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.
The results from the circuit box TC pasting two weeks ago continue to improve the SQ. These PPT products are all about lowering noise and letting the music flow. The system is to the point now that it’s getting scary. *lol*
This was dug out of the CD vault last night. It’s a wonderful recording with super realism. Demo quality, really.
Robert Bonfiglio is a world premier Chromonica and harmonica player. This CD is a live event recorded at the Grand Canyon and is the music of the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhart. Lots of great jazz and blues. Highly recommended.
One last point, I don't know how my name got dragged into this forum conversation, very seldom in fact it's been years since I have posted anything on this site, simply because of the untruths and BS. However I am a realist and pride myself on integrity to the fullest. I must say that when I hear something that's worth talking about, I don't keep my mouth shut. I was very impressed with what I heard so take it for what it's worth. The PPT or Total Contact will be used in my system. No doubt about it. Once I get a taste in my system, I will report back in a few my observations. Happy Listening.
I was a bit skeptical about the Perfect Path Tech (PPT) when I first heard about it last year. However upon paying a visit to Mike Girardi house to listen to his system I am now a firm believer in the PPT revolution. Mikes system was off the chain, if you read his review on StereoTimes, he is spot on with his observations and feedback. To be certain I could mimic and vouch for everything he wrote. The system sounded real, with zero compression and very holographic throughout. I was amazed how the keyboards from Keith Jarrett played on the album Tokyo 96, it was just like being there. His room was decked out with PPT mats, etc, and Synergistic Research throughout. But back to the music. As he played song after song, I realized I am now a fan of the PPT revolution. His system is the real deal. I will start slow with my system and work from there. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. As I read through this forum, I notice a bunch of skepticism and doubt. To this I say your loss. All you naysayers have no idea of what you're talking about. What Mike has written about in his review is spot on.
@stray_cat If a system makes all music sound in room it means the lower level reverb and highs have been removed or obscured, in addition to the distortion. An uncolored system will reproduce both low level and high level reverb. I don't have a problem with people liking this sound, but it's a coloration. You're welcome to like what you like. The coloration just makes these products unwise to use in mixing & mastering. It's sad that many professional reviewers can't understand & explain the difference.
@mikeg Thank you for proving my point! You are putting your words and opinion in Moreno Mitchell’s mouth. That is called conjecture. Even anything he states to you could be untruthful, but at least you could then quote his exact words. I’ve seen multiple of the biggest names in reviewing tell another reviewer how good his system sounded & then admit to me about the flaws. Moreno Mitchell can go on the record in print or the forum if he so wishes to provide his opinion.
Update, I have discovered that one gets more top end air with Cap'n Crunch with the Crunch berries. By comparison in the test group are Post Toasties and Sugar Pops and regular Cap"n Crunch. The box top with Sugar Pops Pete on it provides more low end grunt IMO. I have heard he was always a bass man.
Ah, the defender of the faithful rises from the depths. I applied liberally to cereal boxtops and got the same effect as E mats. <3. The Mad Scientist lube that is. Any help there? <3. Noise floor dropping and I could swear I can hear another full octave. Imagine if i had used Total Contact lube?
So, obviously, you have tried both products and made an in-depth comparison. What were your results? Can you describe the differences?
There are those who in the past have elected to use the Mad Scientist's product thinking it was the same as Total Contact. Haven't heard back from them as yet though. Hopefully, you can be of help.
jay23, Having lived with TC on most, if not all my external connections a few months now, I *sense* that it actually minimizes colorations in that chain allowing me to get closer to the truth. When a replacement piece of gear is a real upgrade or is a better fit, it just stays. I'm compelled to use it whenever I break a connection and plan on getting inside components to treat *all* connections. If anyone has gotten inside a Node2 please post how lol.
I'm 100% sure, like most complicated systems, more than one leg of wire or piece isn't absolutely neutral.
What colorations have you identified in TC, and did you resolve them?
jay23, coincidently, Moreno Mitchell was over yesterday to hear my system, since he was in a hurry previously, the first time, he drove out to my house to deliver speakers. He lives about 3 hours away and if was wasn’t impressed the first time when he heard my system, I don’t think he would have driven over a second time to hear my system. Why don't you seek your fulfillment else where and inhabit some other thread.
Yes, a "real" reviewer. One that has to "name drop" to try and support his reviews of questionable products.
