Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

I still have the original 2.0, but plan to upgrade to the 2.5 manifold soon. I run Discovery wire from the cartridge pins, looped over the top and directly into my Herron Phono stage via Eichmann plugs. That was the single most noticeable cable change I've ever made. I have Fo.Q tape in a couple of places on it, including along the I Beam. I have a Lyra Delos on it. I adjust VTA on almost every record I play, to the extent that I'm looking to get Bruce to replace the worn out arc bloc. I don't know how folks can live with one VTA setting, given the difference in vinyl thicknesses, and variations within a thickness. I've had mine for about 15 years.

Dover, what was involved in having a custom armtube bracket made? That sounds like a good mod.

Hi everyone.  I've owned and ET II for about 28 years and have had my ups and downs.  I've posted in this forum but it's been years.  A quick background.  I'm in Greensboro NC, running the ET 2.5 on a modified VPI TNT Jr on a custom critical mass base with custom brass feet.  Direct wired. Carbon fiber arm. Jenna air pump in another room. Long I beam, currently double sprung, also have a long single sprung one.  Silicon damping.   I've recently switched out a Lyra Delos for a Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC.  I've had this setup sounding really good, and for a while the new Zephyr was spot on, more like listening to a master tape than an LP.  That being said, I switched out the Zephyr to re-assess the Delos and never got the Delos dialed in, and upon re-inserting the Zephyr I can't seem to get back to the sound I had previous.  For now I'm really just looking for information on one setup issue - Chris' information on using a feeler guage to set the 4 screws on the manifold.  I looked at his virtual system page and couldn't find the specifics.  Chris, if you read this, could you point me in the right direction?  PS,   I saw a post from a few years ago from vpi about getting the manifold level right. In may case Harry sent me a spacer that went under the armboard FWIW.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm going to revisit my setup yet again this evening and get back.  It's a lot to take in.  At some point I'll update my virtual system with more recent pics of my turntable.  I've made a few tweaks that I haven't seen mentioned in this forum. 

BTW it's Mike Kiser.  Just jumping in to say that I've posted some turntable and tonearm pictures in my virtual forum.  Amp and speakers are in a state of flux, so for now it's just turntable pictures.  As long as I'm here I just want to thank you guys for your insights over all the years.  I haven't solicited much advice directly but have followed a lot of the threads with interest.  Probably the thing I've learned most from this forum is the importance of balance, and the wonderful? world of I beams and leaf springs.  FWIW, I'm going to be sending my manifold, spindle and manifold housing back to Bruce soon.  There is an air flow imbalance that causes the spindle to push in one direction as I increase pressure. It was pushing out. I flipped the manifold and sure enough it started pushing in as I increased pressure.  I contacted Bruce and he told me to send it in for balancing.  I'm not sure I've seen anyone else mention this issue, so just wanted to put it out there. 

Hi Chris.  I too have a custom 2.5 manifold, set for 12 PSI. I'm sure the fix is to adjust the screws on the manifold to adjust airflow, but there are two issues.  First, I'm not sure exactly which screws should be adjusted, and second, for the most part, I can't get an allen wrench into most of the screws.  The female allen ends are not uniform, they've been buffed down in several places and an allen wrench just can't get purchase.  I've had the manifold out and was only able to turn one screw.  I should have taken a picture. Right now, with a dead level table and 12 PSI, the arm has a very pronounced bias inward (was outward until I flipped it).  I'm dealing with it in the short term by finding a setting that does work, about 5 PSI right now.


  We're getting 6 inches of snow in Greensboro right now, so this is prime listening time, so it will be a while before I send the parts in to Bruce, and there's no way I'm going to try to get it right myself.  That being said, I ain't hating what I'm hearing right now. I know it could be better and not just because of the pressure imbalance. I recently purchased a Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC and was using that for the last 10 days or so. It has a master tape quality, no doubt. Resolution, when setup is dead on, is jaw dropping, but in spite of that, I've gone back to my old reliable Delos for now.  On my rig, the Delos is not quite as resolving, but is noticeably warmer. Add to the mix that two weeks ago I took delivery on a prototype pair of Vaughn Plasma Signature speakers and I'm still familiarizing myself with them. The Delos is sounding pretty sweet through them, even though the speakers are currently being driven by a Marantz SMS-11 power amp. Not ideal, as the speakers are 96db efficient and were designed for low power SET/ Class A  amps. At RMAF they were paired with the top of the line Wavelength amps, and it was something to behold.  Sold me :)  Jim Jordan of Vaughn has shipped me an Almarro A318b tube integrated amp, and when it comes in next week I'll put the Zephyr back in and see if I can get both resolution and warmth with that combination. Someone said an audio system is like baking a cake.  Well I've switched up a lot of ingredients, but I hope I'm homing in on a blue ribbon recipe.

Prior speakers were Audio Artistry Vivaldis FWIW.  They got along famously with the Marantz amp, but in that case there is a very sophisticated  passive crossover between the amp and the drivers. The designer, Sigfried Linkwitz, is on record as saying his speakers are not overly amplifier sensitive. 

