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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
fleschler
2,028 posts
 
ronrags   I tried the HFTs only without my Hallographs and did not like the result either.  While the sound was enhanced, detailed and open, it sounded antiseptic, sterile.  Obviously my room has a lot to do with that.  When I put back the rear Hallographs alone, the beauty of sound and immersion into a large sound field was brought back. 

Note that I used TC prior to installing HFTs and removing all my room treatment.  My wife felt that the room didn't sound sufficiently open when compared to the best audio systems she heard at the LA Audio show 2018.  I decided to try the Atmosphere XL4.  I was hooked.  It delivers so much more than an FEQ, in numbers of signals, signal strength and adjustability. 

I highly recommend TC which will do much of what HFTs.  It does so many positive things to the sound from an electronic stance. like the blue fuse.  I still had slap echo problems (moderately severe) without the HFTs which is a non-electronic, room problem.  Now with the Atmosphere XL4, there is no slap echo present when clapping my hands while music is playing.  Amazing.  
fleschler
2,028 posts
 
P.S. The first two sets of HFTs were insufficient for me to remove rear panel diffusers and absorbing panels.  After I installed two speaker kit HFTs I removed all room treatments except for Hallographs.
fleschler
2,028 posts
 
P.P.S. It was really difficult to use only two sets of HFTs to sound correct.  Often, the bass would be too lean or treble to bright depending on my placement.  Following the preferred setup did not work until I installed the speaker kits, then chose the preferred set up for the first two HFT sets.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
Jay sez:

  • "@perfectpathtech seems to have disappeared.

  • Maybe @oregonpapa can recommend him to cut the quantity in half, along with a reduction in price. The unknown & limited shelf life, plus quantity to treat multiple systems, may be off-putting for a product without long term testing. A small sample container, with enough to treat 1-3 products for $10-30, would make a nice addition. 1 per customer. If it’s as good as advertised, customers would buy the full size."
Jay ...

Tim Mrock has not "disappeared." He reads every post in this thread.

There are plenty of contacts in an audio system to paste with TC to justify the 1.5 ml size ... especially if you do your circuit breakers.

Unknown shelf life? If you were to read the thread in its entirety, you’d discover that I still have some connections pasted with the first beta TC a year later. I still have a little left in the syringe, and its still viable.

In addition, it wouldn’t be cost effective to offer a smaller amount. After all, the cost of startup has to be recouped. Its business, pure and simple.

If the entry price is too much risk for you, or anyone else, I’d suggest that you go in with a friend and do both systems. This way, you are getting the product for "half price," right?

Read the positive reviews coming into this thread now. Considering the reviews, why do you still have reservations about "if its as good as advertised?" It is as good as advertised ... and even better.

So now, is there anything else holding you back from buying a tube of TC to enhance your audio system? If so ... what is it? Do you have more questions? If so, I’d be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. If I can't answer them, Tim surely can.

Frank
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Blind listening tests under controlled conditions may not be perfect, but they are infinitely superior to sighted ones if all you are concerned with is sound quality.

I remember vividly how after 'upgrading' my amplifier to one costing 4 times as much I thought I'd check the old one before putting it up for sale.

After switching back and forth a few times the really strange result left me baffled - they sounded remarkably alike! How could this be? Reviews had waxed lyrical about how wonderfully luxurious the new one sounded. Even now, years later I have trouble accepting what I heard. Buying without listening really would be the bane of the audiophile's life if there weren't others out there willing to do the same. 

Similar things often happen when comparing different (re)masterings of favourite albums. Once you have level matched them they often sound remarkably similar. Apart from Dylan's Street Legal, its difficult to think of a clear improvement when its comes to remastering.

It was also odd that when my amp superseded by a new model a few years later the replacement was deemed a clear improvement in the press.

All these 'improvements' year after year....
Perhaps its high time we all got into the tweaking business. Look here, I've got the perfect contact cleaner...it'll transform your system beyond belief. For a mere $50 per 330 ml bottle! I know it looks like a bottle of tap water but trust me....
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