Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Ketchup, that’s what Bruce was telling me when I let him know that I was running 18 psi. If you already have an ET-2 you may want to try upping the pressure before trying the 2.5. I don’t have a high pressure manifold and for that reason if I go much higher than 18 psi I start hearing a lot air escaping from the space between the manifold and spindle. I’m thinking this escaping air could apply some unwanted side force against the arm wand as it tracks towards the inner grooves of the record.

Anyway, I went back down to Palmer Street Friday afternoon to pick up the new aluminum wand joint, and of course, ask more questions. When I walked in the door, two of his guys were building what appeared to be LFT speaker panels on large tables in the the front room. Bruce appeared and showed me the newly made aluminum wand joint. It is truly a finely-crafted, beautifully finished piece. He went as far as to show me just how not-so-tight to to tighten the wand-joint clamp screw on an ET-2 spindle he had brought in - and it is NOT VERY TIGHT!. Tighten is just enough so wand joint does not move when you try to rotate it on the spindle end - AND NO MORE! If you tighten it too tight, the spindle will deform. He even had me tighten it on the same spindle while I was there to make sure that I fully understood. Also be sure to note the tiny index dot on the wand-cable socket in the spindle. That dot is at 3 o’clock. Be sure to take the time to align the wand joint correctly. It is much easier to see that it is correctly aligned once you reattach the wand. Once attached, you can sight across where the wand to see that it is exactly in alignment with the counterbalance I-beam.

Speaking of not over-tightening anything on the ET-2/2.5, I ask Bruce about setting the correct tension or screw tightness on the VTA block. He said basically, you tighten the four VTA block screws evenly just enough so the VTA block does not allow manifold to rock. The narrow gap on each side of the VTA block where it attaches to the manifold housing should be even from top to bottom and the same gap on both sides. Bruce also showed me a VTA block where someone tighten the screw that mounts the VTA block to the mounting post. It was not a pretty sight. A nice chunk of carbon fiber was missing out of side of the VTA block. Again, don’t let something like this happen to your ET-2/2.5. Parts fit so precisely that death-grip tightening of any screw is not required and may ruin your day.  Snug holding the short end of an allen wrench is good.

OK now, how did the aluminum wand joint upgrade sound? Well, I got my ET-2 back together and fully adjusted Friday night and . . .

I probably do the setup procedure a little different than most but it does seem to work well and after doing it a few times it not as daunting as it was in the past. First I set the spindle height and level close to where it need to be. It doesn’t have to be exact at first. Next I set the VTF, then I set the cartridge overhang with the clear scribe-line tool. Next, I remove the cartridge and install a Wally Reference tool. I bought it used. I then set the VTA lever to align with the "0" on the VTA gauge. After that, I loosen the height-adjustment screw and set the arm height so the Wally Reference is level with the platter. If you use this procedure, you will need to view the Wally Tools video to determine what shim(s) you will need to use which is dependent on the height of your cartridge. I also add and additional 2mm shim (average record thickness) and set the Wally reference directly on the platter. Once this is done, I level the spindle by using dial calipers to measure the distance between the arm board on my TNT and the spindle when extended in each direction. I then go back and check that the Wally reference is still flat on the platter. You will also use the Wally Reference to adjust the azimuth. When you adjust the azimuth, be careful that you only rotate the wand and not move in or out. If all looks good your are ready to reinstall the cartridge and double check your cartridge overhand using the scribe-line tool and VTF with your scale.

Also, Bruce said to set up your I-beam so the lead weights are near the end of the I beam, and to move them to low position in the slot as well. He showed me the extra long I-beam, and it is very long, but unfortunately I can't use it since I have a dust cover.

Now it time to play that first LP - big decision!  What to play?  OK, how about side one of an early pressing of Joe Walsh, The Smoker You Get . . ? Oh yes, I know this album well and I must say it just seemed to sound better than ever in a very noticeable way - more impact, clearer mid-range, solid bass. I could go on, but for what the aluminum joint cost, I don’t think you could make a better upgrade to your ET-2/2/5.

With the stylus down, how is everyone's I-beam angled?  Is it perfectly horizontal or a little down at the counterweight end?  I have the long I-beam and the counterweight end is currently a little lower than the spindle end, but I really don't see a reason to not adjust the I-beam so it's horizontal.

"Normally" the I-beam is in line with the tonearm, ie. "horizontal" tonearm & I-beam.
(I think that's what you see in the manual.)
"Underhung" - which is popular and necessary to a degree with unipivot bearings, the I-beam would slightly slope down to the end. But... this is neither necessary for the ET2 nor does it make sense dynamically.
If not going "normal" I'd try to slightly lift the end of the I-beam, meaning to set the counterweight sligthly above horizontal.
Dynamically it is IMO optimal to have the line from center of mass of the tonearm & cartridge to center of mass of the I-beam passing exactly through the center of the bearing tube.
The beautiful thing about the ET 2 bearing is: It works admirably well even without thinking too much about such issues :-)
 

I've been away for a while as I was lured  by the lazy ease of streaming digital.But now I'm trying to get back. I recently bought a used Sota Cosmos (arrives today) with all of the most recent updates. My plan is to try my ET2 on the Cosmos, as I already own a Cosmos armboard for the ET-2. I've owned an ET2 on a Sota Nova for at least 30 years. So you could say I am experienced, and actually came up with the idea for the long ibeam with minimal weight way out there. My problem is the airpump for the ET2. Right now I run two Wisa pumps running out of phase, with a large surge tank, and the highest pressure I can generate is about 7-8 psi.. I'd like to do better. I've skimmed the last 3-4 years of posts and could find nothing about pumps. Has anything new and better been discovered in the last 5 years other than the shop and dental pumps?

Thanks for any help,

John

I'll answer my own question. I googled air pumps and found a "Silentaire Super Silent 20" pump on Amazon. It's expensive at $600 but very quiet at 30db. I tried a shop pump from Granger a while ago. The higher pressure (20psi) produced a very black background but the noisey pump  was too much. So, I returned it. Anyway, opinions about this pump would be appreciated.