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Trans-Fi Terminator Tonearm: 2019 Update

In reading a few related posts on linear tracking tonearm, in general,  and Trans-Fi Terminator , in particular, I thought I would give a brief update of the Terminator.

I purchased the arm directly from Andrey in Moscow two months ago. From what I understand, Andrey has taken over production after Vic's retirement. What I received is the most up-to-date version of the arm with the carbon fibre wand and brass counterweights, the direct wire leads from cartridge to  phono amp, and a new brass manifold ( not evident from the main web-site). Both the wand and the new manifold are Andrey's contribution to the continued refinement of the Terminator.

Also,  please visit this site: https://darklanternforowen.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/terminator-tonearm-new-arm-mount/. This gentlemen from NZ has developed a new arm mount for the Terminator which advanced the arm's sonics even further. It was reading through the the development of this new arm mount that convinced me to order the Terminator after much prior research. I did not purchase the arm mount from NZ as it would not readily fit my Verdier La Platine, instead Andrey made a custom arm mount. It is in essence a two point support mount rather than a single point support rod that is commonly used. 

My previous arm was a SME V of 1990's vintage mounted with a ZYX airy. The Terminator is several notch above the SME V. All the accolades given to the Terminator seem justified. My main point in writing is that the new developments by Andrey, i.e. the carbon fibre wand and the newest brass manifold, seem to improve upon the Terminator even more ( see link above ). This is the news that I wanted to share with existing Terminator owners. I asked Andrey to start a blog on all the new stuff that is happening with the arm, but it seems that he is busy making 'things'!




ledoux1238
ledoux1238 OP
276 posts
 
'Another thread discussing K’s leads to the conclusion that the diamond cantilever is the last big jump in the K line, not the stone bodies, which are fine, but relatively less important'

Terry, Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the stone body with the diamond cantilever the end of the line for Koetsu?


'Panzerholz is a trade name for an exotic German plywood: half millimetre slices of beech hardwood embedded in a matrix of phenolic resin. It’s dead, dead, dead."

Got it. 
Seriously, Is there anyway you can link a photograph of the panzerholz wand. 


' The Tomahawk wand is good, but wasn’t made for a 12g cartridge. It needs weights and damping material hanging off it, it looks plain messy. Also, on some recordings there appears to be some distortion which won’t go away'

I gathered that the latest carbon fiber wand had not graced your system?
But in terms of mass and damping for a heavier cartridge, carbon fiber probably does help.


redcars
11 posts
 

 @ledoux1238, Thanks very much for your reply. The CA TT2 is as you describe it except that the wires are attached in one place to the tonearm carriage and from there to the shielded part of the cable which is anchored to the arm carrier. The wires are not threaded through the tube. In that respect it can be identical to the Terminator (or vice versa).

The TT2 also has varying VTF using any normal gage. The only significant difference I can see is the flexibility of the wires. I will wait until I get my Terminator installed before trying to explain the gage again.

On another subject, I asked Andrey about using the arm with a heavy cartridge like my Clearaudio GFS or the Ortofon MC Anna, both of which weigh about 16 grams.

He replied: “The tonearm works perfectly with Ortofon Anna at the setup of my bosom friend.”

Are users with the CF arm having issues with heavier cartridges. Which cartridges over 7 grams will work best; which cartridges have problems?  Any comments would be appreciated.

Don


terry9
2,253 posts
 
Don, thanks for the thought about CF arm. I associate CF with lightness and rigidity, but not mass and damping. Depends on the design, obviously, and equally obviously I should have tried that first.
terry9
2,253 posts
 
Ledoux, the stone bodies are at the apex, but according to one of the K connoisseurs on this site, stone is a marginal improvement over the platinum rosewood, while diamond cantilever is a big improvement. He should know - he’s done a lot of auditioning and owns several stone bodies, including a d/c.
ledoux1238 OP
276 posts
 
Don,

I recall you mentioning that your TT2 will only work with  the  Goldfinger, 15 g.     And in order to try other cartridges,  you decided to try the Terminator. Did I remember correctly? If so, why is the TT2 so restrictive in its cartridge choices?

If you look at a couple of earlier posts, @spiritofmusic mentioned that his mate is ( was ) using a 15 g Goldfinger with the Terminator. Terry's Rosewood Signature Platinum is 9 g. It would be nice for others to chime in regarding cartridges experiences.



 "...  but according to one of the K connoisseurs on this site, stone is a marginal improvement over the platinum rosewood, while diamond cantilever is a big improvement.'

Terry, I have read similar comments regarding the SQ improvement of the diamond cantilever. Did you send the Rosewood back to Japan for the upgrade? I understand that is the preferred path, acquire the Rosewood Sig. Platinum first, then go for diamond.  


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