Well, as far as the "twiddle" factor, once my ET 2 is set up correctly, it tends to stay set up correctly. My VPI TNT MKIII sits on a VPI TNT stand which is filled with lead shot. The stand of course has spikes that pierce the carpet to the concrete floor below. Because my floor and turntable stand are so stable, my table stays level and so does the arm. Changing LPs is no more a ritual than changing an LP on any other table. My pumps and surge tank are in an adjacent room where they can't be seen or heard.
What I will admit is that setting up an ET-2 is far more of a challenge than conventional pivoted arms and will drive the mechanically challenged to distraction. I just think the rewards are worth the initial work involved. My most recent pivoted arms I used before I went back to the ET-2 are the JMW 9 and JMW 10. I don't miss either one of them.
I like the idea of an air bearing vice mechanical bearings. I love not having anti-skate to deal with as an issue as well as tracing the LP exactly the way it was cut and not just having perfect geometry at two points on the record. That just makes sense to me, and when you hear it, it really makes sense.
I was never attracted to the Souther arm or similiar linear tracking arms because of the mechanical sled nature of the design.
In this wacky hobby, we tend to throw things on the scrap heap and call them obsolete only to rediscover them at a later date and declare them to be state of art many years later. Witness the resurgence in old Garrard and Lenco tables as well as Technics SP-10 tables. I thought I had moved on from my first ET-2 only to decide it was the best arm I had ever had and I needed to obtain another one. I am glad I did.
What I will admit is that setting up an ET-2 is far more of a challenge than conventional pivoted arms and will drive the mechanically challenged to distraction. I just think the rewards are worth the initial work involved. My most recent pivoted arms I used before I went back to the ET-2 are the JMW 9 and JMW 10. I don't miss either one of them.
I like the idea of an air bearing vice mechanical bearings. I love not having anti-skate to deal with as an issue as well as tracing the LP exactly the way it was cut and not just having perfect geometry at two points on the record. That just makes sense to me, and when you hear it, it really makes sense.
I was never attracted to the Souther arm or similiar linear tracking arms because of the mechanical sled nature of the design.
In this wacky hobby, we tend to throw things on the scrap heap and call them obsolete only to rediscover them at a later date and declare them to be state of art many years later. Witness the resurgence in old Garrard and Lenco tables as well as Technics SP-10 tables. I thought I had moved on from my first ET-2 only to decide it was the best arm I had ever had and I needed to obtain another one. I am glad I did.
