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
128x128oregonpapa
Bill,

The answer is probably how often you may remove and reinsert equipment and their attached cables. Frank may want to answer that question because he has had and used the product longer than I and also in other listeners systems. 

I have only applied this product to maybe half of my system connections.
After the application to the battery terminals I next did the leads and the binding posts of the left speaker only.  I use this method on first one speaker..because if I change an element in one side only and the result  bends or alters the entire soundstage I know to make everything whole again then I do the other speaker.  This method of application takes more time but the resulting progressive improvement tells you much about the product and its ability to increase the resolution in one's system.Tom
How often to reapply? Once only, every  6 months, annually? This will help us better understand cost. I would use it building power cords etc...Perhaps use in in my crossovers also. Only if I dont have to keep reapplying it. 
If oregonpapa says he tested it and it works I believe him. He has good ears and experience listening and evaluating. Sounds like a product that Ozzy will definitely want to try.
Hi Frank,

Hope you are doing well and happy holidays to you!  Do you have to reapply "Total Contact" to your system?  If so, how often?  Thx.

Allan
Steve ...

Robert and I will have to come down soon and do your speaker cables and power cords. You'll get at least as much of an overall improvement that you got last time. 

Grannyring ...

$299.99 isn't a lot of cash when you consider the improvement in SQ it gives you. Plus, there's enough in a tube to do at least a couple of systems, or perhaps your circuit breaker, or even connections in your car. 

randy ...

Can I do your "blind" test after the four and eight week jumps? I guarantee you, it would be no contest. 

Bob ....

To illustrate just how good this "Total Contact" is, ... My ARC CD player gave up the ghost and will no longer read discs. I'm looking at a$2000 repair bill. So, in the meantime, I stopped at the local Goodwill store and bought a perfectly working vintage Kenwood CD player. When I got home, I set the Kenwood in the place that the ARC once occupied. I used the "Total Contact" on the power cord and the IC's, used some footers that I had stashed away and then put a VPI brick on top of the chassis. With the exception of the low bass, I'm getting about 90% of what the ARC does. The highs go on forever. Price of the CD player? Ten bucks. Yep, $$10.00.

Frank
Bill, 

I was involved as a listener only. 
I had used other types of brush on contact enhancers in the past and removed them sooner or later.

This product I applied first to the terminal posts of my 40lb deep cell marine battery that powers my 1lb dac..I chose these connections first because they were easy to get to, they were far apart so I could avoid any migration of the solution, I could determine how the product flowed from brush to metal posts.. if the solution didnt make for an improvement then it would be easy to remove. 

I thought if the solution was brushed on these two connections first.. upstream from a 100000uf capacitor bank and bypass caps as a supply for a dc. Dac. If the solution made for a improvement here then I would move ahead..The solution made a broad band improvement, so I moved forward with more application points. Tom
Frank;
I remember listening to your rig after you had applied this stuffs as a beta project; you mentioned you were sworn to a confidentiality agreement at that time. I was so impressed, I wanted to get a tube, but it was  not available then. I need to get some now! Can't wait to try it, and enjoy the improvement. All the posts you've made have been spot on, I've been to your home several times, and can always hear what you're been up to, and the improvements are never subtle. To the trolls out there, I have no dog in this hunt, simply sharing what I've experienced with my own ears.
Glad you are well, and Happy Holidays. Too bad its too late for a stocking stuffer...
Enjoy the music, and the tweaks...
Best,
Bob
Tom, you use/used the product? I trust your expertise and ask if you were involved. Thanks.  
Original tweek was great product. This goes way beyond anything I remember of tweek.

With this product you become part of the sound scape space...where ever you sit or move about you are within the soundstage. Like being in free space with the performance rather being an outsider wishing you were inside with the performance.Tom

Steve Flelschler ...

I'm Frank's friend. Last week, Frank applied Total Contact to only my fuses and interconnects last weekend. There was an immediate improvement in the sound of both my audio systems. It was comparable to the difference in a Littlefuse to the Blue fuse change. The bass and highs were extended and fortified. The soundstage widened somewhat and the height improved more than the width. Transients improved with quicker, more explosive. There is more detail and air around instruments and voices.  However, the tonal quality does not change at the expense of the openess or quickness.

This is the first time my big system exhibited that jump factor where a bass drum is both felt and heard (well, more than just moderate sound level). My Signature IIIs always had punchier bass with 3-10" woofers than my Focuses which have 3-12" woofers. Not any more. The Focuses have tighter, punchier (and deeper) bass than the Signature IIIs now. I will be purchasing the Total Contact as soon as it's available. I will then apply it to all my A/C and speaker wire contacts which rarely get unplugged. I only hesitate putting on tube pins. Another good thing is that if one doesn't like the sound, it's easily and cleanly removable.  

There's so much in the tube, I'll be applying it to my video systems A/Cs and ICs and speakers.