While I'm here, a couple more things.  First off, we all know Bruce is great to deal with.  I'd like to add to that list Keith Herron of Herron audio and Jim Jordan of Vaughn speakers. They're both in the same class.  On last thing.  I do a radio show that you can get off the 'net.  It's the World Peace Party on WQFS Guilford College radio, 2-4 PM EST every Monday.  Mostly indie rock and singer-songwriter, and all through 2017 I've featured a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the year 1967 around the 3:00 mark. Hendrix, Love, Moby Grape, The Byrds, 13th Floor Elevators, Cream....  If you're interested, do a search for WQFS and the tunein link should pop up. Content is MP3's and WAV files, mostly played through a laptop with  Dragonfly Red DAC, so it's not exactly audiophile material.

Thanks for the picture of the manifold Chris.  Mine looks nothing like that.  Every screw hole has been, for lack of a better word, buffed.  The edges around the holes have been sanded to where the edge of the screw is merged with the manifold. Not sure why it's that way, but I'm sure Bruce will make it right. 

For now, I've set up two complete armwand / wire looms.  One for the Zephyr and one for the Delos using the carbon fiber and aluminum wands respectively.  My hope is that I can get them both properly calibrated and then be able to swap them out and not have to do a lot of re-alignment beyond SRA/ VTA and tracking weight.  It's not in my virtual system photos, but I do have one of those run-out gauges you can attach to the top of the tonearm manifold housing that allows you to see exactly what the current tonearm height is.  

Hi Chris
I also have a moister collecting bulbs but I've never seen a drop in them.  My JUN-AIR compressor is about 25 feet away and has a moisture collecting feature that must work pretty well.  Link to image below.   My spindle moves very easily under pressure, and stiffly with no pressure. The buffing on the manifold looks like someone has taken a dremel tool to the surface. I don't think it's from my air supply, but I'm just going to have to let Bruce tell me what's going on.  I will try to post a picture of it before I send it off.  http://www.jun-air.com/product_images/6-25.jpg

Hi Chris.  I realized I never responded to your question about using silk thread in lieu of the rubber belt.  For one, the noise floor is lower.  Speed stability I'm not sure of, but it's definitely as good as with the standard belt.  Getting the tension right is a PITA, as I have to move the entire turntable to change it.  FWIW, I'm using silk bead thread #2, and have had the same belt for a year now.  I snapped a few early on adjusting tension, but this latest one is still working just fine. 

I know we sometimes deviate from the main topic, and I'd like to do so. For the last two weeks I've been auditioning an Almarro A318B integrated amp and Vaugh Plasma Signature speakers. Mostly I've been swapping between two full arm looms (cartridge, arm wand, wiring), one with a Lyra Delos and one with a Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC.  My findings are that the Delos has more body but doesn't dig out the details like the Soundsmith. The Delos seems more sensitive to  SRA and tracking force, while the Zephyr's ability to extract all that detail is very much tied to getting Azimuth just right.  I'm going to work on it again today, but just wanted to pass on these observations.  If someone has had a different experience, or any insights, I'm all ears.

Hi Chris.  Thanks for the feedback.  I've found that the string tension needs to be pretty loose for best performance.  As for the arm situation -  I did in fact have the Delos mounted in the Carbon arm for a good while and was getting good results.  Then I went and switched speakers and cartridges and started fiddling with other parameters and the magic disappeared.  I may be switching the Delos back to the Carbon arm, I just dread setting SRA and VTA again, as just last night things were starting to sound pretty decent again.  I've done a good bit of switching around of cartridges lately, and both the Delos and the Soundsmith have good stylus protectors.  I'm not saying it's easy or foolproof, but at least it's not a scary proposition. A great opportunity to engage in mindfulness.

Actually, when I said I dread setting VTA and SRA, I meant to say SRA and Azimuth. 

In response to Chris - Yes I am disconnecting the tonearm at the gooseneck, so in theory I'm preserving Azimuth and the tracking line when I swap looms. I still have to reset tonearm height to get VTA right, but I rely on the runout gage readings to get back to the right height.  And of course I have to reset VTF.  I'm going to switch the Lyra Delos back into my carbon fiber tonearm tonight and see if I can hit the sweet spot.  My technique is to use a small van den hull bubble level that sits on top of the cartridge as a reference and make small adjustments and listen. Arguably the least fun part of dialing in the sound.  When I hit that SRA/VTF/Azimuth window, and it's small, the reproduction takes on a whole new character.  I especially notice it when a vocalist has backup harmony singers or is being double tracked.  I listen to those background vocals and when things are right, those vocals are entirely distinct and you can often follow their breathing patterns etc., just as if they were lead vocals.  Having said that,  I'm seriously thinking about getting a measuring device like the Fozgometer to get in the ballpark, but I'm going by ear tonight and will try to keep good notes. As Peter Lederman points out, the issue is that if the cartridge has very good channel separation, one channel may be 30db and the other 34db, those are both great numbers that would be compromised by matching output. The consensus from my reading is that the goal when setting azimuth is to minimize crosstalk.