Thank you for the response Tim.
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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Oh, geez, what’s next? A federal investigation of Quicksilver Gold, Nanotech CD treatment, WA Quantum Chips, Intelligent Chips ( one can never be too careful when handling artificial atoms!) or the Teleportation Tweak, which can not (rpt not) be reversed, just to let you know. Can we expect CHILD WARNING labels on Marigo Dots, Golden Sound Acoustic Discs, Silver Rainbow Foil. OK, now you can Freak out. |
I was prompted to look up the health effects of graphene by a research scientist friend who is not an audio geek, and simply wrote about what I found. Tim states it's NOT a graphene product (except that it contains graphene), and it's not dangerous except to him at a certain point in the manufacturing process. So it's only possibly dangerous. Comforting. |
Hi Tommy, The email I sent to you was the first I have sent on A'gon, which is to say I am not very familiar with their system. I had checked where I thought I would see if you responded and now see it was the wrong place and just read your email. Will contact you next time I am heading North and would love to hear your system. I do get to Burlington occasionally. By the way, I have an incredible person who repairs gear in Montpelier if you ever need his service. His prices are totally fair compared to the few times I used other local shops and his work first rate. I just had him completely refurbish and upgrade a Thorens TD-160. George |
I would have reported this earlier in the week but didn't feel so well. After the 8th day of applying TC to my Teo Ultra Interconnect, Silnote Anniversary speaker cable and SR blue fuses (in my hybrid modded Bada Purer 3.3SE integrated amp) the soundstage developed great depth and became much more three dimensional. Background singers were now much more delineated. The sound just seems so much more natural and beautiful now. I feel as if I am now within the music, as it seems to kind of envelop me. I'm still a little under the weather but I honestly am shocked at how good my system sounds. The previous week I had only pasted the pins on the 2 6922 tubes in my amp. The next day of listening there was a definite big jump in sound quality from just this application alone. I will report back after listening this weekend (only time I get to listen). I am not expecting much change as my system already sounds way beyond what I ever expected without adding expensive components. For reference the rest of my system is Hales Transcendence V speakers. SACD/CD player is The Upgrade Company Signature modded Oppo 95 and Core Power Technology 1200 balanced power conditioner. I just thought of this as a good anology, I think, to the change in sound these past few weekends. Its as if you are looking at a garden of flowers in early spring and watching them continue to grow and bloom as spring passes into summer. The sound just blooms. Yes Frank, I used to think fantastic was a bit much for the description, in the thread title of this TC tweak, but not anymore. This stuff would appear to be a real game changer! Last Sunday's listening experience was literally jaw dropping! |
^^^ Same here Tuffy. Even after all this time, the system continues to improve. I felt compelled to call Tim tonight to tell him that I thought I had another breakthrough during last night's listening session. My friend Robert was over and he was amazed. The music was so relaxed in a beautiful sort of way ... a lot like live. Please continue to report your results ... especially interested in your 4 and 8 week experiences. Thanks .... Frank |
Eight week update. The speaker cables, CD player, power supply umbilical and it’s power chord were the first part of my main system to hit the eight week application anniversary. The rest of the power chords and the power conditioner came seven days later so I will report back next week to report on the impact, if any. As for what I am hearing, it is impressive for what I paid for this product. I am enjoying better clarity on notes playing from bass through the treble regions. The PRaT has not been negatively in the least. This was a concern from the beginning but not stated. One of the most surprising and enjoyable characteristics of the musical presentation is the three dimensional quality of the soundstage. The other thing that has been developing over the last eight weeks has been how much more realistic voices and instruments have become. Crescendos are more fully portrayed. This definitely keeps the tempo more naturally flowing. I am definitely listening longer without fatigue, since my my brain is not trying to fill in the musical blanks. I could say more, but what has been reported lately would be repetitive. Enjoy the music, rc |
