Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Hello Chris,
Good audiophile day here in the Carolinas. Crisis over.  I tore down the VPI to more closely inspect the shaft and pulley on the SAMA.  My SAMA is a very early version which included a small flywheel.  It is like a very fat stainless steel washer that slides down over the pulley and rests on a flange at the bottom of the pulley, just above the motor housing. It is not attached to anything but just sits on the flange.  I noticed that the flywheel was wobbling far more than the pulley/shaft.  In discussions with a former dealer friend of mine in Florida he advised that the flywheel only came with very early versions of the SAMA and VPI had abandoned it because they found it more detrimental than helpful.

So.......I reassembled the table and tried it without the flywheel.  Voila, rumble and speaker pumping all but gone.   It's not 100% but pretty close.  I'll need a new motor someday but it is certainly not critical.  Incidentally, I had the same thought regarding a loose set screw on the pulley.  That is why I tore down the table.  Unfortunately, this version of SAMA has no pulley set screw but is evidently pressure fitted over the motor shaft.

Chapter 2:. Santa Clause arrived today with my magnesium arm wand. I installed it and redid setup.  I'm only using the one big weight in addition to the one to which the other weights attach.  Initially one weight was not enough to get proper tracking force even at the very end of the plank.  Rather than add weight I turned the weight bracket around so the weight barrack screw points out instead of in.  Unfortunately, I installed the new wand right after solving the rumble problem so I'm not sure which improvements are attributable to which tweak but, midrange seems a little warmer, bass tighter, separate instruments seem better defined and upper end smother but no less extended.  I don't have 20 foot wide pianos or drummers with a 15 foot wingspan. Finally, the soundstage seems a little deeper.

Next time wife is away for a few hours I'm going to try the near field sub placement.  More on subs later.
Cheers,
Harry

The newer Magnesium wand is definitely heavier, and precluded my using a stock I-beam. In the final listen, I had to conclude that two springs work best in my setup, with two little damping pads removed, allowing freer movement. Bruce said I didn't need them.
My cartridge is supposedly best with the top surface parallel to the record surface. This is hard to eyeball, especially when the arm wand looks parallel and the cartridge looks tilted back.  Does anyone know if, when the arm is parallel to the record, the cartridge is parallel as well? I mean is this a good starting point for setting VTA? My eyes are old and parallax gets the best of my judgement.
Thanks,
John 

What started me thinking about the issue of how much to (not) torque down on bolts/screws was when I realized that I had inadvertently compressed and deformed one of my wands’ "head shell" to the point that the cartridge would no longer be "parallel to the record surface"; which I believe, in theory, it should be. Obviously, that is still no guarantee of intended VTA.

Thanks frogman,
I don't overtighten my cartridge screws, and my wand is spanking new.
So, can I assume that if the wand is parallel to the record, the cartridge top is as well? I just need a starting point.
John  

Before setting for Cart VTA.

There is 1) manifold air bearing height and 2) armwand height.
3) Then the Cart.

That’s how I have done it. When I was on that slippery slope with the turntables I must have mounted the tonearm; well you know I don’t know how many times on different tables. Different height platters and armboards. Sometimes no armboard, but separate armpods instead.
So what I do.

1) Air Bearing height
The inscribed line on the middle of the manifold is the guide for proper vertical height of the air bearing spindle. With the VTA range in the middle raise/lower post height to try to get as close to possible to having the record surface even with the inscribed line in the manifold.

2) Armwand height
If your armwand height does not allow you to mount your cart properly, raise/lower the armwand height. The stock joint (gooseneck) allows for lowering or raising the armwand to get parallel. I lost this adjustment with the Aluminum Gooseneck I got from NZ. The upgraded Aluminum Joint that Bruce sells now still retains this adjustment.

3) Cart
This should get you in the ball park with being parallel, and use the VTA to fine tune by ear. Now due to how complicated the vinyl set up is, (so many variables) , I always set up Digital first, get it working right, then I unleash the vinyl and see how close I got. This is what I have done in the past going by memory.

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A couple updates.

I struck out today at the hobby shop on trying to get some kitty attracting foot long I Beams. 8^0
They looked really good on the internet link I posted but were way to thin and flimsy in person.

I also asked Bruce in the ideal situation how long should the I beam be. He told me shorter than a foot and as close as possible to the length of the armwand. This supports the teeter totter analogy I used earlier. I told him to consider doing a run on the longer I Beams as they are fairly inexpensive even with our Canadian dollar :^( and that there would probably be people interested when they found out.