^^^ Geoffkait ...
If I had to rename TC it would be ... "Oh My God!"
Frank
If I had to rename TC it would be ... "Oh My God!"
Frank
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
2,514 responses Add your response
I knew bookmarking this would come in handy:elec rec overheating, arcing. It deals with receptacles but it’s no leap of logic to see how it applies to connectors. Granted, the heat involved should never occur with audio connectors in speaker wire or ICs, but it does not discount that micro arcing can't occur. All the best, Nonoise |
Youse guys are gonna love this. http://www.me.utexas.edu/~bryant/courses/me383s/DownloadFiles/LectureNotes/ElectricContacts.pdf Your friend and humble scribe, Geoff Kait |
geoffkait ... Excellent article ... thanks for posting it. Prior to meeting Tim Mrock, I had never heard of "micro-arcing." I had spent an untold amount of time and money over the years on my audio system in an effort to reduce and/or eliminate as many micro-vibrations that I could, all to the benefit of better sound. Micro-arcing is no different in that the phenomenon occurs on a micro level. What we can’t see isn’t obvious to us ... and it would certainly be hard to believe by many. Hey, I’ve had fellow audiophiles roll their eyes in disbelief when I started discussing micro-vibrations with them and ways to get rid of it. Micro-vibration is pretty much commonly understood in the hobby now. Micro-arcing, and how it affects the SQ of an audio system, will follow right along the same path, and we are on the cusp of the matter. I feel real good about that. I’ve forgotten where I read it, but some wise sage once said: "What is hidden from the most learned is revealed to mere children." I sincerely hope that more members here will take advantage of what Tim Mrock has produced and enjoy the benefits of his efforts. TC really is quite remarkable. Frank |
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 |
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 |
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. |
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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. |
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. |
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. |
^^^ 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 |
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. |
@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. |
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. |