Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

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Dave, I thought it was because of a bad bottle of wine the night before.

the first time I heard thread on the TNT it was like - WOW
it showed me what was possible but.......

As I experimented more I learned the table had two big constraints.
The pulley and platter/bearing system was never designed for thread.
Even though the music was much improved I knew I was fighting the design.

To give you an idea of what I mean by this - purchase affordable Gutermann Silk Thread CA 02776

Set up the TNT or any VPI deck with it and see how long it lasts.  A couple weeks maybe from what I recall based on heavy rotation of lps.

Now on the thread designed table it will last .......until you maybe break it by mistake. Thats how much thread tension difference there is between the VPI and Verdier.

I am a bit anal when it comes to design. Better design always trumps and leads to better results in the end depending on what you are after. So I ended up with a string drive designed turntable.

Now Verdier did add the belt option to his table in later years for business sales reasons; but he did also include a separate pulley system for belt.
And here is the thing - some owners of these tables do not know you need to use different pulleys depending on how it is used.

Cheers Chris

Hi Chris,

I don’t doubt (at all) your experiences with your TNT nor with your Verdier and I agree that I am working against what was envisioned by HW in the TNT’s original design. He did, however, move away from the complex pulley system with the later TNT/HRX models. He also switched to an inverted bearing, perhaps to better deal with the increased side-loading force?

Strangely, I have had no issues with longevity of the common sewing thread I first used nor with the floss. The latter has lasted seemingly indefinitely, even with extended periods of heavy rotation.

I also have no doubt that there are better tables out there than the TNT, yet I am satisfied with my TNT’s sound in its current modded form and feel that it still is a superb foundation for the ET Two.

Best to you as always Chris,
Dave

Strangely, I have had no issues with longevity of the common sewing thread I first used nor with the floss.

Dave that silk thread I referenced in the previous post is pretty fragile. Easily torn apart by hand.  

Just thinking out loud here ...

If one was in "Audiophile Mode"........meaning experimentation mode :^)
One could try that silk thread - a single strand only - with a later TNT motor/pulley/platter/bearing design.  If it lasts a long time, then based on my experiences in my room, I would say the later TNT version designs would indeed be better than the earlier versions. 

Cheers Chris

Hi Nikola

But why is nobody able

to hear the ''perfect sound'' without any distortion at those ''zero

points'' at which there is no ''tracking error'' and which provide the

strongest argument for this ET- 2 of yours?

not sure what you mean by perfect sound, but based on my experiences with my pivot arms.....

Tracking error is one problem. The bigger problem is Antiskating and the reason we need it.
  
Because the pivot arm even though it is tangent at those two points - still wants to shoot to the spindle, while the antiskating is pushing it back. There is a tug of war going on here, and its intensity varies based on the groove modulations. I sense "groove anxiety"  by what I hear.    8^0 

It's not until you hear your familiar music on a well set up Linear tracker that you realize this groove anxiety is even going on with the pivot arm. It is replaced by music that flows like water. More definition, soundstage (all those audiophile terms)

When you remove this distortion, and hear it on a familiar album, one becomes aware of it. Once aware of it ....you tend to focus on it.  I am unfortunately anal that way. We have discussed this already before, and I used the analogy of buying a car whose front right tire is always low. That's what my pivot arms remind me of.  

Just some thoughts, other owners of "any" Linear trackers are welcome to add their thoughts good or bad. 

so
Does a dealer audio store, salon, retail outlet even exist today, anywhere in the world that has two setups that can demonstrate the above ?  I don't frequent them anymore so don't know.  

Cheers Chris