I've been chatting with Simes about this. My pump is over 55'/15m from the stock smoothing tank, thence 15'/5m to Terminator. He contends that length of air hose will already be doing a lot to smooth air flow, but I'm game to try an extra 30 or 50 litre surge tank, filled with cotton wool or crumpled paper balls to aid smoothing.
What is the specific Google search to use for these tanks and the nozzle attachments required? |
Why is this 4" PVC tube an improvement over the other tanks suggested?
Re Eheim, strange you should mention that...a client of mine into aquariums as a hobby suggested this very make to me. |
Ledoux, setting those counterweight for correct VTF seems one part luck and...one part luck Lol. I wish there was a slam dunk way to set and forget precisely. |
Hi Albert!
I don't know the benefits...that's the temptation Lol
My guess is any turbulence or irregular flow will create some ripples that will lessen performance of Terminator
A totally smooth, (near) silent flow should only be an advantage.
And at the level of performance I'm getting, these last %age points can make the biggest differences.
The proof is in Andrey's 2019 Terminator design. The smaller better engineered air holes make a massive difference. So should a smoother quieter ripple-free pump. |
I Iearn not to be too fussy. Middle of the lp does for me. On average, I need to adjust 2x per week, occasionally 3x.
Just something I've got used to. But fully concur for some/many this would be a deal breaker.
I'm optimistic that the super-fine Zavfino tonearm wire I'm soon getting installed will minimise wire drag to such an extent that this issue gets minimised or even eliminated. |
Gentlemen, I've been running the Andrey 2019 version Terminator for a few months.
Progressed from Vic's original in 2013, via Owen's Al arm mount, Andrey's carbon fibre armwand, to the whole new arm.
Will soon install my new tonearm wire comprising Kondo age-annealed silver/Cardas tags/Bocchino RCAs.
Tbh, I'd been so happy w Vic's original, I wasn't bothered to change. But Andrey's carbon fibre armwand was such a risk-free proposition, I thought I'd give it a try. And when it proved way more positive than I could have imagined, I took a punt on the whole kit and kaboodle, ordering the whole new arm.
And am I glad I did.
The new arm is a total triumph.
It both solidifies and clarifies the low end, streamlines the mids, and frees up the top end. And critically in my triodes/Zus based system which doesn't major on soundstaging, the new arm locks images in space, really making the soundstage way more tangible and precise.
My description is that it takes away some "fluttering" or wavering in the image, and imparts a real carved-from-stone quality.
I would say "like digital"...but digital can't get close to the palpable texture and natural warmth thru accurately rendered mids and upper bass that the best analog is superior at...and make no mistake, Andrey's Terminator is amongst the best analog components out there.
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Ledoux, will do. Covid lockdown means the wait for the Kondo/Bocchinos tonearm wire will have to wait a little longer.
The Straingauge cart is really quite something. I've run a few carts in my time, Roksan Shiraz, Zu Denon 103, Lyra Skala and Parnassus, Transfiguration Temper Supreme and Orpheus...and now, Soundsmith Straingauge SG w different stylus profiles, and currently w LPS.
The SG is a real chameleon, getting right out of the way of the music, not enhancing any part of the frequency band, and allowing each lp to sound very different from the next.
I always had a tendency to some homogeneity btwn lps, and that was fine when I liked the tonality of the cart (Parnassus, Transfigurations, Zu 103), not so much when I didn't (Skala, Shiraz).
And critically, once I "got" this tonal discrimination thing, each lp absolutely having it's own tonal and timbral character, despite many lps being revealed as sonically challenging, so many become absolutely compelling, with amazing levels of bloom and low level detail revealed, w the SG over all my other carts, I can't go back to homogeneity (even if that homogeneity is pleasantly euphonic).
The reason I'm stressing this so much on this Terminator 2019 thread, is that at first glance, you might easily give kudos to the arm but say it's gonna hit it's upper limit of performance only w cheaper, less discriminating carts on less ambitious tts/systems.
