a very thin coat on each application to be effective. The last tube was enough to do my system twice and then a friend’s system this past weekend.
Frank
PS: There were a couple of other A’goner beta testers of this product as well. Hopefully, they will chime in here with their experiences for comparison. I "pasted" both of Steve Fleschler’s systems a few days ago, perhaps he will comment on his results too. We forgot to paste Steve’s power cords though, so there’s a lot more to be had from Steve’s two fantastic systems.
Frank
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
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CD player treatment update, I had almost forgotten that I had treated the umbilical from the dac to the power supply and the power chord to the powerstrip one day after I treated the office system. Last night I was listening and was very surprised about two things. One, the music selection had always sounded too congested, bright, grainy... in the high frequencies and I thought that it was just a bad cd recording. Immediately after the TC treatment I found it more palatable and less grainy. I play it once a week, because I like the song. What caught me off guard was that, what I thought was grain, were cymbal strikes resonating in the background. Unbelievable. Second, the soundstage also opened up to a large degree. Nice. rc |
I am little way to experiencing TC after four weeks. A new medician is causing my essential tremor in my right hand to increase. I have treated my SR Blue fuses and my HFC Pro speaker wires but both are far from four weeks old. I hope to use a piece of substantial paper with a hole just a little bigger than the 'hot' on the ICs to keep the grounds clean on my RCAs. I hope to start on these this weekend. I assume that I am to paint the grounds on the outside. |
Put some paste on the bare wire ends of my Western Electric 10 gauge speaker cable, the power cable that feeds to my powerdac and 3 High Fidelity Cable MC-05s. What I notice immediately was lower noise floor, soundstage much wider and deeper. Not bright at all, even though I hear more detail and it is presented in a very natural way. Very surprised with the result for such a little amount used. Will treat more connectors and fuses over the weekend. I personally would like to see half sizes available in the future. |
rc ... When I heard the initial improvements in SQ I was quite taken aback. Tim kept assuring me that I hadn’t heard anything yet. He told me about the 4 and 8 week breakthroughs, but I was still a bit skeptical. Well, the 4 weeks came, and to the day, there was a significant jump in SQ. Tim assured me again that there was something special coming at 8 weeks. Well, as fate would have it, I had to go in for open heart surgery, so the hospital stays, both in the regular hospital and the rehab hospital, took me to 9 weeks before I could hear the system again. When I got home after nine weeks and turned the system on, I was gob-smacked by what I heard. A total wall of transparent sound, completely defined and three dimensional with the musicians in the room. The tonality was amazing. The speakers completely disappeared. It sounded better than the best planer speakers I’ve owned in the past, except now besides the transparency, I had better highs and better bass. In fact, the bass is so accurate that I could swear that there is a bass player in the room playing a stand-up bass. Quite enjoyable, I must say. My friend Robert, who just happens to hear like a friggin’ bat, was flabbergasted at what he heard. The two of us have been to many audio shows in the past, and we both concurred that very few systems at the various shows could compete with what we were hearing. The tonality is on par with the Harbeth 40.2’s, except I have better bass than the Harbeth’s ever thought of having. This is coming from speakers that I paid $2100. for the pair used. Honestly rc, I can hardly wait for you guys to hit the 8 week point. Its going to be fun seeing your reviews. Frank |
Frank, I was really surprised (in a good way) at the reaction of both of these hifi professionals. As jaded as they are with previous contact enhancers, they are still very open minded and curious about what the long term results will be. Both have never experimented with their loyal clientele, thus I never was exposed to those previous contact enhancers. The only substances that they ever recommend I use is the dioxit cleaner and/or alcohol. For that I am grateful. With respect to the curing time.I actually noticed a significant improvement three to four days prior to the full four week period. As for my current level of enjoyment with both my systems, it is way beyond what I thought this product would do, since I had just come off some serious $ tweaks previously mentioned. Initially, I thought that your review was slightly exaggerated, but as the product has cured to the four week period, I can understand that you were just excited. I thank you for putting yourself out there and endorsing TC. I am having a great time enjoying the music. rc |
