Tweakers' Asylum: REVIEW: Furutech Nano Liquid Accessory by Tuckers

Model:	Nano Liquid
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$150
Description:	Electrical Contact Enhancer
Manufacturer URL:	Furutech
Model Picture:	View

Review by Tuckers ( M ) on July 31, 2006 at 13:17:59
IP Address: 24.5.143.166

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I have tried a many different contact enhancers over the years. Some work well, some don't. The Nano Liquid from Furutech is the best one I have tried yet.
Nano Liquid is a suspension of microscopic particles of silver and gold in Squalene. Squalene is a fish-based oil that is highly refined, has natural antioxidants in it and lasts a long time. It is a thin brown fluid, and it comes in a very small bottle with a brush for application.
It goes on very easy, you just paint on the fluid on RCA jacks etc. The fluid will harden a bit over time to a film. I have used it extensively in my system and in systems I have built and still have not used up the bottle. The fluid will stain like Silver Nitrate stains, so be careful with it. It is not an contact cleaner or de-oxidizer, so you will want to use a cleaner on the contact before treating it (my favorite is Kontact). I would remove any residual cleaner with alchohol or whatever you typically use (Kontact does not leave any residual), so it doesn't interact with the Nano Liquid. Nano Liquid cannot short a connection like other types of conductive treatments. I do not know how it would work on tube sockets, as I have not tried it there, I use Caig Pro Gold GT with those. It removes easily with alchohol.
When I treat contacts with Nano Liquid, I hear a clearer midrange, cleaner highs, more energy to the music. My system sounds overall sounds clearer and more dynamic, with tighter bass, like the volume had gone up.
One of the things that is most important and most often overlooked with contact enhancers is performance over time. All connections will degrade over time, and periodic cleaning is necessary to get the best out of your system. I left my system treated with the Nano Liquid for six months before I recleaned and reapplied it to all my connections. The result? A slight improvement. That's amazing, as usually, I notice a much bigger difference. I did it again, waiting another six months, same results. So the Nano Liquid does really protect connections better than any other enhancer I have tried.
I use Caig De-Oxit and Caig Pro-Gold and they do not preserve connection quality as well.
I have used Walker SST (original version) on my system. The positive difference was more dramatic, with a lot more energy to the music, and a really magic midrange. However, I had problems with electrical shorting, and it is very hard to completey remove from connections. Also, I gave it my time test, leaving it in my system for about four months. Then I cleaned my system completely removing all SST with Caig De-oxit and alchohol and using just Caig Progold as a treatment. The result was a persistent harshness in the midrange was removed, highs that were lost came back, my system came back to life. I had been bothered by a percieved increase in system harshness over those months, and removing the SST cured it. The SST had degraded quickly and actually negatively impacted the sonics in my system to a fair degree. Since that experience, I have kept this type of conductive paste away from my system.
Nano Fluid is the best all around contact enhancer I have used, and it keeps my system sounding it's best for a long time. I got mine from Chris Ven Haus, and I highly recommend it.

Product Weakness: It's expensive, it can stain clothing or fingers.
Product Strengths: Easy to apply, improves midrange, highs, dynamics, lowers noise floor. Does not degrade over time to impact the sound.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Shindo Sinhonia
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Shindo Catherine
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	VRS Revelation Music Player, Well Tempered Reference w/ Airy3
Speakers:	Horning Akiabades
Cables/Interconnects:	My own silver interconnects, Auditorium 23 speaker cables, TG audio power cable, Nirvana Power Cables, etc.
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, Jazz, Vocal, Folk, Blues
Room Size (LxWxH):	35 x 25 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Custom built room
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 year
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Sound Applicaitons, my own power filtration, Quantum's Symphony Pro
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	It's expensive, it can stain clothing or fingers.
Product Strengths:	Easy to apply, improves midrange, highs, dynamics, lowers noise floor. Does not degrade over time to impact the sound.