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Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners


Where are you? What mods have you done ?

I have been using these ET2's for over 9 years now.
I am still figuring them out and learning from them. They can be modified in so many ways. Bruce Thigpen laid down the GENIUS behind this tonearm over 20 years ago. Some of you have owned them for over 20 years !

Tell us your secrets.

New owners – what questions do you have ?

We may even be able to coax Bruce to post here. :^)

There are so many modifications that can be done.

Dressing of the wire with this arm is critical to get optimum sonics along with proper counterweight setup.

Let me start it off.

Please tell us what you have found to be the best wire for the ET-2 tonearm ? One that is pliable/doesn’t crink or curl. Whats the best way of dressing it so it doesn’t impact the arm. Through the spindle - Over the manifold - Below manifold ? What have you come up with ?
128x128ct0517
pegasus
116 posts
 

"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 :-)
 

gyneguy225
93 posts
 

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

gyneguy225
93 posts
 

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.

ketchup
699 posts
 

The key to using a shop compressor is to have a large enough tank for at least one listening session.  I can listen to LPs for days with one fill of my 60 gallon tank.  It's the most quiet air source you can possibly have and there's no need for a surge tank.  I waited years to connect it to my tonearm, and once I did, I felt stupid for not doing it sooner.

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