"To confirm this wasn’t the placebo affect at work here, I repeated the same test with my 17-year-old son (first chair saxophone in his high school band) located in my system’s sweet spot. My son agreed with me on all points listed above." http://www.stereotimes.com/acc020813.shtml
"Four weeks after my 'AC panel service' was completed, I hosted a local audiophile friend, who is highly discerning when it comes to music reproduction and system set-up and hadn’t heard my system since applying TC."
"Recently, Moreno Mitchell, a fellow Stereotimes reviewer, dropped in and heard my fully-treated PerfectPath system....."
I don't question that the pTP products can change the sound or reduce noise. I don't care for colored products that roll off the highs along with the distortion. I don't have a problem with people liking colored products that sound like the artists are in the room.
Thanks goodness a 'real' reviewer is reporting the same audible improvements as us delusional gullible slubs. Will the skeptic's be tempted to make the plunge and report back in they were wrong?
@oregonpapa Maybe so. I did a thorough cleaning of GE 12AU7 which are the signal tubes on my amp. Finally, cleaning with alcohol, wiping carefully with Q-tips and brushing with a soft metal brush, but also cleaning with small dental brush inside the tubes sockets, finally I got rid of this crackling. I don’t know if I will apply TC again on it. I really wanted to be able to use these GE tubes again, vastly superior to the OEM Electro Harmonix Gold, so now that they are fine again I’m not sure to re-dux the whole process. I don't get exactly what went wrong, since the second time I applied TC on the first 1/4-th of the pins length. No prob with KT120 power tubes though. Had first a return from Tim Mrock, then no words from him.
This Total contact is amazing! I didn’t know how how far a tube would go , so I bought way too many! I think I have six extra kits! If you know anyone who needs one or two, I’m selling them at a discount. I used it on power cords, speaker cables and inter connects with incredible results.you can email me at macez101@aol.com
I had the same problem with the first incarnation of TC after I did the tube pins. The problem was with one tube in the line stage. I tried everything to solve the problem. I had extra tubes and selected a good one, then did as Geoff suggested and only pasted about half way up the pins. That solved the problem. No problems since and that was two years ago. All of my tube pins are pasted throughout the system at this point and the sound is wonderful.
Sometimes the problem is on the bottom glass portion of the tube or the surface of the tube socket. Clean with alcohol. When contact enhancer is applied too liberally or too far up the tube pins the material can get squeezed onto the glass and or the tube socket when the tube is pushed back into the socket.
Yesterday my SACD player disc tray got stuck and stayed stuck. I finally watched some YouTube repair videos and it is either a worn belt or a worn drive gear. Hopefully fixable at the one repair shop still in my town.
Got out the backup CD player not used in years. Upgraded it with an application of Total Contact to snap together pin connectors, capacitors, transistors, power cable input, interconnect output connectors, and grounding wires to the chassis. About 75 parts total. Fuses are the old soldered in type so not replaceable with Synergistic Research (SR) Blue fuses. So instead put SR ECT's (Electronic Circuit Transducers) on top of each of the 6 fuses. Also added ECT's at the power inlet and to the audio output connectors. A total of 10 ECT's.
Have been running the unit on continuous play since installing into the system. After 10 hours it is already sounding very nice. No digititis!.
The sound is relaxed, no noticeable grain, with a nice soundstage. The sound should get better over the next 14 days.
In my opinion, the combination of Total Contact and the Synergistic Research ECT's is a major upgrade to components such as a CD player.
This thread was started exactly one year ago to the day. Merry Christmas to all of you TC paster’s and Omega E Matter’s out there, and a special thanks to Tim Mrock and his wife Krissy for bringing us these game-changing products. They have opened up our musical enjoyment beyond what we thought was ever possible.
Thank you for posting the wonderful and thought-provoking links. And once again Geoff is correct, the sound of music is occurring at my house this holiday season.
I do hope you will try the Perfect Path Technologies Total Contact. It has made a significant improvement in each system I have treated. Stereo speaker system, headphone system, and video system. It is easy to use and the results are major.
Yesterday I turned my attention to the headphone system’s Maranz SACD player. It already has been treated with 11 Synergistic Research ECT’s, and 6 SR Blue fuses. Of course each fuse checked for optimal direction 😊. The player has two E-Mats on top of the player.
Using the TotalContact product, I painted the tops of approximately 70 capacitors and transistors. It was interesting to hear the major changes in sound over the first 10 minutes after the application. Two hours latter there was a definite improvement in the 3D aspect of the sound. Overall the sound was neither darker or brighter just better. This was a most positive experiment.
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