Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Apbiii, I have never experienced what could be described as a decrease in performance by increasing the pressure; although I am sure there comes a point, as I think you found out with your regular manifold, at which the arm does not work optimally due to the higher pressure. The reason I like 17 psi and no higher is that because of the way my system is tuned, 17 psi is the most complementary. Higher pressure produces a sound that is too lean and overly controlled. I have no doubt that in a different system, with my cartridge, the arm would sound better at the higher pressure.

I am intrigued by your observation that with the rubber ball suspension
(lower compliance) you don't hear as much of the dulling of the sound with psi above 15. If your non-high pressure manifold is given higher psi, it's possible that the resulting instability due to the "turbulence" in the larger gap between the manifold wall and the bearing tube is made worse by the higher compliance of the tt's suspension.

A couple of other comments/ observations that come to mind about the arm:

-The capillaries do get clogged over time. Years ago I experienced a gradual dulling of the sound with eventual poor tracking. The problem was clogged capillaries. It is tedious but not difficult to clean them. DO NOT do what I have seen suggested in a couple of forums. Do not try to clean them by forcing alcohol through "the system". I tried it and made matters worse. The manifold must be removed and all the capillaries unscrewed off the manifold and cleaned individually with alcohol. The difference in sound from doing this was significant.

-Do not over tighten the two bolts that secure the manifold housing to the pillar. In some arms (mine) the holes for the bolts are tapped too long and will actually go into the inside of the manifold housing and dislodge the piece of tape that is in place to seal and make airtight the housing. The result is escaping air and decrease in pressure.

When are you guys coming over? :-)

Siriusly -hehe- when I had Bruce, no -- not that Bruce -- from Stereo Unlimited in San Diego set-up my deck, ET2 with VPI HW-19 Mk.IV, it sounded wonderful...

I'll get back to that sound, someday!

Thanks all for the great exchange of information :-)

Vbr,
Sam

Hi Sam - Welcome to the thread. The one where tonearm owners need life support for their straight lines; all in the name of no tracking distortion and natural sounds. Heh, heh

Two Bruce’s in HI FI eh ?

Sam - Don’t you have a leaky original pump ?

There is probably an ET2 owner near you - otherwise it is 0 degrees Celsius here – about 32F – what if I get a work assignment there for a week ?

I’m sure Slaw can provide many tips for that VPI HW19 MKIV.

APBiii good information - I will respond with my 2 cents worth. I have been doing some experimenting.

Frogman - can I ask what you think of this Empire 4000 DIII on the ET2 ? Don’t you also have one? Did u use it long enough to form an opinion? How does it compare to the many cartridges you have had on this tonearm?

Cheers

Hi Chris,

The pressure gauge indicates the Wolfe-modified WISA pump operates satisfactorily; the system experiences a drastic pressure drop at the surge tank...there appears to be occlusion, there.

I'd like to keep the arm; however, at some point, I'll look for a non-suspended table :-)

It's in the forties, now...brrr.

-Sam

Chris, I love the Empire. I think it is a terrific cartridge, and have used it long enough to form an opinion. From a technical point of view, I had no performance issues with it in the ET. Tracking was very good, even if not quite as solid as cartridges like my Monster AG2000 (ZYX), and VDH Grasshopper. IN MY SETUP the double spring I beam is a must in order to firm up what can be a bit of excessive fullness. These are some comments I posted a while back in Raul's MM/MC thread. I hope you find them useful:

*****I just received, and installed a NOS Empire 4000D III Gold. I am
VERY impressed. I have been somewhat lukewarm about the whole issue of the claimed superiority of MM's relative to MC's; and still, overall, in the MC camp. I own ATML170, Azden PVL 50, Andante, and while I recognize what they do well (very well, particularly in the case of the AT and Azden), I have still been unconvinced. The Empire could change all that.

I am interested in hearing from you guys about your findings re break-in, VTA, VTF, viscous damping, etc., in order to optimize it's performance.
Thanks.****

****Thanks guys. I have the Empire in a Eminent Technology 2 air bearing tonearm with the high-pressure manifold and pump; on a VPI TNT6 with "the works". So far, initial impressions are: Terrific clarity, with good inner detail. Tonally, a good middle ground between the white/bleached sound of the Andante, and the more romantic/golden flavor flavor of the Azden.
Open soundstage with good placement. Sound is definitely weighted towards the midrange, and so far seems a little bloated. That is why I ask
about break-in, and damping; a hunch tells me that things will even-out (tighten) a bit after a few more hours. But, in general, so far I like it better than the vaunted ATML170, which in my set-up seems a little slow/slightly boring in comparison. I am going to try fluid damping over the next couple of days and report back.****

****Dear Raul, thank you for your thoughts. I find the Empire to be anything but boring. It is, in fact, very alive sounding. That quality (or it's absence) is the most important performance consideration for me. If the component does not allow the music to move as it should, it doesn't
matter how great it's frequency extension, soundstaging, or tonal refinement is. That is what I meant by "boring" in reference to the ATML170. It is clearly an excellent cartridge in most respects, but in comparison to the Empire (and my MC's), it sounds just a little bit slow; rhythmically laid back. The Empire, in the exact same system sounds very alive, and lets the music move as it should. The AT has superior detailing of the soundstage, with more stable placement, but also sounds a little
closed-in in the highs; not enough natural color. I know "color" is considered a great sin by many audiophiles, but music has a tremendous amount of color, and some components seem to "bleach" the color out of
instruments' timbre. Everything then sounds very much the same, with a gray(ish) color; mistakenly referred to as "neutral". I am sure you are correct, and that 100K loading would improve that.****

****That is still my main issue with MM's in general. Until I heard the Empire 4000D III, every MM that I had tried, including the ATML170OCC, has sounded too relaxed to me. Not bad by any means, but compared to a good MC, without that essential quality of excitement in the rhythm of the music; like a coiled spring ready to unwind at any moment. I am still getting to know the Empire, and I am still not ready to say that in the dynamics (micro/macro) department it is the equal of my VDH MC's.****