Top linear trackers

@thekong Thanks for that explanation. So pressure levels can reach 120psi! At that level,  it would make sense that all accessaries are purposefully built with fail safe mechanisms. 

@mikelavigne +1 on the CS Port arm. 

You were one of the very early adopters of the CS port system, certainly in the US; low pressure arm with non-servo motor, the exact opposite of the Techdas brute mentality. 

This will not even register in your search radar, but as someone has mentioned the Trans-Fi Terminator should be on your list. 

Look at the manifold, an inverted ‘v’ as opposed to a circular tube in most other cases. It is an inherently more stable ( no tendency to roll ) platform for the cartridge / wand assembly to glide on. It is low pressure / high flow operating as low as 0.5 psi ( I run it at 1.25 psi ), which can easily accommodate surge tanks for elevated SQ and aquarium type compressors are more than adequate. And the value proposition is out of this world.

Please review discussion of this arm on another thread : 2019 update Trans - Fi Terminator. You will find users of other ‘higher caliber ‘ arms, LT or otherwise, moving to the Terminator. Most recently a Clearaudio TT5 user taking up the Terminator, resulting in the purchase of a second Terminator to boot!

While I use a linear tracking arm, I do not subscribe to the notion that one technology is superior to the other. It is in the implementation / execution. However, to find a matching pivot arm at Terminator’s price range is impossible.

@solypsa I am using a ZYX Ultimate Omega ( medium compliance, 12 ) and Audio Tekne MC-6310 ( med / high compliance, 20 ). These work very well with the Terminator.  My own experience has been limited to various  medium / high compliance cartridges. 

On a seperate thread, @terry9 reported that Koetsu RSP, 12g and low compliance, did not work with Terminator's aluminum arm wand. He then developed a heavier Panzerholz wand which then worked very well. And Someone is using a Clearaudio GFS, 16g, though med compliance. Due to Terry's experience, I have held off on venturing into low compliance territory. While I feel that the newer carbon fiber wand which I use should work with Koetsu's, I would think twice about putting a stone body Koetsu. 

@dover I am a big fan of Bruce Thigpen. I own a pair of LFT 8bs’. The initial idea for purchasing the Terminator was to use it as a linear tracking starter kit with the intention of upgrading to the ET-2.5s’. Well I haven’t gotten to the upgrade just yet. 

If you have compared both arms some years back and came to the conclusion of ET2.5’s superiority, then I would submit that the Terminator has also improved over the years. The new carbon fiber wand, a new brass manifold, an after- market arm base developed by the late Owen Young of NZ have all added to the Terminator’s improved SQ. And if  you discard the generic 1 gallon (4.5 liter) surge tank for a total air filtration volume of 150 liters, then it is a very improved Terminator that you might not have really listened to.

However, having said all that, I believe I will end up with a ET 2.5. I just do not look forward to experimenting with pump / compressor ( high pressure as opposed to low pressure of the Terminator) and filtration, not to mention just getting to understand the arm as I am a very slow learner.

@vinylzone The ET arm can be made to order with an Alita 15 compressor according to its website. This is the compressor I am using for the Terminator. But I had thought that the ET is a high pressure arm, and the Alita operates in the 3-5 psi range. I use it to run the Terminator at 1.25psi. I am putting in an email to Bruce to start seriously start discussing a purchase. I am more comfortable running the ET in a lower pressure environment. 

@thekong I am guilty of having no experience with high pressure LT arms. Hence I make assumptions based on my DIY experiences with the Terminator. One assumption is that air filtration is a very important part of an air bearing arm. And with the Terminator, the way to improve filtration is to increase the use of surge tanks. However, the more tanks / volume I add with definite SQ improvement,  I had to change / increase the output of the pumps used. Given this assumption, I had thought that with high pressure LT arms, one way to improve SQ is also to increase air filtration / surge tanks. But that may require even higher pressure pumps...etc. At some point the pump pressure will be too large for safe home use. Am I wrong with my thinking on high pressure arms? 

@dover Obviously you are right that a captive bearing works best with higher pressure. I got a message back from Bruce T. He says that the lowest pressure to operate the ET2.5 is 3-5 psi. The higher the pressure the stiffer the bearing.

I have one additional question and that is regarding pressure gauge. I see a lot of ET LT arm users place pressure gauges on the arm, right before the manifold. The reading on the gauge therefore reflects the pressure at the arm. However, I had thought that a gauge of any kind is also a disruptor of air flow. I place my gauge right after the pump, reading the pump pressure instead. And then allowing the surge tanks to perform their tasks down stream. Again, am I wrong in my thinking? Will a pressure gauge affect the air flow negatively?