I just want to share some of the spots that I've used TC, though most are a rehash of what others have suggested, done already, or contemplated...
I started with the breaker box. First was breakers to bus and wire-ends to breakers + neutral/ground wire ends. Also disassembled ground to copper piping connection, Emory cloth cleaned the connectors and the piping, TC'd and reconnected. Nice...
Outlets as part of system were next. However, I found some benefits from doing outlets and plugs not on the system. Not huge gains, but every little bit... I figured (maybe faulty logic?) that doing this on outlets/equip that is notoriously noisy (microwave, fridge, computers, etc...) might limit some of that noise or junk put back onto the lines.
Interconnects, speaker cables, binding posts, and plug-ends were next. very nice gains. I took suggestions from DavidPritchard (sp?), GK, and oregonpapa by opening the connector ends of my interconnects and pasted the soldered connection points - that worked really well! Breathed new life into ICs that I had placed on the shelf as potential sale/trade-in's. Also, I have made numerous cords, so I removed the plug & IEC ends, trimmed & restripped wires, applied TC, applied a crimp fitting, TC'd that, TC'd the connection points on the inside of the connectors, and re-terminated. Another WOW!
Opening the lids on my amp, pre, and conditioner yielded great results as well. I cannot believe how cheap so many of the crimp connectors are/were in there. Regardless, I purchased some small brushes from Amazon for painting tiny designs on finger/toe-nails so that I could hit only the very specific spots I wanted and not get any where I did not. Work like a charm. I may trim the bristle length to firm them up. I made sure to do all power/crimp connectors, I pasted not just internal fuses, but the compression tabs to hold the fuse - all the way down to the board and over the solder point. Ribbon cable ends and others were also done. Very happy!
I did similar with the cable box, connectors, and such for the television, Roku, etc...
I have done the binding posts on my speakers, the connection points to the drivers, and am in the process of doing the crossovers. I realized that I did not remove the terminations on my speaker cables and do that yet...on the list.
Those of you that have TC and think you've hit all you can - there is likely more possible... I have not tried the wall-plates for outlets or on the external plug shells, yet...my tube gear is tucked-away for the moment, so none there, yet.
All-in-all, I am quite pleased with TC (and the mats/cards). I really like how the clarity improves, but the tonality (I think that's the right term) doesn't shift... Using Walker SST Extreme and similar in the past lent a 'sheen' or 'sparkle' almost immediately, but seemed to go downhill from there. I've only been applying TC for about 9-months or so and have not noticed any degradation of SQ. Hope this helps some...and please share other 'discovered' locations for TC, cards, and mats. Oregonpapa, thanks for the card on the outlet box suggestion...I've not tried that, yet, but I have used velcro wire-ties to wrap cards around power-plug-bodies...not bad at all ;) Also, I placed cards in between the 4 binding posts on each of my speakers since I haven't re-popped the drivers out to TC the crossovers. I'll move them to the crossovers at that point.
Happy Friday-Eve to all!Doug
I started with the breaker box. First was breakers to bus and wire-ends to breakers + neutral/ground wire ends. Also disassembled ground to copper piping connection, Emory cloth cleaned the connectors and the piping, TC'd and reconnected. Nice...
Outlets as part of system were next. However, I found some benefits from doing outlets and plugs not on the system. Not huge gains, but every little bit... I figured (maybe faulty logic?) that doing this on outlets/equip that is notoriously noisy (microwave, fridge, computers, etc...) might limit some of that noise or junk put back onto the lines.
Interconnects, speaker cables, binding posts, and plug-ends were next. very nice gains. I took suggestions from DavidPritchard (sp?), GK, and oregonpapa by opening the connector ends of my interconnects and pasted the soldered connection points - that worked really well! Breathed new life into ICs that I had placed on the shelf as potential sale/trade-in's. Also, I have made numerous cords, so I removed the plug & IEC ends, trimmed & restripped wires, applied TC, applied a crimp fitting, TC'd that, TC'd the connection points on the inside of the connectors, and re-terminated. Another WOW!
Opening the lids on my amp, pre, and conditioner yielded great results as well. I cannot believe how cheap so many of the crimp connectors are/were in there. Regardless, I purchased some small brushes from Amazon for painting tiny designs on finger/toe-nails so that I could hit only the very specific spots I wanted and not get any where I did not. Work like a charm. I may trim the bristle length to firm them up. I made sure to do all power/crimp connectors, I pasted not just internal fuses, but the compression tabs to hold the fuse - all the way down to the board and over the solder point. Ribbon cable ends and others were also done. Very happy!
I did similar with the cable box, connectors, and such for the television, Roku, etc...
I have done the binding posts on my speakers, the connection points to the drivers, and am in the process of doing the crossovers. I realized that I did not remove the terminations on my speaker cables and do that yet...on the list.
Those of you that have TC and think you've hit all you can - there is likely more possible... I have not tried the wall-plates for outlets or on the external plug shells, yet...my tube gear is tucked-away for the moment, so none there, yet.
All-in-all, I am quite pleased with TC (and the mats/cards). I really like how the clarity improves, but the tonality (I think that's the right term) doesn't shift... Using Walker SST Extreme and similar in the past lent a 'sheen' or 'sparkle' almost immediately, but seemed to go downhill from there. I've only been applying TC for about 9-months or so and have not noticed any degradation of SQ. Hope this helps some...and please share other 'discovered' locations for TC, cards, and mats. Oregonpapa, thanks for the card on the outlet box suggestion...I've not tried that, yet, but I have used velcro wire-ties to wrap cards around power-plug-bodies...not bad at all ;) Also, I placed cards in between the 4 binding posts on each of my speakers since I haven't re-popped the drivers out to TC the crossovers. I'll move them to the crossovers at that point.
Happy Friday-Eve to all!Doug