Day 12 Just little tiny update At first I wasn't sure but last couple of days, I thought SQ got little bit dull. Hmmm....and listening more carefully with songs I know and came to conclusion that it did lost some bite on upper frequency. You see, I pasted the small amount on tip of the pin (positive) on the RCA interconnects. I wasn't sure if it would help or hurt the sound, so why not try it. If I Don't like it, remove it. And I didn't liked it, so I wiped off all TC from the pins and touched up outside of the Jack. With that, upper frequency is back and sounds wonderful again. Go figure. If anyone else used TC on the RCA pins, I wouldn't mind hearing what you think. Maybe It's just me and my system but I wouldn't use it on the interconnect pins. I will just use it on female (negetive) side. Over and out. |
I was slow on the upswing, as the memory of removing dried, caked-up Walker SST from the inside of tube sockets had been a kind of audio PTSD. Learning that TC doesn’t age badly like that, together with good advice from Agon member audiotweak, encouraged me to try it. This weekend I began with applications inside DIY power cords at the compression fit between stranded 10awg silver conductors and Furutech FI-48 and FI-50 plugs. These cords have a significant impact on the sound of a modified Pass Labs XP-25 phono stage and a Hynes SR-7 linear power supply with multiple DC rails into a rubidium master clock, a SOtM Ethernet-to-USB converter, SOtM USB regenerator, and a Merlin BBAM line-level bass equalizer. Out of the chute there is a richer more organic presence region, expanded LF, and sweeter treble with less etch. Images are denser and more embodied. All good things. I’ve been recording vinyl to DSD on a modified Tascam DA-3000, and am always on the look-out for improvements to this unit. With the help of a desktop magnifier lamp and a pointy, hard cotton make-up applicator, TC was sparingly applied to internal fuses and the many pins of cables and connector blocks inside the Tascam. Most of these distribute AC and DC power to the PCBs. If you’re using TC on power cords, at least take a look at treating any connectors inside electronics from the IEC to the transformer. I wouldn’t attempt this with flat ribbon cables, as TC will smear between their tiny parallel traces. The improvement in the digital recordings was immediate, with effects similar to the power cords. Next I’ll try treating low-level signal from cartridge pins to phono stage. Excellent product! |
I heard a system that had been treated weeks ago with TC which I really liked previously. My gut take on it: the mids to highs where slightly more vivid, the low level information which I thought was very good seemed deminished, His system was very neutral before and had “darkened tonally” very slightly! Your mileage may vary! |
Yes. I could have treated the tabs but didn't need to. The 10awg bundle of ten 20awg silver strands is divided at the termination into two twists of five strands each. That "fork" of two wires slips nicely into both sides of the Furutech fitting, so that it clamps evenly on both sides of its screw. With just five strands in a twist, it was possible to work TC fully into each wire bundle without unfurling it. That's a good thing, as it avoided the potential metal fatigue of untwisting and re-twisting the thin 20awg strands. |
@tomfoolery Thanks for sharing. What is interesting to me is how my own system sounds different from day to day or even daypart to daypart. This is real for all of us as our mood changes, level of general physical fatigue, emotional or stress factors etc... Add to that humidity levels from one day to the next and we have yet to even talk about quality of AC and how that changes hour to hour etc..... Just too many factors to really make a one moment in time conclusion on any system. One must live with a system long term before they can really accurately detimine long term sonic changes. Goodness, we also have poor sonic memory in an A/B testing situation with just minutes between cuts, never mind days or weeks. |
As I’ve oft mentioned on this thread, I’ve painted the teeny tiny little pins on both ends of my rather expensive Audioquest Carbon HDMI Cable (controlled for directionality, thank goodness). I actually used the applicator brush that was provided, no problemo. In fact it worked better than a toothpick that I tried first. It all depends on the lay of the land. It’s not difficult at all for the Carbon HDMI connectors but I imagine there could be big troub in Little China for ribbon connectors, though I would also do ribbon connectors if I had any. Best not to drink too much coffee prior to applying contact enhancer to HDMI connectors or ribbon connectors. ☕️ |
