Trans-fi Terminator T3PRO opinions please...

THANKS TO ALL for taking the time to share this detailed info - it's truly all info needed. I have had my eye on it since its inception (I think it was close to 600 USD at the time - much improvement has been done since then obviously), but was concerned about the noise level from the pump (I have a tiny listening room and no way to stick it in another room) and the obvious obstruction of placing records on platter.

I now have a 13 inch Robert Fuchs tonearm (so inching closer to linear ;-) which really and truly is an incredible piece of audio gear - however, with this info (that you kindly provided) I am leaning ever more towards finally (overcoming my fears) and trying one out.

Terry9 - please let us know how it goes with the Hiblow pump when you get to it (I imagine the choice of pump affects the sound).

THANKS again and have a GREAT one!

I bought a Starrett 98-8 precision machinist's level for use with the Salvation and T3Pro. It seemed like ridiculous overkill at first, but once I used it, I found it worth every penny (~$130 on Amazon) in setting up the unsuspended Salvation for level. It makes various other levels typically used on tt's seem like toys. Highly recommended.

Tms, and others, how have you achieved perfect level for the T3Pro? I use Vic's Salvation, and like many tt's the Salvation has 3 adjustable feet. I've always struggled w/getting ALL three feet on the tt to be equally level - whenever I get two feet correct, the third goes out of level.
I've settled on getting the zone that the arm tracks down the platter (ie the limited line the cart tracks down the platter) being precisely level, even if this means some other zones on the platter/feet may be a little out.

Hello Spirit.

The thing is to get the arm absolutely parallel to the surface of the platter. Of course, it helps if your turntable platter does not wobble on its bearing!

To this end, I had an aluminum plinth and tonearm tower made up at a precision machine shop. The plinth has two perfectly parallel machined surfaces, one for the turntable bearing, the other for the tonearm tower. The aluminum tower itself has perfectly square ends. This makes it easy.

First, I level the top of the platter using three adjustable feet. I really take my time on that. I think that I'll follow TMS's advice and use a Starrett in the future - I should have thought of that myself.

Then I power up the air and place the wand carrier, without wand or cartridge, in the centre of the arm, so that it can drift either to the left or right. I adjust the levelling screws until the wand carrier does not move. Then, because the platter bearing and tonearm tower mate to precisely parallel surfaces, the platter and tonearm are parallel by elementary plane geometry.

Et viola. Music.

Spirit, now that I read my response I realize that the last sentence is misleading. True, but still misleading.

The point is that the platter is perpendicular to gravity, and so is the tonearm, by measurement, not theorem. Everything being precision machined and so forth just makes it easier to go from the theoretical optimum to the measured optimum.