Trans-Fi Terminator Tonearm: 2019 Update

@spiritofmusic very interesting read, your recent and past exploits with the Terminator. It's quite a treat to be able to audition at Vic's.

Your description of the chameleon quality of the Strain Gauge / Terminator combo is much appreciated. Isn't that what a playback instrument should do, revealing the nature of each recording ?

Through videos lectures and interviews, there is quite a bit of information from Ledermann on the Strain Gauge. However, I was under the  impression that it possesses a ' distinct sound' which a minority of listeners would not enjoy. This is according to Ledermann. He claims that a few days out of the month he could go back to a 'magnetic' cartridge. What you are experiencing is quite different. It's obviously more appealing to listen to as much of the recording as possible. On many recordings, with my current Terminator / ZYX combo, I am able to make out the different avenues where the recordings are made. Small recording studio vs larger auditoriums are easy to discern, which was not the case before the Terminator.

I would also agree that while the Terminator is an inexpensive arm, it is most definitely not the limiting factor in the playback chain. I am using the Terminator with a lesser cartridge in the ZYX lineup compared to my previous SME V / ZYX Airy 3 setup. But the SQ is way superior. A future upgrade in the cartridge department, I have no doubt, will only reap more sonic benefits. In so far as I am concern, this is the true brilliance of the Terminator. 

I realize that the users of the Eminent Technology linear tracking arm is a group that is loyal with tweaks and experimentation galore. But I wonder if a ET user who have heard or played with the Terminator might contribute some thoughts on the two arms? Or visa versa, if a user of the Terminator arm might have some experiences with the ET arm. I'll be grateful for any information on this front.

Ledoux, there are two criticisms of the Straingauge SG, one I don't hear, the other could be valid.
One is that it reproduces vocals "unnaturally". Something in the tone or timbre of voices not being right. Why that wouldn't apply to a trumpet, I'm not sure, but the voices criticism is on the record, to do w SG not applying the RIAA curve.
All I can say here is that vocals sound fantastic. I guess none of us really "know" what Frank Sinatra, or Nina Simone, or Peter Gabriel etc, "really" sound like, so this criticism seems a purely intellectual one.
More relevantly, all our choices are coloured in one way or another. SG is likely to sound VERY different from a Koetsu, I could see how one could say the SG wasn't "correct" in comparison.

The more valid criticism is that the SG lacks that last iota of bloom or harmonic development. It "could" sound dry or pinched or, heaven forbid Lol, "digital".

Many things are at play here. So much analog is a bit exuberant in the lower mids and bass, with a level of euphonic warmth and lack of control, that the comparison with a way tighter and more neutral cart like SG is gonna be jarring. MFremer suggests the SG maybe trades swell and bloom for speed and precision...I can't deny that conclusion.

But imho, I think that's too simplistic. I've heard, and owned, many carts, that do the speed/detail thing over warmth, and they sound just as coloured and unnatural as ones that do the opposite...a Lyra Skala or Zu Denon 103 or Roksan Shiraz cool/ascerbic sound versus a Lyra Parnassus warm/plump sound.

The SG is the king of speed, but its tone is not dessicated in any way. I just feel like live acoustic music, it's organised, even handed, tonally and timbrally discriminating. And what could be called lack of bloom/harmonic development is indeed other carts being overly colourful and lacking last degree of control in lower frequencies.

These attributes of course highlighted to the max in poorly chosen ancilliary gear or poor analog installs. So yes, put the SG in a Class D/diamond tweeters/glass and concrete dungeon, and yr analog will sound bright and dry. Get the VTA and azimuth wrong, and it'll sound aggressive.

But as in my system, install the SG correctly on a revealing but evenhanded Terminator, thru a system suited to a large room (80W SETs into 101dB spkrs into an 800 sq ft/5500 cub ft room, acoustically very benign), and it's a revelation. It doesn't reveal itself as a fat, cuddly, sweet tooth sounding Koetsu or Lyra Parnassus, nor a ruler flat but ultimately unengaging sounding Clearaudio or Transfiguration, nor a seat of yr pants but ultimately shrill sounding Lyra Skala or Roksan Shiraz or Zu 103.

It really reveals the music, and as such is a killer combination w the Terminator.

  @spiritofmusic, excellent summary of the Strain Gauge! I Just wanted to clarify, of the many cartridges, which ones were used with the Terminator prior to the Strain Gauge? What would you recommend as an intermediate cartridge that is neutral on the Terminator before I go full hog Strain Gauge? 

I think Vic had a London Reference which he highly recommended, although I remember reading that he is running a Audio Technica ( forgot which model ) now. I have been very tempted to go this route.

I'm not a great fan of Vic's cart choices. The Decca was a bit too hot for my liking...and shreds vinyl. And his Audio Technicas were a little bland thru the mids.
I ran both a Zu Denon 103 and Transfiguration Orpheus on the Terminator prior to the SG...both fine carts. The Zu 103 in particular had a certain magic, if a little rough around the sides.

 @spiritofmusic Thanks for the Transfiguration recommendation. I’m looking into it.

What kind of sonic benefits are gained through a more controlled air supply ?  Could you describe a bit more? I had thought that the Terminator being a low flow system, any garden variety pump and a 1 liter serge tank would do. What it is quite obvious that there are quite a few users with rather elaborate air supplies. 

Btw, Marc, we’ve crossed path on Owen’s forum. This is Albert. :)