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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 ?
ct0517
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,277 posts
 
@ct0517, the expensive VPI’s use the same cr*ppy Hurst motor as the cheapest! I recently got myself an Aries 1 for peanuts (specifically as a platform for the TransFi Terminator arm), and it is really a TNT with a smaller footprint (22" x 16")---the TNT was too d*mn big. One way to elevate any of the VPI’s is with the Phoenix Engineering Falcon or Eagle PSU’s, and Roadrunner tachometer.
slaw's avatar
slaw
23,644 posts
 
Is the Hurst motor a springboard for (their) motor controllers?
ct0517's avatar
ct0517 OP
2,041 posts
 
Bdp24 - too d*mn big

there are no such words in the Audiophile world. Too big is also a relative thing. You want big ....come see my Jean Nantais Lenco. You will have a Come to Jesus moment. For some its been their only religious moment.

Picture this..ah actually no, see pic 8 Goldilocks and the Three Turntables. So it has by design to deal with those nasty idler resonances, hollowed out cavities under the motor, and both armboards; and it still weighs 100 lbs.

Bdp24 - the expensive VPI’s use the same cr*ppy Hurst motor as the cheapest!

If an Audiophile does not like their outboard motor, or their controller, it’s a very easy thing to swap out, or bypass it (in the case of the HW19). Changing out the bearing structure DNA is however another matter. You know, in real estate they like to say Location, Location, Location. Well with turntables and tonearms, it’s the Bearing, Bearing, Bearing....
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Regarding your Aries TT Eric. As a drummer IMO you owe it to yourself, to go to Fabricland, pick up some Silk thread and hear what thread driven drum shots sound like, compared to the rubber belt.

slaw's avatar
slaw
23,644 posts
 
ct0517,

Have you ever tried different motors on the VPI TTs you’ve owned?

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,277 posts
 

slaw, when you ask "Is the Hurst motor a springboard for (their) motor controllers?", are you speaking of Phoenix Engineering and their motor controllers, or VPI and theirs? It seems logical to assume that VPI controllers were developed specifically for the Hurst’s they install in all their tables, so I’m guessing you meant Phoenix Engineering. Design engineer and company owner Bill Carlin developed his motor products for use with any and all AC synchronous motors, including VPI’s of course. Bill knows a LOT about motors, and his postings on the VPI Forum site contain deep design details, a source of great information about turntables and their motors. The PE products are not only quite a bit more sophisticated and advanced than VPI’s, but also cheaper. Too bad they are no longer available! New, anyway.

As I do with just about everything I buy used, I completely disassembled the VPI HW-19 I recently acquired. Once in pieces, I discovered that the little rubber grommets that are part of the motor stand-offs that separate the upper and lower motor mounts had broke apart, a common problem with the HW-19, I learned. I replaced them in the manner I mentioned above---with E-A-R Isoloss Sandwich Mounts, a direct, easy-to-install swap. I also discovered that the table does NOT have the Hurst motor it left the factory fitted with, but rather a Bergerlahr, a German company. Their motors are well regarded, and considered to be of higher quality than those of Hurst. I reckon either the original wore out and was replaced with the Bergerlahr, or it was installed by a former owner as an upgrade.

ct0517, I have been reading on the VPI Forum about using thread in place of the stock rubber belts on their tables, and will eventually get around to trying that.

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