Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Hi Ct & Frogman!
"My place" is a historical house we run as a hostel, with a cultural program (which I organize with a few friends). The remaining time (not much) & energy (still enough) is spent on hifi and developing concepts & ideas. This has a company name and is actually more like a small personal counseling service to customers (who often are or became friends).
And I play in an amateur wind-instrument band.

And yes, Frogman, I read about and appreciated your similar experience with the screw torque. (And the sax (?) playing).

You're right with the several modes to mis-tune an ET2. It needs a bit of 3D operational understanding and then every screw (inside the brain too) falls into its place.
I leave the basic side-ways adjustment (the two posts) with very low torque, and keep the locking tilt screw fixed. I do lateral (and vertical) fine-tuning with the tripod screws in a balanced way: up one, down the other. The torque on the central pillar fixing screw stays the same this way.
I think it is really moving the VTA lever itself which dis-balances the arm a bit and the mechanism is not quite keeping the arm quite level. I pull the VTA lever with one finger using the bearing as a base, so there are (almost) no forces going to the plinth and the connection to it.
I "feel" the same about less interfaces is more (underneath the Tiptoes). But I got good results with small single steel pieces underneath the tiptoes. I think a whole steel or alu plate is less desirable. I will look to improve on this in my actual ad-hoc installation, which has a few things to improve.
BTW another tweak I use is trapezoid wedges of cardboard which I slide in (vertical) underneath both ends of the bearing housing (or damping trough) until they slightly lock the bearing to the plinth. This absorbs any horizontal elastic movement of the bearing on top of the pillar. They have to be applied with plyers, and should put symmetrical force to not unbalance the arm. I do this after having found my preferred settings (... :-)

You're right with the several modes to mis-tune an ET2. It needs a bit of 3D operational understanding and then every screw (inside the brain too) falls into its place.

Brilliant, such an abstract thought and very well said. Set up requires very out of the box thinking. Imo –we are not talking about trying to put the round peg in round hole here. The records are very imperfect things and have not changed since the beginning of time. The ET2 has been built as a slave to the record. Trying to go rigid in every aspect of a tonearm’s construction will not work when the source is so Flexible ! ok my opinion again. Moving around off centered, up and down ! Lets remember the stylus changes /modifies the actual vinyl for a temporary period and a cooling period is required for it to go back to shape. Do you want your tonearm to be a big heavy stick or a delicate wand.

Also repeat setup of the ET2 will not make the brain kick into gear - imo. I tend to just repeat old habits over and over this way. One needs to have reached a comfortable level with the ET2 first. You need to be relaxed, sit back and while enjoying some music you look over at the arm working in such precision on the record and then it just clicks. You will know when these moments happen. It requires patience, calm and time/experience.

Readers are wondering why the hell go to all this trouble for a bloody tonearm. After all I can plunk :^) down my Dynavector 505 tonearm on any plinth or armboard - unscrewed - and just based on its immense weight get music playing by design. But - like I told an audio friend recently who is in the initial setup of his ET2; once you have had your first good run with familiar music - you are hooked. The sounds you hear snap into play and flow. Like water from a pipe. The Endorphins flow :^)

BTW another tweak I use is trapezoid wedges of cardboard which I slide in (vertical) underneath both ends of the bearing housing (or damping trough) until they slightly lock the bearing to the plinth. This absorbs any horizontal elastic movement of the bearing on top of the pillar. They have to be applied with plyers, and should put symmetrical force to not unbalance the arm.

Very interesting thx for sharing.

Frogman - Enjoy the Colors

Frogman – where we are (like other places I assume) the leaves are enjoyed for their beauty, shade and then the burst of colors before they fall and depending on where you live a problem if they need to bagged or recycled.
It is my understanding from (internet reading) that in Japan the leaves are battered, deep fired and eaten ? Can anyone with real experience here provide more information. A recipe maybe - :^)
The oak leaves take forever to fall and come spring are still there !

****Trying to go rigid in every aspect of a tonearm’s construction will not work when the source is so Flexible !****

THAT is the kind of thinking that let's a sound system translate the information in the grooves (or pits) into MUSIC; and the kind of thinking that is often missing in this great hobby.

Chris, after a few years of suffering the bagging of leaves at our upstate place (incredible views this time of year) I discovered the benefits of simply mulching the leaves with my riding mower. It has to be done more frequently than would be otherwise; but if done correctly, is not only much easier on one's back, it is good for the lawn. Regards.

Gentlepeople.

Just another take on the thoughtful input from Pegasus.
Is it possible that the screw torque adjustment thing is at least partially due to the disruption of multiple mechanical paths? Lets look at the arm as a set of parallel mechanical conductors carrying current to "ground" (the plinth). In the ET their are multiple paths in the pillar and interface with the plinth. We have likely all experienced earth loops in our HiFi journey. Could this be something similar. Multiple parallel paths with slightly different propagation times, creating the equivalent of an earth loop. By disrupting, breaking, some of these paths are we actually building a single path to ground, hence cleaning up the mechanical earthing of the arm.

Yes, this makes sense, and in an additional view-angle it's also like looking at ground loops like HF currents, overlaying each other with more or less phase differences, because "tuning" the screws (down) also tunes (down) the speed of each transmission path individually, and tunes (down) the Q of the resonances individually.
This BTW is also an aspect in different ways of mechanical equipment grounding. Depending on how you ground vibrations, more or less energy travels at more or less speed across the room, ie. across the floor, eg. to ones "ground receptors", the feet.
I mainly think in terms of rigidity as: "how much is *really* necessary". This & not more. One really has to check by ear, with a "natural" and integral way of listening. The "low rigidity way" keeps the musical range much more together, sounds more fluent. But it may sound less "impressive", less bassy, less "brillant" etc. Instead one hears more of the structure of sound, and listens into the quality of instruments *and playing* quite a lot easier.