Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

In the process of setting up a LP12 for a ET2.5 tonearm. Is the aluminum mounting base a noticeable improvement?

Hi ncampbell

Have you decided on the spot to put the ET mounting hole ?

We discussed the Linn LP12 here last year. I did a quick search of emails and found the email trail with Bruce which I attach below for you.
Hopefully the information helps you.

I remember the consensus at the time was that the ET tonearm mount hole should be positioned very close to where the pivot hole is.
So the ET 2.5 is mounted at an angle. The reasons due to the suspension designed for a back mount. This is referenced below.

One way of attaching the ET 2 mount is to get a long enough Stainless bolt and nut with a large - small holed flat washer (Fender Washer) that itself is larger than your mounting hole.
The washer will hold the bolt/nut tight and you can mount the ET base to it.

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Linn suspension

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBCQNTy1Kt0

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re: aluminum mount.
It has more heft, you can feel the difference in your hand when holding it.
So as you are already dealing with a tricky suspension - I would forego it for now and go with the original carbon fiber.
And then add the aluminum later if you like. JMO.
I can tell you that the solid aluminum joint (gooseneck) for me changed resonances enough that the MM cart I was using became un- listenable
with my 2.5 and Mag armwand. My turntable supports the aluminum mount with no issues.

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Email trail with Bruce follows - read from bottom up.
Cheers Chris
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Chris

This is probably the best strategy, the Linn, which is an
excellent turntable, is designed similar to the original AR turntables 3
point spring suspension with a low natural frequency. The drawback is
that the repositioning of 20 grams or so as a straight line arm
traverses the record may deflect the suspension, I have not measured a
Linn to know if this is the case.

On a three point suspension like the Oracle, the ratio of masses
was such that this was not a problem

- brucet

On 3/7/2019 7:16 PM, wrote:


Bruce,

"designed for a lighter load centered on the back side of the
turntable where a conventional tonearm mounts."

From what you are saying, the ET2, if this person really wanted to do
this set up, should then mount it at an angle on the plinth at say 1pm, as close to
where the pivot arm is mounted ?

---------- Original Message ----------


From: Bruce Thigpen <brucet@eminent-tech.com>
Date: March 7, 2019 at 5:56 PM

Chris

This has been done a few times, you need to be very good with
turntable set up, and it’s not ideal.

The Linn suspension is designed for a lighter load centered on the
back side of the turntable where a conventional tonearm mounts. It has
been done but the potential user should be very good with tonearm setup
and adjustment to complete the installation.

- brucet
On 3/7/2019 5:23 PM, Chris wrote:

Bruce
Someone is asking if he can mount an ET2 on a Linn LP12 turntable.
I think the suspension is not appropriate based on this video. I have
never owned one.
Do you have customers using LP12 turntables ? Thx. Chris

Thanks for the great pointers. I am going to start by mounting the tonearm using the current pivot hole with the fender washer suggestion. At that point I will measure suspension deflection to see if it is factor and if so try some different tonearm angles to see if the deflection can be minimized.

Mounting the tonearm via the current pivot hole does not work for a couple of reasons:
a) the ET bearing spindle is not sufficiently long to allow the tonearm / cartridge to reach the outer diameter of the platter. The mount point, by necessity, has to be approximately half way down the arm board to allow the tonearm to reach the outer edge of the platter.
b) The Linn pivot hole mount point pushes all the tonearm weight to the outer edge of the suspension. This is a necessary evil with traditional tonearms. With an armboard midpoint mounting the tonearm weight now rests between the two suspension points supporting the armboard/platter which seems like a much better solution.

I would mount the tonearm closest to the One o’clock location, moving in from the current pivot mounting hole. Close enough so that the tonearm spindle is allowed full travel. This will probably put it close to where you mention ?
I like pictures so.
Here is a shot of the underside that shows the three suspension mounts "Red Arrows" that control everything.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iY4q68yf6tCFEUrt6

Picture shows the position approximately, for the mount of the tonearm on the tonearm board on the opposite side. When the ET 2 is mounted I would then take time to re-balance as necessary by added weight to the plinth in the appropriate areas - experiment - to get the right vertical bounce that is needed with the Linn.

The tonearm asks for a straight tracking line, and this line can be anywhere on the platter.