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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 ?
128x128ct0517
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 

Couldn’t resist Steve! I’ve been refraining from engaging lately, both here and in life. It’ll pass ;-) . A pretty good guitarist I’ve known since I was 18 was way more moody than I, and not too long ago drove his Chevy van off a cliff in Arizona and killed himself. He was drunk, but word is he did it intentionally. Suicide by driving?

The most deeply miserable musician I’ve ever know (a great guitarist and songwriter named Dan Bernard, with whom Los Straitjackets’ bassist Pete Curry and I were in a band with in the late 70’s) drank himself to death before making it to 40. Took Evan Johns ’til he was 60 to do the same. Another is a guy whose fantastic first album you may have: Emitt Rhodes. Very talented, very unhappy. But he’s a smoker (Jazz cigarettes), not a drinker. I don’t know whose idea it was, but the cover of his recent album is a photo of him looking to be sobbing. Weird.

ct0517's avatar
ct0517 OP
2,041 posts
 
slaw - I hope you buy one so you can report your findings, for my benefit.

  
@slaw 
Steve - I took an interest in the London Decca cartridge 5 years ago. But it was at the same time as my Quad 57 subwoofer project in Room 2, which took priority. That Sub project went really well. Last few years I have plodding through my library in music lover mode with my "Freedom Fighter" cartridge - a Benz Micro MC3 retipped by Peter of SS. Top one in this picture.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jMNhVwaXMUnRZqrw9

It's a great cartridge for playing many records as it makes all of them sound good with minimal VTA changes needed.

So, with being stuck inside during winter, I am starting to do more research on the London again; with the objective of coming up with formed opinion based on theory. These "theory" opinions - imo (8^) are worth 10% of real experience opinions.  They are good enough opinions though, I think, theory opinions, for spotting a good deal when it comes about. I never buy anything unless it's a good deal, and the Canadian dollar has pretty much killed buying audio items except for maintenance items, like my recently re-tubed RM9 Music Reference amp.

Cheers Chris 
ct0517's avatar
ct0517 OP
2,041 posts
 
Frogman, Slaw et al
I found this post from bdp24 (Eric) goes back to Dec 20 2015 
Its a good post that explains differences between the Londons. 

 https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/london-decca-tzar-dst-and-similar-cartridges/post?postid=1287...
slaw's avatar
slaw
20,508 posts
 
Thanks Chris!
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 

By the way, fellas, the way to differentiate between a London SuperGold fitted with a VdH stylus and one with an extended line contact stylus is to look on the bottom of the cartridge, on the red plastic of the cheesy mount iirc. Hand written (by John Wright) in what appears to be felt tip pen ink will be either SG1, SG2, or SG3. My VdH Supergold was marked SG2, but my current elc-stylus SuperGold came fitted with the Decapod, with no writing on the bottom of the cartridge (it doesn’t have the red plastic mount, of course). Somewhere in the accompanying literature I saw SG3, though.

The Current SG’s are built far better than were earlier samples, mine showing no signs of oxidation on any of it’s parts, commonly seen in all Deccas, and even early Londons. My SG actually looks like a professionally manufactured product! I think it is fairly priced at $1500 (I forget the extra cost for the Decapod, but it’s not much, and well worth it), and requires only 30-40dB of gain. A phono stage with a high overload margin is a good idea, as it puts out a whopping 5mV!

Another by the way: the designer of the Trans-Fi Terminator used the London Reference as his cartridge during development of the arm, for what that's worth.

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