I agree with Chris and Dover, in my experience the ET should not be run downhill. Anything but perfect leveling of the arm causes image instability and balance problems at best, and in a worst case it causes severe distortion at the end of a record. The effects of the increased overhang adjustment have been relatively subtle, but definitely audible (beneficial in my case), and I would love to know in more detail what Brucen T meant when he said : "He's probably right". Some thoughts on leveling:
Maybe some would consider it masochism, but I have never been even close to experiencing enough frustration with setup of this arm to want to ditch it and go back to a pivoting. I have always tried to setup according to what my ears tell me sounds best, with the theory and "correct" approach taking somewhat of a back seat. As with most things in audio there is seldom only one parameter that needs to be considered at any one time; remembering that makes setup easier. For instance, balancing the tonearm (however we each do it) affects azimuth; so, it's important to remember that when we listen for the image stability effects of getting the balance stable. I use a small bubble level on the spidle itself, not the manifold housing. I find that this gets me in the ballpark, and then I use a procedure that I know will raise some eyebrows. I raise the cartridge using the cuing wand (not the lever) and very carefully "flip" the arm/cartridge up a tiny bit so that it actually bounces up and down unto the cuing wand. While this happens there is enough time for the entire arm to be suspended mid-air without the friction of the either the LP groove nor the cuing wand itself affecting the perceived movement to one side or the other. The arm will then "show" you wether it is truly level or not, as it will travel either inwardly or outwardly during those moments that it is suspended in air; one then mechanically adjusts accordingly. The procedure should be done with arm over the outer edge of the platter, the middle, and (if possible) the inner portion of the platter. I say "if possible" because as all you ET mavens know, the cuing mechanism is designed in such a way that the cartridge is usually closer to the record surface at the inside of a record vs the outside. It's tricky and potentially dangerous (to your cartridge), but I have yet to have an accident. One can always do it with the stylus guard in place, but that doesn't work for me since I like to setup the arm so that there is little clearance between the LP and the stylus "at rest".
Then there is the issue of the dressing of the tonearm wires and their influence on perceived "balance" of the tonearm. Aside from the superior sonics, that was one of the reasons I chose AudioNote wire for my wire loom. It is extremely thin and adds little drag to the arms movement. As an experiment I performed the above-described balancing procedure with the wire loom removed, and even in spite of meticulous dressing of the extremely fine wires, it was obvious that the wires will necessarily affect the perceived "balance" of the arm, and should be compensated for when mechanically balancing. In the case of my wire loom and how I was dressing it, it was introducing a slight force to the outside of the record.
Many users have complained that the ET "goes out of adjustment" over time. That has not been my experience. After years of experiencing this "problem", I finally realized that what was happening was that since I have the table on a wall mounted shelf, the seasonal shifting of the walls and floor of my house (110 yr old Victorian) was what caused the problem, not the arm itself. I suspect that many of the reported problems are caused by this.
Long live the ET2! :-)
