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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
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.
ledoux1238 OP
276 posts
 
UPDATE ALERT!

it seems Vic has been a restless soul in retirement. He has posted a new wand that he claims to extract even more ‘details from the groove’. Frankly, I don’t know what to make of the new wand in light of recent discussions of compliance / weight. 

Go to Trans-Fi website, click tonearm, then tomahawk update.
terry9
2,249 posts
 
Interesting about the new wand. I don't think that it should work, because the cartridge is not rigidly connected to anything but the plate, which is suspended by O - rings from carbon bars.

I say should - but the final word is empirical evidence, that's just science. I trust Vic to be pretty careful in his experiments, so it's definitely something to take seriously.

That design could address the 'equivalent mass' issue in cartridge matching. Just need to change the plate to higher mass. But I'm still concerned about maintaining precise registration of stylus to record, especially tangentiality.
dover
2,187 posts
 
Yes, I think it's crazy to mount a cartridge on a trampoline.
You are trying to measure the groove accurately.
Imagine jumping up and down on a sprung bed and trying to meaure the height of a mark on the wall.

The only way it would sound better would be if his system is so flawed, that dumbing the resolution down to a molten mess is preferable to recovering what is in the grooves.
redcars
11 posts
 

@ ledoux1238

I recall you mentioning that your TT2 will only work with the Goldfinger, 15 g.    And in order to try other cartridges, you decided to try the Terminator. Did I remember correctly? If so, why is the TT2 so restrictive in its cartridge choices?

This is embarrassing. I thought that I had set my forum preferences to notify me when someone asked a question, but that has not happened, and I just stumbled on the thread again tonight. My apologies.

As far as the Clearaudio TT2 goes, it is a superb tonearm with any of the Clearaudio MC cartridges. Other cartridges, in general have problems to one degree or another. I have been advised by a knowledgeable dealer to get a Clearaudio pivoting arm for any other manufacturers’ cartridges. I am not an expert on this; just following what I think was good advice.

 Are you in in possession of the Terminator? Please report back. Thanks!

Yes, it arrived a week or so ago, and I have been building an armboard to allow it to be used with my other arm(s). I’m also still waiting for the air regulator which had a three week lead time. I want to make sure that it works as I expect before giving an update. If you have a specific question in the meantime, please send me a pm.

I will try again to adjust my preferences to follow this thread.

Best, Don


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