Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Harry - my two cents.

with volume muted, let tonearm/cart down on a STILL record not moving.
unmute - start raising the volume. When the hum is noticeable.
  
Go to your loom and start moving the wires around one at a time, especially in back of the phono stage.
Does the hum get worse or better ?

If it changes, look for the best spot then use blue tac spots to help secure them in place. I use unshielded wire and my setup is quiet with this test, but I did have to spend some time initially moving the wires into the best position behind the preamp.

While you are there, also test for acoustic feedback; this time after you unmute and raise the volume, Start a dance in front/side/back of the turntable with no music - STILL record.  What happens ?
If nothing. Good.

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A forum thread reminder.
It has been my experience on AudioGon, that derogatory comments are usually deleted by the moderator. No exceptions for anyone.
Maybe some of mine have been deleted in the past. I don't know as I never go back to check posts; unless i want to use one as a reference link, in a future post.

@slaw . Yes, I'd be interested in your impressions of the Huffman cables.  I've ordered his current Empress.  Not that I was dissatisfied with the sq of the current cables I'm using in the phono stage.  They are quite revealing without being bright or etched.  I'm just trying to get rid of the hum.  Admittedly, I'm a little OC about the hum as it is not audible at anything close to a reasonable volume.

@ct0517  I don't have a straight in loom like you.  My loom is terminated in a Cardas phono box with RCA fremale plugs.  From the box to preamp I'm using 1 ft lengths of unshielded silver interconnect.   The phono inputs on my preamp are on the side of the preamp closest to the TT (not on the back).   Following your suggested diagnostics, moving the loom around has no effect on the hum.  Moving the interconnect varies the intensity of the hum.  So, if my assumption is correct and EMI is the culprit, it is being picked up by the ICs and not the loom.  Of course, the ICs are closer to the preamp than the loom.  

Acoustic feedback.  Yep, I've got it.  At listening level, however, it is nearly nonexistent.   But, correct me if I'm wrong, the acoustic feedback is distinct from my hum which is there with no tapping and no noise in the room and without the stylus on the still record. It's just another issue for me to obsess about. Right? :)

@ct0517,

Most of you posts, that are reminders of what others may have said, are greatly of use to your posts that may affect others.

Harry,
I came to a conclusion long ago, that this interference is not one large cloud that fills the room. It is pockets of smaller clouds, or picture those laser beams that protect valuables in a vault. This is obvious as you the move the interconnects and the levels change. The trick is to move the wires/IC’s between these pockets, lines of interference. One needs to be the most anal with wiring arrangement, especially with a turntable, when using Single Ended. Imagine using Single Ended with a large Class A amp that uses 450 watts at idle. With all that current there at idle, if there is a cable in a not so great position, this large amp coming to life will tell you.

Shielded IC’s color the sound and take from the small phono signal. It gets absorbed into the material. Depending on the cable manufacturer you get varying colors. This is going by memory from years ago but is as clear as if it was yesterday. I still do own Purist Audio interconnects. I have multiple looms. My first stock ET2 bypass went just past the turntable to the phono box ...then the Purist Audio IC’s to the preamp. I am not saying it did not sound good, but the straight in just good wire loom destroyed it. The Purist Audio IC’s are kept around for the Dynavector tonearm on the Jean Nantais Lenco TT.

If you did one day go to a straight loom, you would need a very short one based on how your gear is set up. This is good. The location of the phono inputs on your preamp is ideal. You want it coming off the tonearm, dropped down and then back up to the preamp. A happy face loop. So it helps if your preamp is on the same level with the turntable to help create that loop. Your performance in audiophile speak would go more live, immediate - Just saying. One of the things the straight loom brings. The ET2 begs for a straight loom with its design. I run mine outside of the tonearm entirely and braided along the armtube to reduce interference. The arm is set up in its entirety without wiring, then the wiring gets added. That way I know there is no wiring effect altering setup which it does do. The ET2 bearing is just too smooth, slippery. Some pull their hair out on setup due to this.

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Acoustic Feedback is always there, and with a turntable cartridge picking up this feedback and sending this signal through, it can create havoc as we know. Any turntable set up on a suspended floor, main floor, is not ideal and you will need to use various "band aids" to fix the sound. I knew one guy whose turntable set up was good, but his subwoofer was placed between the suspended wood beams that supported the floor. It sent vibrations through the floor to his table.