Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Well, per Bruce T's recommendation, I installed one of my two original (lower mass) aluminum arm wands in place of the magnesium wand (lighter version) that I have been using since purchasing it about twenty (!) years ago. I had been meaning to try the original wand again since returning to MM cartridges about two years ago, but because of the somewhat difficult arrangement that I have of a continuous run of tonearm wire from cartridge clips to preamplifier, I had not gotten around to it. Also keep in mind that I had wrapped the magnesium wand with cloth tape for extra damping, but also adding extra mass.

These are very preliminary observations/reactions, but I must say that I am surprised at the magnitude of change in the sound; with the Acutex 420. It is far from being a slam-dunk in favor of the aluminum wand; in spite of BT's assertion that the aluminum wand would work better with the high-compliance Acutex. The reduction in bass weight with the aluminum wand is striking, with an apparent increase in clarity that I am not yet convinced is not simply a psychoacoustic effect due to the reduction in bass weight and overall fullness. Somewhat paradoxically, the overall sound is leaner while seeming to have less grain in the highs. I need to spend more time with this wand to really understand what is going on, but after only a few sides it has become even more clear that this cartridge, aside from the already and often discussed sensitivity to VTA, VTF, azimuth, etc., may also be unusually sensitive to arm (headshell?) mass in unexpected ways; which may explain, at least in part, the different reactions to this cartridge.

More to follow.

Frogman -
I got considerably more transparency and even less grain when I removed the inner foam and stripped off the heatshrink from the aluminium arm tube with both low compliance ( Denon 103 Garrott ) and high compliance ( Shure V15VMR ) cartridges.
Also I suggested implementing electromagnetic dampening of lateral movement by using fridge magnets early in this post - disappointingly for me, only ct0517 has tried it - a $5 tweak that stabilises the cartridges so much, you get increased output and have to turn the volume down. The dampening increases proportionally with lateral arm movement speed.
By the way magnesium has a lower Youngs Modulus than aluminium, which means it is much softer and less rigid ceteris parabus.
If you want to go one step further, you can open up the cartridge end of the wand ( the aluminium is very thin ), pull out the soft teflon insert, and replace it with a piece of carbon fiber. You can use superglue and clamp it up with a decent vice. This gives you a much stiffer headshell.

Dear Dover, great stuff! Thank you.

I will definitely try removing the heat shrink and the Teflon insert. When I first got the magnesium wand, if memory serves, I was using a Spectral MCR which benefited from the extra mass and dampening of the magnesium wand; with the aluminum wand it was lean and white to the point of being unpleasant sounding in spite of it's tremendous detail retrieval and speed (Raul?). I did not try your magnet dampening tweak as I use the damping trough with my ET2 and lateral movement is already well controlled; I am intrigued however and will try it.

Thanks again, and I will report back after I live with the aluminum wand a little longer.

Frogman - the order I went through was -
1st removed inner foam - listening test
2nd removed heatshrink - listening test
3rd modified head shell - listening test
4th added electrodampening - listening test
My personal view on fluid dampening is that it slugs/smears the sound, as does spongy dampening such as foam/heatshrink.
Your experience with the Spectral MCR mirrors mine.
I would suggest you disengage the dampening trough first - so you can hear the other changes more clearly.
Good luck.

I have been a "lurker" on Audiogon for a little while, but when I saw this thread on ET tonearms, I couldn't resist submitting a post.

I purchased my ET2 back in 1997, installed it on my HW-19 Mk3, and have used it ever since. I recently upgraded my system, which includes a Precision Fidelity preamp, Ladyday+ Mk2 Signature mono blocks and a pair of 70's vintage Klipsch LaScalas. I listen to a lot of female vocalists and Jazz, as well as blues.

I'm currently using a Grado Reference Platinum, but it is getting quite a few hours on it, and I am at the point that I should either re-tip or upgrade. I have never had any issues with the setup (no hum), but would like to make sure I'm using the right cartridge . My question is - should I stick with the Grado or look at another cartridge?

I would prefer to stay with a MM cartridge and I would like to keep the cost at no more than $500. I have been reading with great interest the posts about the 420 STR, but their lack of availability is an issue.

Anyway, thanks for your inputs in advance and thanks for a great thread devoted to a great tonearm!

Mark