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Trans-Fi Terminator Tonearm: 2019 Update

In reading a few related posts on linear tracking tonearm, in general,  and Trans-Fi Terminator , in particular, I thought I would give a brief update of the Terminator.

I purchased the arm directly from Andrey in Moscow two months ago. From what I understand, Andrey has taken over production after Vic's retirement. What I received is the most up-to-date version of the arm with the carbon fibre wand and brass counterweights, the direct wire leads from cartridge to  phono amp, and a new brass manifold ( not evident from the main web-site). Both the wand and the new manifold are Andrey's contribution to the continued refinement of the Terminator.

Also,  please visit this site: https://darklanternforowen.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/terminator-tonearm-new-arm-mount/. This gentlemen from NZ has developed a new arm mount for the Terminator which advanced the arm's sonics even further. It was reading through the the development of this new arm mount that convinced me to order the Terminator after much prior research. I did not purchase the arm mount from NZ as it would not readily fit my Verdier La Platine, instead Andrey made a custom arm mount. It is in essence a two point support mount rather than a single point support rod that is commonly used. 

My previous arm was a SME V of 1990's vintage mounted with a ZYX airy. The Terminator is several notch above the SME V. All the accolades given to the Terminator seem justified. My main point in writing is that the new developments by Andrey, i.e. the carbon fibre wand and the newest brass manifold, seem to improve upon the Terminator even more ( see link above ). This is the news that I wanted to share with existing Terminator owners. I asked Andrey to start a blog on all the new stuff that is happening with the arm, but it seems that he is busy making 'things'!




ledoux1238
terry9
2,344 posts
 
dnicol, I went much the same route. One way I added mass was to put a nickel silver disk (copper alloy: 770?) on top of the cartridge, and tap two holes for cartridge mounts (#3-56). The disk acted as a great big nut for the cartridge screws. But like my KRSP too much to switch.

ledoux, I will try to clarify. (1) start with a sheet of 19mm Panzerholz; (2) cut 7 blocks sized 25mm x 50mm; (3) glue the blocks together to obtain a bigger block 25mm x 50mm x 140mm. Note that the ’grain’ in the Pz block runs from side to side, so that vibration from the cartridge must pass through, not along, many layers of wood and many layers of resin, and consequently across hundreds of boundaries.

This block is then shaped into a wand, which further restricts resonance by changing dimensions: wider and thinner in front, narrower and thicker at the pivot. Obviously would have been easier to cut a 50mm x 140mm piece out of the Pz sheet, but vibration would have been conducted down the sheets of wood. Constrained layer damping works best when vibration has to cross boundaries.

Hope that helps.
ledoux1238 OP
284 posts
 
@dnicol,
The timing of your post is uncanny. Prior to last week, I had been playing with a zyx ultimate 100, the entry level cartridge at 5 g - very enjoyable. More importantly it worked very well with the Terminator, I got to experiment with pump, surge tanks...etc without worrying about the compatibility issues, weight, compliance...etc. And it was pure luck. 
Last week, I installed a new cartridge, Audio Tekne MC-6310. There is no information on weight or compliance that I could find. I have not measured, but it’s probably 9-10g. I have set the counterweight as far back on the wand as possible using the supplied single copper disc, 5g. The MC is positioned as far out on the other end as possible, tracking at 1.8 g. I thought I had it with the first few days of listening. Then last night, playing a few records (  Bill Evans’ Tokyo and Paris concerts ), the sound became unlistenable, the piano was shrill, soundstage was off...etc. Not until reading your post did I know the problem. This morning I added weights as you described, but in the 5-7g range, not as heavy as where you ended up. And sure enough things began to turn for the better. Records I thought was good have now deeper soundstage, more transparency...etc, and ‘bad’ records are coming around. 
My question is how did you arrive at the 12g weight on the cartridge end? I know our cartridges are probably different, hence different compliance. I may not end up where you are. But wondering if you had gone over 12g and found it not to be optimal?
ledoux1238 OP
284 posts
 
Terry,

Thanks for the explanation, crystal clear.

As you can see, I am struggling with the CF wand and a 9ish g cartridge. Unless you start making your Panzerholz wand available for the masses, I am with @dnicol, getting by with adding weights. Sigh! 

terry9
2,344 posts
 
Pz is not really cost effective for the wand. Each one takes hours, would have to charge too much to be friendly.
dnicol
19 posts
 
@ledoux1238,

Well, I did try a bit more weight on the cart end, but I just settled on 12 since it was sounding good. Arriving at that weight was just a lot of trial and error, didn't happen overnight. I didn't think it would be a good idea to go too much higher, but never know, I'm always tweaking.

My thinking was more about a cart compliance problem than cart weight problem. It seemed to me that a stiff cantilever is going to need more mass or weight to trace the groove properly, more than a higher compliance or softer/springier cantilever. Before adding any weight, I increased the VTF and it seemed to help a smidge, so I figured the cart is not tracking like it should, needs weight, so that's what led me down that road.

But I wouldn't sweat adding weights. Besides, everything has a sound to it, it seems, aluminum, carbon fiber, even wood.
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