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.
I appreciate healthy skepticism, and your’s is certainly that. What I don’t appreciate are those few on the site who would destroy a product prior to its release without experiencing it. My God ... do they realize that there is a human being (Tim Mrock) on the other end of this thing? Is it their goal to dash the dreams and hopes of other people? All I can figure is that they have a screw loose somewhere behind a brain cell or two. Why else would they demean a product while having zero knowledge of what it does exactly??
And by the way, just so no one misunderstands, Total Contact is easily removed at any time, even with a complete cure, with a bit of alcohol and a Q-tip or other cotton swab.
Frank
PS: I have a magnet on my refrigerator that sez: "Real Men Love Cats." :-)
nkonor I waited until 2018 to try any contact enhancer in my audio or video systems. I was also afraid of negative long term effects. That's why I started incrementally applying it to IC contacts only. Frank introduced me (and I did the same for my friends) to the upgrading of our fuses. He is so correct and accurate in his description of his tweak effects that I allowed him to put TC on my contacts. The only prior use of a cleaner was Kontact from the 1990s to 2000s that I used on my ICs. I waited until I heard Stillpoints demonstated on my system to buy them. If I don't hear a significant improvement, I don't buy it. As I've previously mentioned, I tried about a dozen vibration control devices, not all of the most popular but definitely expensive ones and rejected all but Stillpoints and the Townsend seismic sink.
I also mentioned that it should only be $150 to test and resell the remaining 85% of the syringe if you try it and don't like it. There should be a healthy resale market for the unused portion of a new syringe that is barely used.
7.5 Billion on the planet and multiplying every hour. We All Lose.
Californians > Oregon > Washington > Alaska.
Migrants the the world over and we can barely keep the brick and mortar audio places open. Manufacturers in business ( Thiel Audio )
90% of the Garbage and Pollution since the “Industrial Revolution”
Almost glad that my time is getting closer.
No doubt that I have contributed my share of garbage. But No Kids and my pets are the 10 feral cats that I take care of: hand built shelters, food and yes; the Vet bills have dug into my audio budget. ( Yes, They have All been nurtured and spayed ) Contol the population.
So, until I see a lot and a lot more feedback on Total Contact; I will not be putting a Polymer based product that cures / hardens on my ICs and Speaker connections.
Frank; Not that I do not believe you, but I am a skeptic. I need a lot of independent voices to buy $300 into this one. I will Wait.
Total Contact isn’t a "contact cleaner" like ProGold or Deoxit. This stuff is in a league all its own. I know its easy to mistake enthusiasm for hype, but in this case, I’ve been experimenting with the product for a year now. The results are pretty amazing. See Steve Fleschler’s very accurate posts.
Stay tuned. The product is being shipped, and when received and applied, the positive reports will be coming in.
I would like to ask the "
measurementalists" how sound stage depth, height and width can be measured with a scope. How does one go about measuring correct tonal balance and emotional impact with lab instruments? Perhaps Mr. Wolf could chime in here.
In the meantime, those of us who are using Total Contact are enjoying our stereo and video systems like never before.
I'm not ready to invest in this effort yet. I have purchased tweaks more expensive than TC that ended up doing nothing. I've also been pleasantly surprised by the results I've realized from some very modest tweaks.
When you get to the point with your system where I think the lion's share of us are, almost any reasonable adjustment to your gear or set-up is going to yield a change, positive or negative.
I will say, that after I clean all of my system connections and put a thin coating of G100 on them, the sound does improve...a smoothness of texture and openness of soundspace.
Perhaps TC is just a greater realization of that experience using a more intriguing formula. I look forward to reading more anecdotal evidence from those who decide to take the plunge. Perhaps then...
You have no case. You haven’t used the product, seen the product or heard the product. All you are doing is attempting to destroy something really great.
Quite so. Some of the posters here are measurementalists. They believe their knowledge of physics, or electronics, is so thorough that they are able to divine the sound of something solely by applying whatever theory they think is relevant. There’s no reason for them to actually listen to or experiment with a product, because they are convinced of the result a priori. It is the ultimate expression of confirmation bias, the very thing they so often rail against.
I actually don’t know whether this product works and - as I’ve previously explained here - I’m not especially likely to try it. But neither would I presume to know what results might be obtained with it, which is why I’m following this thread with interest.
