Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Bigalt,

What you want to do is put a straight edge on top of your platter, parallel with the tonearm spindle. Then, adjust the tonearm so the spindle is perfectly parallel with the straight edge. Just use your eyes. You may have to play with the lighting on the straight edge (use a flashlight at different angles) until you can see both the top of the straight edge and top of the spindle. This will get the spindle much more parallel to the platter than any other method. Most levels, digital protractors, etc. are not accurate at all. Now, do not ever touch the adjustment screws on the post. Once the spindle is parallel with the platter it will never need to be touched. Now all you do is simply level the TT until tonearm does not drift in or out.

The problem with your method is that you do not know that your platter is perfectly level to begin with. Care to share how you are determing that?

Bigalt,

Another problem with your method is that, because the post adjustment has three screws, when you are "leveling" the tonearm as you do, you are also messing with how vertical the post is. It should be perpendicular with the TT platter when viewed from the front of the TT. These parameters need to be set up and locked in. It's not something that you should ever adjust, unless you feel that they might have went out of adjustment over time.

Ketchup.

I too use your method.
If you backlight the spindle, it is possible to get a very accurate indication of when the platter and spindle are parallel. This, since you can adjust the arm such that the light evenly breaks through the gap.

Cheers.

This is how I see it... Again, assuming everything is level, I prefer to use my method as it is taking into consideration playing lps in real time.

According to the correct way, as stated here and in the manual, I've done that countless times over the years. But there are other factors, wire loom and it's effect, warped/uneven records, damping methods.... having said this, there's really no way you can get perfect level given these unforeseen factors. This is why I choose my method that takes into consideration the arms movement under dynamic (playing an lp) conditions.

Confucius say: "Become one with the arm"