rc I understand your dealer’s skepticism, as I had the same reservations when Tim approached me to be a beta tester for the TC. I almost turned him down ... so glad I didn’t. I went through a bunch of contact enhancers in earlier years too. All denigrated over time. Tim assured me that all is well with his product. Some of my contacts have had the TC treatment for a year now using the original version, which was grainy and lumpy compared with what you have. So far, I’ve detected no degradation at all. In fact, it just seems to continue improving. I’m in the process of removing the original version from all of my contacts and applying the latest version (which you have) to all of my connections now, a little at a time. For example, I just did the grounds on my IC’s today, which were not done at all (nice improvement), but the speaker cable terminals have been pasted with the original version for a year now, as have my cartridge pins. I honestly believe that Tim has nailed it this time. You’re absolutely correct. For 300 bucks, considering the improvements gained in SQ, TC is a bargain. Frank |
Update, I hit the 4 week point in the office system for the speaker cables, interconnects and the usb cable to the dac. The best way I can describe it is that the music sounds more organic while the sound stage has as well. The noise floor seems to have dropped as well which give better definition to instruments and vocals. Referring back to my earlier upgrades of power chords, stillpoints and interconnects etc., it seems as if I upgraded a power chord and placed a set of stillpoints under my dac. Considering that that cost about $1,200.00, this is a bargain. Again, I do not think that TC is a replacement for any of these upgrades but a bargain upgrade for both of my systems without any downsides to date. For what it’s worth One dealer/friend I spoke to last week said he wants to check back with me in another 9 months just to make sure that none of the product degradations that have plagued previous “contact enhancers” mentioned in this forum. I understand his sceptisism since he has tried all those previous products. This is the main reason I have not treated a non reversible (in my estimation) application to my 5 din connections on my preamp interconnects. Another dealer/friend came by to work on my turntable and said that the CD player, whose umbilical and power chord I treated 3 weeks ago, got awfully close to the turntable on the same cuts of music. By the way both dealers have over 35 years experience each in the industry. rc |
I got a sample about two weeks ago so I really have yet to hear the four week jump, much less the eight week jump. Plus I've only treated the SR Blue fuses and the ground on the Tripoint Troy Signature SE. Why have I not done more? I have a tremore in my right hand. Typically I know that alchal chasses the tremore, but not right now for an unknown reason. I am going to do the speaker wires this weekend. They may be very reflective of the value of the Total Contact. It is the ICs that most concern me. But I will say that on the SR Blue fuses there was a much faster top end and leading edge. More is likely to come |
I couldn't believe how good my system sounded last night. Like I said before this is one of the best tweaks I have ever tried. I would say that it made more of an impact than my new amp made. If you are on the fence about trying total contact I would say do it, you will not believe what your system is capable of. I have 3 weeks until the 4 week period. |
@fazee Your very welcome and thank you! Very impressed with your thoroughness ! I will give you a heads up, where you did the ground rod, you may experience a loss in bass, and may sound off a few days during the break in, it will return in spades. For some reason, and not really sure why. Pasting any of the grounds in the AC system yield non linear characteristics during the break in process. |
a25105 I live in the Far East so I believe my DB will be very much different from yours. Basically removed the wires and applied TC to the ends. There was also a piece of copper rod which my electrician removed and I did that as well. On the SR wall duplex, i did the wires as well as the internal screws and pins. |
^^^ Four weeks is startling. At the eight week point what amazed me was the solid wall of three dimensional purity in the SQ I was getting. Its like I can reach out and touch the performers. And that was from both digital and analog sources. Never thought red book CD's could sound so good. So fazee, tommylion ... and others who have taken the plunge ... you guys have much to look forward to. :-) Frank |