Much as I wish you would go away, as long as you manage to skate along the edge of forum rules, I know that’s not going to happen. Ignoring you doesn’t work, so we might as well have a little fun at your expense.
I'm sure you are making your case with individuals who are already like-minded.
HIfiman5…Naturally I’ve also used tweaks to some benefit in my rig, but pretty much everything has had some logical (to me anyway) and reasonable justification…for example, I prefer de-coupling speakers from my wood floors, and I use a carefully controlled application of micro-arcing to dampen jazz musician background yammering and out of control classical fortissimos. I also recently dismantled a pencil and combined the graphite with a thimble of carbon scraped from the seat pod in my McLaren, mixed both with Vaseline, and pasted it on Donny McAslin’s forehead for a show I was mixing…his tone took on astonishing magical properties which was surprising since the goo was running into his eyes and he seemed uncomfortable. Hey…you do what you have to do, and I hope tommylion, a clear arbiter of manners, has appreciated this contribution to the conversation as, of course, inflammatory accusations are unsavory unless aimed at skeptics.
thank you you for setting an example of how to express your skepticism and concerns in a manner that doesn't include inflammatory accusations and name calling, but actually contributes to the discussion.
@wolf_garcia You'd best get your order in fast before TC is on backorder!😆
Actually, I am also skeptical of the glowing claims made for TC. Sometimes things just sound too good to be true...although I have been pleasantly surprised in the past by how much a simple tweak adjustment to my system really did improve the sound. Honestly wolf, I'm not sure what to make of it.
Tommylion, am I supposed to give up my Campaign Against Audio Hyperbole when the preposterous claims keep piling up? No way man…example from an esteemed audio hat rack aficionado: Louder jazz musician background chatter is enhanced by contact goo, the effect of which, once smeared on the contact, causes (I'm assuming here since I have yet to save enough money from my paper route and Amway ponzi scheme to buy this stuff) electrons to simply continue on their way in the cable…or through the fuse…with altered tonal characteristics. Is that about right?
It is suppose to be, Checked all the appropriate boxes when creating the ad. Not sure what the problem is. I apologize to all having difficulty trying to purchase.
Tim gives it six months ... but if you keep it in the freezer it will last longer. If you vacuum seal it and then keep it in the freezer it would be the best preservation method. This according to Tim Mrock the producer of the product.
I still have the two original tubes that have product in them. I've just had them sitting on a shelf in the listening room. One has been there almost a year and its still fine.
If one uses just a bit, over what time period does the remaining product dry up in the syringe? Is it important to use most of the product over what time period?
^^^ Thanks again gpgr4blu .... looking forward to getting the film.
Like you, I’ve shown The Lives of Others" many times to friends and recommended it to anyone who will listen. Its an important film in view of today’s political climate in our own country where the NSA has the unconstitutional bureaucratic power to "ease drop" on every American citizen’s phone calls.
George Orwell was right ... he just had the year wrong.
I’ve reached the 4 week point in application of TC to only my interconnects (it’ll be another 3 weeks for the rest of the system). All of a sudden there is an abundance of micro-details in the music, voices are more legible and the entire sound became more dynamic. My 5 way dynamic speakers remind me of when I had electrostats in terms of quiet detailed musical sounds (my wife hated the Monolith IIIs 20 years ago when we first met because of the limited soundstage, dynamics, beaming highs and limited bass at the time).
With the addition of more details and air, there is a greater dynamic range which can be disconcerting. I set the volume for the loudest peak sound now rather than the quieter sounds because I got rudely blasted on two recordings by fortissimos. I also hear a lot more chatter by musicians in jazz recordings. The significantly increased legitability of singers has me concentrating and enjoying the lyrics more.
This is my third post on the benefits of TC. It keeps getting more interesting and musically better.
I have a suggestion. Buy it, use only enough to treat your main audio system (which should be under 10% of a syringe). If you don’t like it, clean your contacts off and resell the remaining 90% on audiogon or ebay for half price. You’ll only be out about $150, or have a friend try it, or try it on your video equipment. The only way to know how good it is in your audio system is to try it based on this forum’s positive experiences. Don’t post negative comments unless you’ve tried it.
