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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

Showing 8 responses by dover

dover
2,187 posts
 
The wires are threaded through one of the holes in the arm wand. They will invariably touch and assert a force on the wand. As the arm travels across the platter, the force on the wand varies, thus creating a constantly varying VTF. The differential on VTF, according to my measurements is 0.05 g - 0.08 g, between the edge and center of platter.
With a caveat that I have never seen this arm in the flesh -

I would have thought the solution surely is to pin the wire to the apex of the air bearing carrier ( L section aluminium on top ). This would mean the loading from the wire on tracking force would be consistant across the record.

If you then run a loop from the apex of the carrier to the overhanging bracket, then the impact of the wire would then be on the lateral loading force on the cartridge/armtube/carrier and would be as a %age of the effective mass much lower ( arm has higher effective mass in the lateral plain ) and less impactful on the set up.

By the way I note in the setup referred to earlier in this thread it looks like the gentleman has the wire connected to the overhanging bracket at the beginning of the record - obviously making sure the bracket as located in the CENTE of travel would minimise the overall effect. If you listen to classical you could experiment with biasing the position closer to the end of the record so that the difficult inner grooves are less affected.

I prefer the captive air bearing/decoupled counterweight approach of the Eminent Technology ET2 which I have had for over 30 years.

In my experience most aftermarket tonearm wires are too stiff for air bearing arms. I found the least impact on lateral forces to be vintage silk copper litz (plastic and teflon sleeves too stiff ) and of whats avaialble today the Audionote silver litz and Kondo Fairy wire being the most flexible and least impactful on tracking forces.
dover
2,187 posts
 
@ledouxThanks for feedback - very interesting.
The advantage of the ET2 here is that with the vertical pivot point outside the record due to the longer armtube, you can use a hanging loop to a fixed point behind the arm which does not affect VTF and is vertually negligible effect on lateral force if you use a light flexible wire and dress it properly. I think the captive bearing of the ET2 has a  benefit here as well.

You could do a custom longer armtube to get the pivot point outside the record - particularly if you use composite materials to keep the mass down. Then you could do a "hanging from the pivot" solution.

The only other thought I had was to have a flagpole on the arm carrier centred on the apex, and then you could run the wire up the flag pole and have a hanging loop back to a fixed point.




dover
2,187 posts
 
@ledoux1238
Re the isolation transformer.
So i have to be careful because how the power is delivered varies by country. In new Zealand we have 230V and separate phase, neutral AND ground.
An isloation transformer is simply a 1 to 1 transformer - 230v in and out.

From wiki...

An isolation transformer is a transformer used to transfer electrical power from a source of alternating current (AC) power to some equipment or device while isolating the powered device from the power source, usually for safety reasons. Isolation transformers provide galvanic isolation; no conductive path is present between source and load. This isolation is used to protect against electric shock, to suppress electrical noise in sensitive devices, or to transfer power between two circuits which must not be connected. A transformer sold for isolation is often built with special insulation between primary and secondary, and is specified to withstand a high voltage between windings.

Isolation transformers block transmission of the DC component in signals from one circuit to the other, but allow AC components in signals to pass. Transformers that have a ratio of 1 to 1 between the primary and secondary windings are often used to protect secondary circuits and individuals from electrical shocks between energized conductors and earth ground. Suitably designed isolation transformers block interference caused by ground loops. Isolation transformers with electrostatic shields are used for power supplies for sensitive equipment such as computers, medical devices, or laboratory instruments.

These days most people use RCD's ( fast acting circuit breakers ).
I did not use an audiphile device, just an old school large isolation trans as described. An electrician should be able to point you in the right direction for your country/environment.

Great news on the VTF variation - 0.03g sounds pretty good.

dover
2,187 posts
 
@ledoux1238

When I had my Eminent Technology ET2 running on lower pressure similar to the Transfi putting the air pump on an isolating transformer improved the sound quite considerably, even with copious amounts of surge tank capacity in situ.

dover
2,187 posts
 
@terry9
@ledoux1238

I tried panzerholtz as an armboard material, but it is not dimensionally stable. I used 25cm thick stock - it was not flat. I had to cut, invert and laminate 2 pieces to get the armboard dead true.

With the carbon fiber wand I would have thought it would be worth having a vertical spine down the centre to minimmise any bending motion.

ledoux - on my Verdier I made armblocks from carbonised bamboo - its harder than maple and easy to work with. If I had kept my Verdier I would build a new plinth from german engineered quartz stone - 95% stone / 5% epoxy. I have had great success with this with Garrard Idlers. Its very inert, stable and sounds good. With my own Garrard 301 which I use as second TT, I used some leftover 40mm carbonised bamboo ply for the plinth - it was very good soundwise.

dover
2,187 posts
 
Yes, I think it's crazy to mount a cartridge on a trampoline.
You are trying to measure the groove accurately.
Imagine jumping up and down on a sprung bed and trying to meaure the height of a mark on the wall.

The only way it would sound better would be if his system is so flawed, that dumbing the resolution down to a molten mess is preferable to recovering what is in the grooves.
dover
2,187 posts
 
@ledoux1238

Yes condensation can be an issue, I use a regulator/water extraction just prior to the entry point to the bearing. I live in a high humidity environment.
dover
2,187 posts
 
@ledoux1238

Yes there were quite a few ET2’s in the mid 80’s here.
There are a few Transfi Terminators - I think primarily because the entry level price was quite modest and accessible compared to the ET2 which is quite rare now.
Unfortunately Owen passed away in a cycling accident a couple of weeks ago, but his son is going to continue the administration of the blog site. He was a keen DIY audiophile and respected in the audio community here.
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