Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

The road: started for me with the Et One ca. 1985. After I’d explained the physical drawbacks of the construction a few months earlier to an enthusiasmized friend... :-)
It worked sonically rather well - with the one exception of the somewhat lacklustre sound of a Decca London cartridge, which I couldn’t explain - at that time.
Then, ca. 1987 an offer I couldn’t resist: The offer for an ET2.Later adding the damping trough, in between the (shitty) WISA pump and the expensive & OK lab tank, which now is broken thanks to ageing PVC. It is replaced now by an adapted cheap PE gasoline tank. Then the high pressure bearing and the ET2.5...The evolving ET 2/2.5 is the best audio & musical joy investment I ever made. Returning to it after ca. 15 years of Well Tempered Signature front end was like coming home.

The one thing I always come back with surprising consistency: Maximized (and almost) perfect lateral balance is surprisingly audible. The ET2 / 2.5 is an audio measuring tool for forces on the cartridges cantilever. It’s more easily adjustable than any other arm IMO. First level the turntable on its own as precisely as feasible (more difficult because without the help of the ET2.) Then level the arm on the ’table by nulling the tendency to glide away.After this, in my somewhat "organic setup" (wood floor, wood parts in the base), I level the integral turntable with help of the arm.

And the other thing really standing out: The front end is so revealing that several times during the last weeks I heard something slightly off, and it was either the floor "working" (level, see point above) or:
By handling of the arm, touching the counterweight or some other handling, the VTF differed *slightly* - ie. not more than 0.015 gram. It was eally less than 2cg. Context: I do not really tighten any screw in my setup, because of (...). This *was* audible in a close to blind test situation - "... somethings sounding not quite... ??". In such a revealing setup it’s *musically* rewarding to a surprising degree how much (less than) 0.01 gram VTF can do, sonically.
I invite anyone to try first before argueing against - an ET2 or any other superb front end BTW will show it. (And yes, I know that temperature and other factors modify the dampers properties constantly).

The last time I travelled the "Wet Road" I was using the short I beam.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CDygimyC7ByWM79C7

For Non ET2 owners and the Curious.

Look at the yellow circle in the picture.

Notice how the air bearing spindle (Grey) is flush with the (black) counterweight cap. That is the easiest way to detect a 2.5 with the larger spindle. On the 2.0 version the counterweight cap overlaps the smaller spindle.

The ET 2 manifold casing (think of a car engine block) is bored out, to be able to contain the large 2.5 spindle. Now the confusing part is Bruce’ labeling on the manifold case, for both the 2.0 and 2.5 - just says "Eminent Technology Tonearm 2" The labeling doesn’t differentiate between the two versions.

Why the larger spindle for the 2.5 ? .... (the curious ask).

Good question.

Short answer.... to match resonances better with MC

If you take two tubes same material - one larger diameter than the other; the larger diameter will resonant lower. You can prove this by striking each one with a mallet or like. The larger 2.5 version spindle was designed for MC carts and their higher resonances (stiffer cantilevers), so the 2.5 spindle resonates lower. Matching resonances better.

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tomic601

12-12-2019 1:08pm
Wanna be here

@tomic601

Hello Tom. I missed your post..
Welcome..... will you be staying for dinner and drinks *^0

@nandric

will you be joining us for dinner Nikola ?
Please bring some slivovitz 8^0

@chris
I think the reason for the ET2 spindle design was
a) it was quite brillant with any cartridge (and still is).
b) the ET2 spindle is ca. 23 g vs. 31g (ET 2.5). This concerns horizontal mass 1:1.
Also the bearings outer tube is considerably heavier. This concerns compatibilty with sprung subchassis.

Mid 80's there were a lot of english (and swiss/german) tables around, with rel. lighweight sprung subchassis. Minimizing mass was important for compatibility.And keeping the spindle (and horizontal) mass low was important for optimized MM & MC compatibility. (If only not to stand too much out in the theoretical rain concerning "much too high horizontal mass").

The high pressure bearing increased stiffness of the bearing, and the larger spindle increases stiffness of the bearing by an additional factor of 2.5! The ET2 bearing is stiff to begin with (it's not the "intuitive" air cushion one imagines), but the  ET2.5s large surface high pressure bearing is even stiffer by (guessed) almost an order of magnitude.
Practice shows that even the high compliance B&O MMC1 "likes" the heaviest ET2.5 configuration, without getting hickups.(as it "likes" a longhorn stabilizer even though the coupling of the  cantilever to the body is of rel. low stiffness.)

You sound happy with your 2.5 Pegasus. Be glad that Bruce is not based in Europe with an audiophile mentality. His prices would probably be double. 8^0

I think the manufacturer builds product, and provides general guidelines based on his/her design, testing, etc.... Then the product gets into audiophile hands and all hell breaks loose. Music lovers use products as designed I have found. They don’t have a temptation to tweak and just enjoy the music. Audiophiles are more likely to break the rules and go against guidelines.

This can be good and bad. Its good if they come up with "tweaks" that encourages the manufacturer to upgrade - improve on their design. Bruce’ more recent examples of this include the Long I Beam (reducing the lead weight requirement by half), Aluminum mounting plate, and Aluminum Joint (Gooseneck) that holds the armwand to the air bearing spindle........ replacing the previous Carbon Fiber.

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Vinyl versus Digital Shootouts

I started doing shoot out’s with my son when he visits. We put on a record album, and queue up the same album on Tidal HiFi .....15 seconds later. Adjusting for volume we switch between the two. The way I used to play with 15 IPS tape versus vinyl. Yeah doing some venturing on the dark side over the holidays.

Result/Findings.
As good as Tidal HiFi sounds ....CD quality and better, my son is getting an awakening on how good vinyl really is. He then starts asking questions about the chain of events, from the needle drop and how we get the sound out. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel for all these records after all. He is also fascinated with how a piece of long string, around a platter, is able to keep the music in time (the tempo and rhythm of the music) as good as the digital stream, as far as the human ear is concerned.
I admit as well it is a lot of fun switching between different re-masters of the Beatles albums and the like, with just a click.
Cheers

Here is a rare 2.5 for sale - the latest version on the Reverb website.
.
Not affiliated with the ad. Good luck.

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Buying Tip

When negotiating price with the seller, who happens to be a dealer - do not mention 2.5 to them........or the MAG arm wand ........ 8^)

https://reverb.com/item/29975050-thorens-td-125-mkii-w-et-tonearm-2-air-arm-airtech-surge-tank-reser...