However my experience of this £1k arm hosting a range of £6k-15k cart/phono combinations, shows that it's absolutely not embarassed, and the better the cart, the better Terminator 2019 performs.
Totally stellar.
Guys, I have threads devoted to it and Trans Fi Salvation tt in the Analog sections of Whats Best Forum.
Under "New Terminator" rather than Teminator 2019.
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Ledoux, there are two criticisms of the Straingauge SG, one I don't hear, the other could be valid.
One is that it reproduces vocals "unnaturally". Something in the tone or timbre of voices not being right. Why that wouldn't apply to a trumpet, I'm not sure, but the voices criticism is on the record, to do w SG not applying the RIAA curve.
All I can say here is that vocals sound fantastic. I guess none of us really "know" what Frank Sinatra, or Nina Simone, or Peter Gabriel etc, "really" sound like, so this criticism seems a purely intellectual one.
More relevantly, all our choices are coloured in one way or another. SG is likely to sound VERY different from a Koetsu, I could see how one could say the SG wasn't "correct" in comparison.
The more valid criticism is that the SG lacks that last iota of bloom or harmonic development. It "could" sound dry or pinched or, heaven forbid Lol, "digital".
Many things are at play here. So much analog is a bit exuberant in the lower mids and bass, with a level of euphonic warmth and lack of control, that the comparison with a way tighter and more neutral cart like SG is gonna be jarring. MFremer suggests the SG maybe trades swell and bloom for speed and precision...I can't deny that conclusion.
But imho, I think that's too simplistic. I've heard, and owned, many carts, that do the speed/detail thing over warmth, and they sound just as coloured and unnatural as ones that do the opposite...a Lyra Skala or Zu Denon 103 or Roksan Shiraz cool/ascerbic sound versus a Lyra Parnassus warm/plump sound.
The SG is the king of speed, but its tone is not dessicated in any way. I just feel like live acoustic music, it's organised, even handed, tonally and timbrally discriminating. And what could be called lack of bloom/harmonic development is indeed other carts being overly colourful and lacking last degree of control in lower frequencies.
These attributes of course highlighted to the max in poorly chosen ancilliary gear or poor analog installs. So yes, put the SG in a Class D/diamond tweeters/glass and concrete dungeon, and yr analog will sound bright and dry. Get the VTA and azimuth wrong, and it'll sound aggressive.
But as in my system, install the SG correctly on a revealing but evenhanded Terminator, thru a system suited to a large room (80W SETs into 101dB spkrs into an 800 sq ft/5500 cub ft room, acoustically very benign), and it's a revelation. It doesn't reveal itself as a fat, cuddly, sweet tooth sounding Koetsu or Lyra Parnassus, nor a ruler flat but ultimately unengaging sounding Clearaudio or Transfiguration, nor a seat of yr pants but ultimately shrill sounding Lyra Skala or Roksan Shiraz or Zu 103.
It really reveals the music, and as such is a killer combination w the Terminator. |
I'm not a great fan of Vic's cart choices. The Decca was a bit too hot for my liking...and shreds vinyl. And his Audio Technicas were a little bland thru the mids.
I ran both a Zu Denon 103 and Transfiguration Orpheus on the Terminator prior to the SG...both fine carts. The Zu 103 in particular had a certain magic, if a little rough around the sides. |
Albert, not quite in the same town. I was in London, him 100 miles away.
As I moved away from the main dealer/big magazines input on gear choice to more online searches, I first found my Zus, and then the whole world of idlers. LT arms were, and still are, a real niche product.
Having heard a few modded 301s, 401s, L70s, mainly w 12" pivoted arms, on a variety of plinths, I more and more considered this my future (back to the future, circa 1964 lol).
In 2011, I ended up buying a slate plinth 401 w Terminator arm from Vic, but for a variety of reasons, it didn't work for me, and returned it. However, I'd been vaccinated now w the whole concept, and Vic was bringing out his rim drive Salvation.