I treated the pins on the tubes in my DAC and amp yesterday and today. I have about a grand in NOS and modern tubes, so I was a little nervous, but took the plunge. No fireworks, and I’m glad I did it. I was surprised at how much improvement there was, pretty much right away. I’m looking forward to hearing what 8 weeks brings. If you’re thinking about treating your tube pins, I say go ahead, it’s worth it. You shouldn’t have any problems, as long as you’re careful. |
Day eight for most of my system was yesterday. I had to unplug the system for a day because of thunderstorms. Before plugging and turning on everything, I treated my Uptone Audio JS-2 ps dc cable and pc the umbilical cable between my Ayon Audio S-5 ps and Network Player/DAC/Preamp. Now my entire system is treated except the electrical panel. I have all SR Galileo UEF cables, Atmosphere XL4, Blackbox, ACB SE, and 40 plus HFTs. This sounds like entirely different system. This TC is exactly what my system needed to sound it’s best. I treated my other system with the OLED, TiVo, and Focal Soundbar. I definitely see better colors, and a brighter and a more resolving picture. |
So Geoffkait, in your scientific estimation then, is there actually intact one atom thick sheets of Graphene in there somehow that survive when shmeared and connections then made or something else, some other form of carbon perhaps? If Graphene, how might that be pulled off? Also I am still interested in knowing of any satisfied customers who paid the full $299. If only a little is needed, why not provide less for lower price? That would probably help sell to more especially those who might be on the fence about shelling out $300 for way more than needed. Should also be more profitable that way as well I would think. Most first time users of a product, which is pretty much everyone at this point, do not go straight for the deluxe size. |
I tried beating a dead horse once. My arm became so tired I finally gave up. I acquired an SR Blue fuse for my "new" Grover Huffman CD player. I pasted the ends of the fuse caps with TC before installing. Two days later, and I think fully broken in, I can say that the combo of the fuse and TC is a real game changer. With the improvement in the SQ of the system, I've been exploring different types of music, including early music played on ancient instruments. Once one acquires a taste for it, it can be quite exciting and fulfilling. Here's a recent acquisition that's really some amazing coral and instrumental music. Highly recommeded: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Missa-Mexicana-Harp-Consort-BRAND-NEW-FACTORY-SEALED-CD-2002-Harmonia-Mundi... Frank |
mapman So Geoffkait, in your scientific estimation then, is there actually intact one atom thick sheets of Graphene in there somehow that survive when shmeared or something else, some other form of carbon perhaps? If Graphene, how might that be pulled off? Moops, I suspect you just answered your own question. Someone please be sure and send a notification to moopman when a $10 bag is available for homeless people. |
fleschler, I have about 15 HFTs and a FEQ in my system, was wondering if any benefits can be had for pasting some TC on the HFTs. Any thoughts on that? I have passed the 8 weeks mark and the improvements I hear are not subtle. TC is a must have for any serious audiophile looking to improve the sound quality of their system, before embarking on any expensive component change. |
Madman, I paid the $300.00. I have stated in previous post that: 1. I have enjoyed the effect that the TC has had in my system from day one. 2. Based on previous tweaks I have tried and purchased, I think that this is a bargain tweak based on what It does to maximize the positive aspects of my system. 3. My experience with the product, is that it does exactly what was promised out of the gate. Further, it has improved as promised, within the 4 and 8 week curing process. 4. I have not experienced any negatives so far with this product. If something negative does occur, in the future, I will post it. 5. I received prompt customer service. The owner does return calls an emails. Thanks rc |
fazee I don't know why TC would work on acoustic resonators. Did you want to use it to attach to objects or around the sides of the HFTs? Certainly don't put it into the resonating chamber which would block its' function. The HFTs don't operate in an electrical field so I doubt TC would work on them. Let me know if there is another application but you got me to think about applying HFTs to the Atmosphere XL4 post. |