Ferrous materials will alter the magnetic flux of moving coils. The fact that they are moving shows that the flux field not only is changed but varies as it moves in and around a stationary ferrous material. So get all that crap away from your tweeters at least... especially the fasteners that hold the dome to the magnetic assembly. More replacement the better. Same goes for power transformers bolts and fasteners.. circuit board standoffs and fasteners. Less interference and lower shear speed from the brass than the steel..Tom
mapman Be sure to merely tighten the screws first and see what that alone does before going off the deep end there. Works much like resetting fuses with or without quantum goo.
>>>So I take it you don’t buy into the whole magnetism theory of steel screws. Uh, oh, did I just go off the deep end? Quantum goo? So you figured as long as you wanna be on this thread you might as well act like the pseudo skeptic you are? Nice touch!
Whatever happened to the magnetism explanation for why brass screws work better than steel? Did that like just disappear? Brass is way down my personal list of materials. I did not mention lead, either, which of course is the absolute worst.
Brass is the only metal of music in your so called upper echelon of metals or materials. Some shapes you blow about are built of 2 or more materials while ours are made of only one material and hence one coherent shear velocity that is also closer to the velocity of sound in air.. than any solid you tout...Only ours have shape methods designed to reject shear waves from re-entering the area near the point tip from the boundary above or below. Those reflections thru solids that have a mutual boundary create that interfering energy that travels back and forth between those 2 solid material shapes up and down the leg or point thru the speaker or component and left to mastecise unrelieved. None of what you blow about takes these these factors into account certainly not a metal spring wrapped in a prophylactic material. Tom
Be sure to merely tighten the screws first and see what that alone does before going off the deep end there. Works much like resetting fuses with or without quantum goo.
If brass is such a great material how come brass cones are way down the list of cones? Oh, wait, did I disturb your concentration?! Let’s see, we got ceramic at the top, then what? High carbon steel. Then aluminum, then brass. The only thing worse than brass is carbon fiber. Do they make even ceramic screws? That’s what I’d like to know about. Do I see a new product on the horizon? 👀
Brass screws have lower shear wave velocity than steel screws by about 35%. Cryo treatment may reduce this speed again because of the enhanced molecular alignent vs the more random alignment before the cyro process.Tom
I have found a real performance difference using cryogenically treated brass screws. Smoother, more grain free music. I just assumed everyone knew. 😇 Can't imagine anyone is still using steel screws. In this case I think everyone knew! 🤔
Wow man...Brass screws…who knew? "Nothing comes close" including your contact goo? Hmmm... Although maybe the "disposable income" aspect is the key in the "150 brass screws" scenario. Are they "quantum" screws, and do small ones involve micro-screwing? Total Contact is one of the few (forgive me) "Snake Oil" products that resembles actual snake oil.
@tommylion We would love to have you over, yes 120 miles,well worth the trip.
Total Contact on the Ultimate Ground wire will multiply the effects a lot.
In the meantime something that requires no disposable income. Have you ever tried replacing any of your equipment screws and bolts with solid brass ones? Theaudiotweak suggested I try it starting with the screws in my speakers. I have replaced about 150 so far, for the cost vs yield in performance, nothing comes close.
Thanks for taking the time to post that, however I have to admit its probably too much for me to digest.
I won't be able to post my thoughts on the product for a while as I would probably receive my new server in the next week or two and would most likely let that run in first
My disposable audio income is depleted after getting a second Ultimate Ground, but Total Contact is next on my list. Yesterday, I was wondering what effect it would have applied to the UGs.
I'm not too far from you in Burlington, VT, just a straight shot on I89. I'm thinking I might like to head down for a visit, when the weather gets warmer.
The "Lives of Others" was quite simply one of my favorite films--foreign or domestic-- ever. Brilliant in every way. It won the academy award in 2007 as best foreign film beating out another fine film--"Pan’s Labyrinth". For those who have not seen it, "The Lives of Others" is a must. Frank posted a link to the blu-ray version available new on ebay. There is always too much to do and not enough time. But for any fan of fine films who has not seen this--you will thank Frank for the referral. Guaranteed. I’ve recommended it to a number of cinephiles all of whom have thanked me and shared my opinion. Good call Frank. There is hopefully a little room here for fine arts other than music or the reproduction thereof.
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