Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Chris: I didn't go back to review posts... from memory, my initial response to "Nightfly" being a lp we could all compare was, "it is one of the first digital recordings ever". I don't think my system is state of the art by any measure. What I'm confident of is that when ever I put any of my "Nightfly" lps on, I can't listen through a side. My system/room weakness, yes, I'm perfectly willing to accept that. Most SD lps are made with prescion, that coupled with the advent of digital recordings is a connundrum. I can only report on what my ears tell me.

Dover: Thanks for your thoughts. I know now my wire loom is not the best. My thoughts on building a new 'separate' plinth, completely discarding the VPI base all together, will be a totally different venue for a separate armpod to be introduced. I probably didn't make this clear before. (I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't clear now). (A laugh is appropriate here). I have the AN wire waiting in the wing. Awesome! I hope.

You're suggestion regarding separating the crossovers from the speakers is one I haven't thought of but I sure can see the sonic value. I'll keep it in my to do list located somewhere in my mind. While I have some thoughts on 'better' stands, your idea is probably more cost effective with better results. Thanks.

A comparison: Put on a copy of Aja,(77') then compare it to Nightfly, 82", I think you'll get where I'm coming from.
No comparison, IMO.

Dover: Your idea has my excitement level on a 10. Thanks, I will pursue this, separating the speaker crossover.

Sorry for overwhelming.... I meant to share that I recently went to a evening called Music Matters with my audio buddy. I was 10' from Fremer. Our 'analog man'.

He played some hi-rez files from his Continuum table. Some Joni Mitchell, Who, Rolling Stones.

These sounded GREAT! My friend remarked to me later how the rhythmic drive, propulsion of the music was apparent. That made an impression on me. The Stones as we all know aren't known for sonics, in this case, it was the best I've ever heard. The source was a MFSL lp. The tt in the room was a SME 10. A copy of The Band was played, the sense of realism was apparent.

I, of course made a fool of myself when I remarked about his giving a copy of "Rough Mix" to Classic for their reproduction of that lp cover. maybe I'm the only one who noticed.

Bruce Thigpen 420 STR Impressions.

Chris,

These are my impressions.

This is an excellent cartridge. Mechanically it is a high compliance cartridge, much higher than most any modern moving coil.
There were no noise problems, the hum level was at the noise floor and it was quiet running straight in to an older SP-11. Tracking was very good to excellent. The design hints of the Goldring 900's of many years ago and the sound quality reminds me of the last Shure ultra 500, which I liked a lot. So its a bargain, to bad these are out of print.
With respect to use in the ET-2 or 2.5, the best wand to use would be the original aluminum arm wand with the thick coating or the carbon fiber wand. I actually prefer the ET-2 to the 2.5 with this cartridge.
Thanks very much for the loan Chris

-brucet

Guys ( gals? )

Through my various emails bugging him :^( for his impressions (I received them this morning). I got a real sense that Bruce appreciated the downtime to listen to vinyl. IMO, the more we can do to draw folks like Bruce Thigpen back into vinyl; I feel is a good thing for vinyl and music in general. Whether you are an ET2 owner or not on this thread, a quick email thanking him for his impressions here is a start.

Brucet (at) eminent-tech (dot) com