Well, I loved the concept, the likely synergy of tt/arm design, and kept contact w Vic.
Demo in 2013 was slam dunk, and Vic installed it, getting by my original 401 poor setup killer.
And here I am today, 7 yrs later with the tt heavily modded (LPS to motor/Stacore isolation), and Andrey's 2019 Terminator/Owen's aluminium arm mount/transformer to pump.
Albert, the arm has snuck up on me. I kind of bought into the concept before I knew what it could really bring to the (turn)table (Lol).
From a vague impression of improved speed, stability, bass, over my SME V, and zero null point tracking issues, 7 years of 1000 lp plays/yr, getting setup right, and now the move to Andrey's 2019 Terminator/Owen's aluminium arm mount, I can absolutely see this arm as a landmark product in analog, audio history full stop. It is THAT impressive.
So, awareness of idlers online, and random catching of this Ebay ad from Vic...that's how close I was to never going down this path. |
What is TFT, sorry?
No, my issue was purely a cart issue
I didn't realise I had a totally incorrect loading value on my phono
Had I got that right, or used my cart, likely I would have kept it
Fate intervened, and I ended up 12 months later w Salvation Terminator instead
The eventual owner of the slate 401 Terminator was v happy indeed |
Absolutely keep it in contention. Cart loading issue at the time, not the tt or arm. |
My Terminator is mounted on Vic's slate Salvation, and the combination really slays.
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If you look at Vic's website in past, plenty of trad suspended tts have Terminator installed.
The only critical issues w the arm are getting it level, care w cable dressing, free flow of air from pump.
The tt suspension is not a consideration. |
Ooh...the Terminator adapted to work with a damping trough...what an idea! |
I'm running Andrey's new Terminator/Owen's Al armbase. I cannot praise the combination enough. |
Ledoux...adding additional smoothing tanks permits lowering of air pressure at the pump? |
I'm confused by this. Vic formally warns against using higher flow pumps. 180-250 litres/hour is his recommendation. So if using extra tanks necessitates more pressure/higher flow, isn't this contradictory? |
So Ledoux, the benefits audibly of adding extra tanks outweighs the theoretical disadvantages of having to run a higher pressure/air flow? |
I think cart weight is the major limiting factor. My 7g Straingauge works flawlessly. A mate of mine JUST manages the 15g Clearaudio Goldfinger.
I heard the DaVa field coil yesterday, and am smitten. But at 23g, never gonna happen. |
What do you need to know? It's an improvement in every way. Critically lower mids/upper bass articulation, imaging and air. I was hugely skeptical...I mean, it's pretty much the same design except for the mix of brass and aluminium in the manifold/slider, rather than 100% aluminium, carbon fibre armwand, and smaller, more precisely engineered air holes in the manifold. No way could this sound more than marginally better, if at all better full stop, was my sentiment.
I was absolutely dumbfounded upon install. All of original Terminator's strengths were there, with these added benefits, resulting in a wholly superior listening experience, adding way more delicacy and sophistication to the sound, making jazz and classical altogether more timbrally accurate and effortless. |
I'm about to try the Eheim pump. Have decided not to go to crazy on pumps/smoothing tanks mods.
Andrey's new arm is absolutely undeniable. I'm using it in conjunction w Owen's Al arm mount from NZ. |
No, you're unfortunately right. It's my biggest bugbear with the arm. I pretty much check VTF on a daily basis, normally have to adjust at least every other day.
I'm about to install super-fine Zavfino Litz-76 tomearm wire which should minimise this tendency. But I've yet to find a foolproof way to dress the cable to fully prevent VTF going out of whack regularly. |
Yes...super fine tonearm wire.
I'm soon to install Zavfino Litz-76.
Really hoping this mitigates drag/varying VTF issues. |
I believe its 750 Terminators. |
