Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners



Where are you? What mods have you done ?

I have been using these ET2's for over 9 years now.
I am still figuring them out and learning from them. They can be modified in so many ways. Bruce Thigpen laid down the GENIUS behind this tonearm over 20 years ago. Some of you have owned them for over 20 years !

Tell us your secrets.

New owners – what questions do you have ?

We may even be able to coax Bruce to post here. :^)

There are so many modifications that can be done.

Dressing of the wire with this arm is critical to get optimum sonics along with proper counterweight setup.

Let me start it off.

Please tell us what you have found to be the best wire for the ET-2 tonearm ? One that is pliable/doesn’t crink or curl. Whats the best way of dressing it so it doesn’t impact the arm. Through the spindle - Over the manifold - Below manifold ? What have you come up with ?
128x128ct0517
I may just do that; would be the only fair comparison of the two arms. Interesting comments re thrust bearings; makes complete sense. Re thread drive: I have no doubt its the way to go; just one of the many
unfinished projects and will definitely try it. BTW, spending most of the summer at our upstate place while I play at a couple of summer music festivals and finally had a chance to get the system up here up and running. Vintage Luxman DD has been showing the advantages of DD's pitch stability. But, boy do I miss the tonal qualities of my TNT/ET setup. Also, speed stability yes, but also a strange lack of rhythmic impetus; almost as if the music doesn't move forward the way it should. More tweaking is in order. Regards.
Frogman - I may just do that; would be the only fair comparison of the two arms

That is a review of impressions I would be willing to cough up some coin to read.

something a little different - I came across this.

The man behind this thread. Scroll down to the bottom for a picture of Bruce. His rotary woofer is the only loudspeaker in the world that can reproduce the sound of Niagara Falls accurately.

Falls Fury Rotary woofer
Interesting comments on the Terminator linear tracking arm from Dgarretson on the MM thread who has fabricated a lightweight carriage from carbon finer instead of aluminium....
08-16-13
The wand has dual front and rear counterweights for continuously adjustable vertical effective mass.
Total horizontal mass of arm, cradle, and carbon fiber sled is 45gm, and can be increased by weighting the air sled.
08-18-13:
I've tried it with as little as 35gm horizontal mass and as much as 100gm-- approximating the range of horizontal effective mass from ET to Kuzma airline. So far less horizontal mass sounds better in all instances. This does not hold true for vertical mass.
Just another reminder that the best place for adding lead mass is on the end of a fishing line. It has no place on the ET.
08-19-13: Dover
Interesting comments on the Terminator linear tracking arm from Dgarretson on the MM thread who has fabricated a lightweight carriage from carbon finer instead of aluminium....
08-16-13
The wand has dual front and rear counterweights for continuously adjustable vertical effective mass.
Total horizontal mass of arm, cradle, and carbon fiber sled is 45gm, and can be increased by weighting the air sled.
08-18-13:
I've tried it with as little as 35gm horizontal mass and as much as 100gm-- approximating the range of horizontal effective mass from ET to Kuzma airline. So far less horizontal mass sounds better in all instances. This does not hold true for vertical mass.

Interesting comments from DG as they relate to the Terminator arm. I have only seen pictures of it.

imo - it is not valid comparing the ET2, 2.5 and Kuzma Airline in this manner because although the later Kuzma resembles the ET2 in appearance their design objectives are as different as apples and oranges. This has been discussed here.

Some facts

The Kuzma Airline requires the wires and air tube for damping of the cantilever.
Through private Kuzma owner emails I have learned the Kuzma has difficulty with lower VTF and higher compliant cartridges.
Requires a heavier cartridge with a stiff cantilever. Any Airline owners disagree with this comment? I don't own it and the reason I ask.

The ET2 (2.5) in contrast can play a light high compliant (how about a sonus blue gold at .2gm) or an Acutex 4 series then turn around and play a stiff cantilever on a heavy MC.
The ET2, 2.5 requires neither the tubing or wiring for damping and tracks best with no wiring.

I know this because I use it this way (no wiring) now to level it and have had it track the record this way - once.
I say once because I haven't figured out how to get any sound when I run it this way.

again I ask - how do we make it wireless ?

Johnathan Carr, Peter Ledermann or another cartridge designer if you see this - this thread is at over 150,000 views.

Does anyone have any plans for a wireless cartridge ?
I will buy your beta cartridge even if it means putting in some kind of computer chip in my preamp.

C'mon Nobody likes wires anyway. They just get in the way.

Unless you can set the wires up like Frogman.

http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1366422461.jpg

Then we can call it Art.

I have no problem with that.

Remember when phones needed wires. My kids don't - they laugh when I tell them.

The ET2 also has VTA on the fly that doesn't change parameters like VTF.
Set your Airline at the highest and lowest setting and you'll notice your VTF has been altered.
This is an owner confirmed comment.

Does "any" other arm exist that does vta on the fly?
Same thickness records have included cut angles that are random from the different record plants.
How do you guys deal with this?

The ET2 can also be tuned for different compliance cartridges MC and MM.
Cheers
08-21-13: Ct0517
08-19-13: Dover
Interesting comments on the Terminator linear tracking arm from Dgarretson on the MM thread who has fabricated a lightweight carriage from carbon finer instead of aluminium....
08-16-13
The wand has dual front and rear counterweights for continuously adjustable vertical effective mass.
Total horizontal mass of arm, cradle, and carbon fiber sled is 45gm, and can be increased by weighting the air sled.
08-18-13:
I've tried it with as little as 35gm horizontal mass and as much as 100gm-- approximating the range of horizontal effective mass from ET to Kuzma airline. So far less horizontal mass sounds better in all instances. This does not hold true for vertical mass.

Interesting comments from DG as they relate to the Terminator arm. I have only seen pictures of it.

imo - it is not valid comparing the ET2, 2.5 and Kuzma Airline in this manner
Dgarretson is not comparing the ET2 & Kuzma. His post is quite clear - it is a report on the effect of running the Terminator with different horizontal effective masses.
At no point in his post is he comparing the ET2 and Kuzma tonearms.