Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Ct0517
The best Pinot Gris in NZ are from the Central Otago region as are the best Pinot Noir. Even the cheapies from this region will usually be better than from elsewhere in NZ. The Hawkes Bay region is known for its Cabernet/Merlots's and the Marlborough region for Sauvignon Blanc's.
Unfortunately for those with a lead fetish, they must avoid wines with high lead content as it can lead to irrascibility, irritability, confusion and even delirium.
Some of the vinyards to look out for are -
Mt Difficulty - very very good, a tonic for those who are struggling with their ET.
Wooing Tree - something aromatic you could share with Dorothy
Dry Gully - for those that are shall we say "having trouble with the waterworks".
Two Paddocks - this is owned by Sam Neil the famous NZ actor, probably one for those with too many Kangaroos in the top paddock - hence the name Two Paddocks.
As you can see there is a suitable wine for all occasions. In fact after a particularly good meal and Pinot Noir the other night I had a brainwave. I'm going to eliminate the counterweight completely. By my reckoning I can use a helium balloon to hold the cartridge up. I'm just trying to work out how to adjust tracking force up and down down in increments of 0.001g. I think I can do this with a temperature controlled environment used in tandem with the helium balloon.

Dover - The issue I had with changing VTA on the fly is that the bearing tube can go out of level very easily when adjusting VTA. This may have been due to the fact that I used a single point ground when tightening the bolts holding the bearing to post. Whenever you loosen or tighten the pillar bolts you need to recheck the bearing tube is dead level.

An observation on running the wire on the outside of the armtube.

Running the wire in this manner allows one to disengage it; set the ET2 up without it, then add the wire and see how big the influence of the wires is on the leveling of the air bearing spindle.

Its significant.

Some of you may be throwing the level of your VTA post out dealing with the wire influence? The happy face loop going direct to the preamp has worked best for me.

Also to consider - what if your TT platter goes out of level with the changes in season – have you guys ever thought about that ? Its only a few bolts to disassemble and reassemble the ET2 to check the subplate levelling.

When the pillar is assembled the vertical bolts should imo just slightly be touching making firm contact – each side very much the same. Any significant adjustment to the screws for the air bearing spindle should be an indicator that something is out. If it is go back and fix the sub plate level and your turntable platter level.

There is one more option here. More of a bandaid but what the hell. It requires some thought ahead of time. Gather the records you intend to play - lets assume eight of them for example. Sort them by thickness - greatest thickness to the least. Go in one direction with the VTA for your listening session. It will be much smoother even if your pillar post is not perfectly level. Going back and forth on the VTA will make a wrongly setup post more noticeable.

Dover – thanks for the wine recommendations. Dorothy happens to be a whiskey girl. Hardcore all the way just like the ET2. No pussy footing around here.

Her personality is also just like Bruce’s for those that have had the pleasure of talking or emailing with him. All business. If Bruce wasn’t into flying I bet he could come up with a hell of a race car :^)

When any wine is being served I accept it - as it is Gods drink. Well that’s the excuse to my wife. If I have to buy it myself I am more a red wine guy. Prefer wine I can’t see through. So it is Pinot Noir over Gris for me if I had a choice. White wine tends to taste like grape juice to me for some reason and goes down same. Car keys please....

As it is summer here now I enjoy Sleeman Cream Ale while listening to bull frogs and authentic Canadian Loons that have come home.

Correction: the review I posted was not Stereophile. It was Audio magazine, 1987, reviewer Edward M Long.

Dover: "Back in December last year I posted a postulation that one could consider mounting the cartridge slightly forward of the tangent line."

I don't believe you "posted a postulation."

You reacted to information known since Edward Long published it in the measurements section of his Audio review, year 1987 (that channel synchronization wasn't achieved until an overhang of .125 in was used).

I phoned Bruce Thigpen on the issue in 1987 ie overhang, and channel synchronization.

He said "He's probably right. I was aware of this, and should have, but never pursued it further."

We assume, I suppose, on this thread, that BT can solve all problems, but he has fingers in other pies.

John47 - We assume, I suppose, on this thread, that BT can solve all problems, but he has fingers in other pies.

No not really John - check the original post for this thread.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1325551242&&&/Eminent-Technology-ET-2-Tonearm-Owners

Its asking for ways (as a team)to improve the tonearm.

My personal definition of a great design is one that can be tweaked and made better without changing the basic design.

With that I have tremendous respect for people that think outside of the box and don’t follow the herd. Are willing to take some chances.

In this audio hobby with my personal experiences I could name maybe 4 or 5 individuals including BT. I believe we all have this list of people from our own experiences?

Cheers