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
You can call this mad, or you can call this anal.

So go ahead and call me mad or call me anal.......just pls don't call me Dorothy.....I am not worthy.
Chris.

You have now given us all another area to pine over. Humidity.....thanks a lot! :-)

I don't think that your test is quite representative of what I was suggesting, since you are disabling one regulator but leaving its body in circuit. If their is any instability in the regulator it could be caused by the its structure, since the air flow path is convoluted. For example the water separator function is achieved by creating a vortex in the bowl.

I will have a play this weekend where I move the regulator close to the arm, making the adjustment for line losses. This will keep the arm pressure the same.
I will use exactly the same hose and length so the only variable will be the reg position.

BTW, I have a pressure gauge very close to the arm, it reads in bar. Setting the pressure by ear results in a reading of 1.25 bar which is a little over 18 psi, not the 17 psi I mentioned earlier. That said how accurate are the gauges we are using anyway?

cheers.
don't think that your test is quite representative of what I was suggesting, since you are disabling one regulator but leaving its body in circuit. If their is any instability in the regulator it could be caused by the its structure, since the air flow path is convoluted. For example the water separator function is achieved by creating a vortex in the bowl.

this is true Richard. not the best example - I could unplug both ends and just use a coupler.

That said how accurate are the gauges we are using anyway?

Even if these devices were perfect we know that no two records are identical.
Always trust your own ears. Use measurement devices. PSI gauges, alignment devices, VTF scales to just get into the ball park. Fine tune with your ears.
Chris.

Even if you use a joiner, you will still be removing one regulator from the air circuit so it will not be a true AB test.

Yep agree, measurements only take you so far.
We don't listen to numbers.
Ok
Since I cooked dinner tonite, I got a leave pass afterwards...,

Have just finished trying the second regulator close to the arm.
There was just 3 feet of tube between it and the arm, the original configuration having 40 feet of tube. I adjusted the pressure to compensate for line losses.

With the regulator close, the soundstage shrunk both in width and depth. There is a subtle veil over the sound with attack and decay diminished.
The model of regulator I use is. Norgren B07-201-A1KG.
Looks like a pretty standard unit and appears similar to the photos posted here by various owners.

After an hour of going back and forth to confirm my findings, I couldn't wait to settle back to the original layout.......
Compressor with built in regulator- 4 ft PVC tube- needle valve bleed off- second regulator- 40 ft PVC tube- pressure gauge- arm.

The Norgren regulator does something to the air flow that the arm doesn't like. Having 40 ft of tube mitigates this.
I would be curious to read findings from others where a significant length of soft PVC tube was used between the reg and arm vs a short length of the same tube.

For my setup the long tube was clearly superior.