Top linear trackers

Look at the manifold, an inverted ‘v’ as opposed to a circular tube in most other cases. It is an inherently more stable ( no tendency to roll ) platform for the cartridge / wand assembly to glide on.

Actually thats misleading. Although it uses parallel V extrusions which tend not to roll laterally, the Terminator uses a floating air bearing. If I hooked up a high pressure pump I could blow the arm off its rail. If there are any deviations in air flow this arm will bounce along the rail.

The Eminent Technology uses a far superior captured air bearing - the spindle runs through a manifold and air is forced around the tube applying pressure 360 degrees. This is far more rigid and stable - any deviation in air pressure at any point is met with a correcting force on the other side.

Not all "tube" air bearing arms are fully captured. Some have air holes only on the top side, which means there is no resistance to bottoming out.

I have an issue with arms like the Rockport & Kuzma where the air is forced into the moving arm - in my view this must play havoc with tracking force at a micro level because the plastic air hose will try to straight out under pressure, hence exerting vertical pressure on the arm.

With the Eminent Technology the air is piped into the manifold. There are no air lines connected to the moving arm/spindle.

@ledoux1238

If you really want to make a substantial upgrade to your front end you should investigate the Eminent Technology ET2/ET2.5 - even an old ET2 low pressure will trounce the Terminator - I’ve heard both - there is no comparison.

The ET has a decoupled counterweight system that can be tuned to the cartridge compliance - you can run anything on it from Decca's to high compliance Shure V15's.

@dover I am a big fan of Bruce Thigpen. I own a pair of LFT 8bs’. The initial idea for purchasing the Terminator was to use it as a linear tracking starter kit with the intention of upgrading to the ET-2.5s’. Well I haven’t gotten to the upgrade just yet. 

If you have compared both arms some years back and came to the conclusion of ET2.5’s superiority, then I would submit that the Terminator has also improved over the years. The new carbon fiber wand, a new brass manifold, an after- market arm base developed by the late Owen Young of NZ have all added to the Terminator’s improved SQ. And if  you discard the generic 1 gallon (4.5 liter) surge tank for a total air filtration volume of 150 liters, then it is a very improved Terminator that you might not have really listened to.

However, having said all that, I believe I will end up with a ET 2.5. I just do not look forward to experimenting with pump / compressor ( high pressure as opposed to low pressure of the Terminator) and filtration, not to mention just getting to understand the arm as I am a very slow learner.

@ledoux1238

For my ET 2.5, I use a shop compressor located in my garage. I ran an air line to my listening room (standard NPT 1/4" fittings) that runs into a water trap/filter and into a precision low pressure regulator. From there I have a barb that fits standard fish tank air line that goes into the ET manifold. I also run the pneumatic actuators on my VPI TNT 4 thru another precision low pressure regulator. Oh, and also an air gun for dusting off a third regulator. Once set up, there isn’t much to worry about other than cleaning off the spindle periodically. I run the ET at around 12-15PSI most of the time. Going higher doesn’t seem to improve the sonics, and can be problematic, as the pressure escaping the manifold can sometimes blow the spindle assembly back off the runout groove.

@vinylzone The ET arm can be made to order with an Alita 15 compressor according to its website. This is the compressor I am using for the Terminator. But I had thought that the ET is a high pressure arm, and the Alita operates in the 3-5 psi range. I use it to run the Terminator at 1.25psi. I am putting in an email to Bruce to start seriously start discussing a purchase. I am more comfortable running the ET in a lower pressure environment. 

@ledoux1238 , I am not sure why you want to run the ET in low pressure, unlike your Terminator, capture bearing arms, like the ET, usually perform better at higher pressure, at least up to the limit of the air bearing. This is due to higher pressure creates a tighter bearing. If I remember correctly, the ET2.5 high pressure bearing can accepts up to 15 - 20 psi. If I am using the ET, I will be using a high pressure compressor with integrated surge tank, and multistage air regulators. 

Dover has this interesting point about the air hosts in the Rockport / Kuzma Airline affecting the VTF! This is new to me, but while I can imagine the VTF can be affected if you are using say 10psi as compared to 30psi, I can't see why there is a problem when you have adjusted the VTF with the air pressure you will be using during play. But then, I suppose everything is possible if we are talking about the microscopic level. If there is a problem with the air host, I would think it is the lateral drag it created. So, it is very important to arrange the air host and wiring into a  n  shape to minimize drag.