et-2 damping trough-good idea or not?

While the adhesive on the trough is very aggressive, it will (or can) dry out and lose its grip over time. However, this could be decades.

Using the trough with a magnesium arm and a Decca Gold cartridge resulted in no sonic difference here, so unless you have an early aluminum wand, I'm inclined to agree with ct0517 about its usefulness.

Heed ct0517’s advice on all things ET2.  I would add that using the trough with the magnesium or carbon fiber warms may actually do more harm than simply negate the need for it by overdamping.  In my particular setup it caused the music to sound overly covered and lacking hf air.  With the aluminum wand (and my cartridges) it was a definite improvement.

Dear @frogman : I’m not an expert with the ET-2 that I owned many many years ago.

""" need for it by overdamping.... """

overdamping?, why overdamping?. If that " damping " does not affects the normal and " free tonearm/cartridge movements from where could came that overdamping " ?

Feedback of resonances/vibrations in the cartridge ridding the LP surface are the ones that affect/degrades the more the quality of recorded signal. The " ideal " is that those resonances/vibrations and generated distortions can disappear and if the " damping " helps in some " quantity " to that " disappears " that is a good thing.

"" music to sound overly covered and lacking hf air. "

I can’t " see " the existence of overdamping but more that what you are listening is what is in the recording.

What we need is that the cantilever movements ridding the LP recorded modulations stays that way: whit only those modulations with out that " terrible " and always existent feedback that the cartridge takes as " modulations movements ".

Have you a different explanation that that non existent overdamping?

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

**** If that " damping " does not affects the normal and " free tonearm/cartridge movements ****

It does.

**** what you are listening is what is in the recording ****

Is it not obvious that my comment was about comparisons of the sound on the same recordings without and then with the damping trough?

**** I’m not an expert with the ET-2 ****

On that point, we agree.

Regards.

.

Dear @frogman  : " it does ": that could explain that " overdamping " you named but what I can't understand yet because ( again ) I'm not an ET2 expert is:

"""  With the aluminum wand (and my cartridges) it was a definite improvement. """

Could that means that the ET2 with aluminum has a different overall design other than the aluminum build material down there?

because if it's the same overall design but the aluminum wand build material then : why an improvement when the damping affects ( " it does ". ) the normal and free tonearm/cartridge movements? which could your explanation about?


R.