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@thekong I am guilty of having no experience with high pressure LT arms. Hence I make assumptions based on my DIY experiences with the Terminator. One assumption is that air filtration is a very important part of an air bearing arm. And with the Terminator, the way to improve filtration is to increase the use of surge tanks. However, the more tanks / volume I add with definite SQ improvement,  I had to change / increase the output of the pumps used. Given this assumption, I had thought that with high pressure LT arms, one way to improve SQ is also to increase air filtration / surge tanks. But that may require even higher pressure pumps...etc. At some point the pump pressure will be too large for safe home use. Am I wrong with my thinking on high pressure arms? 

@dover Obviously you are right that a captive bearing works best with higher pressure. I got a message back from Bruce T. He says that the lowest pressure to operate the ET2.5 is 3-5 psi. The higher the pressure the stiffer the bearing.

I have one additional question and that is regarding pressure gauge. I see a lot of ET LT arm users place pressure gauges on the arm, right before the manifold. The reading on the gauge therefore reflects the pressure at the arm. However, I had thought that a gauge of any kind is also a disruptor of air flow. I place my gauge right after the pump, reading the pump pressure instead. And then allowing the surge tanks to perform their tasks down stream. Again, am I wrong in my thinking? Will a pressure gauge affect the air flow negatively?

@ledoux1238 

I have a pressure gauge, but to be honest I don't use it.

I have inserted it to check the pressure when I set the arm up or do a system check, but with the ET you can feel the pressure when you handle the arm. Here in NZ I use a moisture extractor prior to the entry to the arm because we have a humid environment and during winter when you have hold and cold patches, you can get condensation.

@ledoux1238 , I have used high pressure compressor with integrated surge tank for nearly 20 years and never had any problem! For my Rockport arm and pneumatic anti-vibration table, I am using an Jun Air compressor with a maximum output of around 120psi and a 25 liter surge tank. At this high pressure, unlike in your set up, the metal surge tank was purpose built and came integrated with the compressor. There is a regulator to stop the compressor when pressure in the surge tank reaches around 120psi. The compressor will automatically starts again when the pressure in the tank drops below a certain level. The compressor is quite loud when it runs, so it need to be placed in a separate room.

There is a regulator with gauge at the output of the surge tank for you to set the output pressure. I have another regulator closer to the arm to gradually bring the pressure down to around 32psi. The regulator I am using can be adjusted in 0.1psi steps. A difference of 0.1psi is clearly audible. 

I have never heard of the idea that the gauge disrupt air flow, but then I have no idea whether it would. I do not use any pressure gauge on its own, and always as a part of a regulator. 

another vote for the CS Port linear tracker. i own the CS Port LFT1 turntable which has the linear tracker. what is special is it’s low pressure low flow which results in amazing subtlety and nuance. and the air box is completely silent. great bass and rendition of space. and very elegantly made.

https://www.csport.audio/products/products-afu1-2-en.html

back in the day i owned other linear trackers; the Rockport Sirius II SE for a year, then the big bad epic Sirius III for 8 years, so i know me some linear tracker.

@thekong Thanks for that explanation. So pressure levels can reach 120psi! At that level,  it would make sense that all accessaries are purposefully built with fail safe mechanisms. 

@mikelavigne +1 on the CS Port arm. 

You were one of the very early adopters of the CS port system, certainly in the US; low pressure arm with non-servo motor, the exact opposite of the Techdas brute mentality.