I have now passed the 4 week mark for all the connections in my system I have treated with TC, except for my digital cable. I've got two weeks on that. Among the qualities that TC has brought to, or increased in, my system, transparency and clarity especially stand out. The natural detail that can be heard with very little effort is remarkable. Organic, palpable and solid are some other words that come to mind. There is an increased sense of life and energy. The feeling of real people singing, playing real instruments, working together, interacting with one another, and blending together into a wonderful whole. After the live performances I have had the pleasure of attending, what it reminds me of most is exceptional analog sourced systems that I have heard, and coveted the sound of, over the years. Not bad for a CD based system. |
Over the weekend, I noticed a great improvement in the SQ of my system, everything sounded smoother and more dynamic and I remember that I was into the 4th week after applying TC.. I was mesmerized and just spent the day listening to my favourite tracks. Finally had the electrician over this afternoon to open up the DB as well as my Synergistic Research Black UEF wall duplex. We made sure to sit down and listen to some tracks first, and he commented on how much better my system sounded as compared to a year and a half ago when he installed the dedicated DB and SR Black UEF wall duplex. We then proceeded to apply TC into the DB and wall duplex and sat down again to listen to the same tracks. Both he and I were flabbergasted, the improvement in SQ was simply amazing. The effect was like going from a 1970s Telefunken Box TV to the latest LG OLED TV, it was really that dramatic. Thanks once again Tim, like someone else has mentioned, I didn't realize how good my system is and I do not see the need at this point to upgrade any components in my chain. |
HI, I just wanted to weigh in on my experience with total contact. I pasted about 3/4 of my system with total contact about 4 days ago. I just would like to say that this is one of the best tweaks I have ever tried. Total contact has lifted a veil from the music and opened up the soundstage like I could never have imagined. The bass has increased tremendously and the system is smoother and more focused then ever before, little details in the music are more present then ever before. I am shocked at the impact that total contact has made, very happy with the product would be an understatement. Also I have talked with Tim on the phone a couple of times and he could not be more pleasant to speak with. |
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Reporting back after treating about 1/2 of my connections, I'm flabbergasted at the improvement in noise floor, soundstage depth and overall tonal cleanliness. Lyrics are clearer and easier to understand. And I get another bump with the break-in and treating the other half of the connections? Oh boy. For me, listening to vinyl and tubes at lower levels thru bookshelfs, prizing soundstaging, this is the snizzle, Tommylion said it well ' I had no idea how good my system was till now'. I found it took about an hour to settle in, at first play, I found my system bright, reminded me of the effect of silver interconnects, too glassy for my tastes in my system, but the brightness disappeared in approx two albums. I auditioned 15 different albums stuff I've been listening to for 30+ years (In the court of Crimson King, Brothers in Arms, I robot, Wish you were here etc, and all were way improved, my foot was tapping, head nodding, air guitar strumming- all my measurements of music enjoyment versus stereo system analyzing. Using a bright light to apply is a must, a bit of a pain to apply thinly and evenly, but an understatement to say it's worth it. |
This was posted previous and relates to the product shelf life..it is being returned to Tim for evaluation. perfectpathtech131 posts02-21-2018 1:13pmI am pleased to make a announcement regarding longevity of Total Contact. I originally stated I would guarantee at least 6 months. In all the years I have been making contact enhancers, I have never offered a product for sale. I always made up what I needed as I went along. I only started putting it in a syringe after a friend recommended it. I had sent a tube to a friend many years ago, and while recently talking. he mentioned he still had it, and it was still good. He received it from me in early March 2014. He is sending it back to me to analyze. So it looks like 3-4 year shelf life easily. Tim Personally I opened my product sometime in November and have treated 2 complete stereo systems plus materials and surfaces that are conductors of shear wave interference..I still have 2/5s of the original tube and its still has the same original consistency. Tom |
geoffkait ... Sorry for the misspelling ... its my dyslexia kicking in. On the "obligation" thingie ... I don’t feel obligated to respond to everyone of your posts at all ... only the ones directed to me personally, and then its more of a self defense thingie. On your last post, I felt that a simple thank you was in order for that excellent article you posted. Hope you don’t mind too much. Take care ... Frank |
