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

It is really nice to see all the effort put into pressing  the Terminator back into service again, pairing with such a lovely bespoke turntable.  The several tweaks that you have arrived at are really worth  looking into. The mounting plate I am most interested in. Your thinking on using steel pins on nylon ‘v’ instead of the nylon pins resting on bare metal is also worth trying, if only to stop it from moving about.

In the OP above, I had mentioned the fellow audiophile, Owen Young, who inspired my purchasing the Terminator through his blog, https://darklanternforowen.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/terminator-tonearm-new-arm-mount/. There are a lot of similarities between his investigations and all your efforts in optimizing the arm. The nylon pins was his suggestion to Vic, Ithink. There is another interesting, for me, similarity. When I was reading his blog, I had the distinction sense that this person must be a structural engineer or an architect. And sure enough Owen was an architect ( he passed a few years ago ). I had the same feeling in going through your blog as someone in the design profession. And I think you mentioned that you are a product  designer. I too am an architect by profession. There must be a ‘less is more’ aesthetic to this arm that attracts designers, no? Or at least maybe a slide rule aesthetic ( giving away my age). 
 

I am hoping with all the tweaks, it will be more stable in use and you will enjoy the superior sonics for a longer duration. Please report on its SQ when appropriate.

I got the modified Terminator Arm finished and mounted to my DIY DD Turntable.
It's rock solid, with the new Mounting Plate.



I need to fine tune things to find the sweet spot and make up my mind if I prefer the sound with/without the 3mm Copper mat.

 

 

I mounted the cartridge as far forward as possible, to reduce the effect of different record thickness on VTA.

 

 

The external power supply I made still works fine after more than a decade, it’s the only clue that the deck has a Technics SL-1200 DD motor and control circuit in it.
The Platter and its Bearing came from a Pro-Ject RPM9 deck, I made an adaptor to allow it to work with the Technics motor. The platter and bearing is much, much superior to the basic Technics SL-1200 or the SL-1200G_ _ for that matter. The bearing is the one used on the current top of the line Pro-Ject Turntables.

Yes, you're correct, I fell out with the Terminator, due to difficulty in setting it up and then maintaining this correct set up. I was never happy with the silk covered Litz wire or the recommended way of dressing it. Also I took my gear to HiFi meetings at least a couple of times a year, and a set up, every time I moved the deck didn't suit. A pivot arm just worked out better for me, the wife was scared stiff of touching the Terminator. Having said all that, when it was on song it bettered anything else I had owned.
During a recent bout of inactivity, with no other DIY HiFi projects on the go, I decided to have one last go at sorting my Terminator. It was during this set up, that I realized the cause of many of my woe's, the Mounting plate was flexing when levelling the Manifold/Sled or changing VTA. Once I realized this, it gave me some new impetus to sort the arm out.
I used to swap ideas quite a bit with Vic, he loaned me his rubber band Slider, were the pivot pins sat on rubber bands.
I have seen his latest wand on his web site, but like with the rubber band Slider, it doesn't sit well with my way of thinking. To much damping and ways of errors creping in to VTA, Azimuth and VTF.
I don't like the Nylon Pivot pins, I prefer Steel pins running in a Nylon "V".
I tried to contact Andrey, re the Carbon wand, but he is not answering emails from the West, he may not even be receiving them. 

In my case, 60L tank vol was the limit of the original pump. From there on It was a case of searching for the right pump. I am using a Hiblow 40 currently. The nice thing about the Terminator is it works in low pressure, so less stress on connections and no problems with condensation.

I also tried filling tank cotton balls. This would moderate air flow, but it will also increase pressure. You’ll know when to back off on the balls.

How is the Terminator performing on your bespoke SL -1200? How does it compare to the other pivot arms you have? 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that you are reacquainting yourself with the Terminator after a long layoff. And you are in the process of further optimizing it. I wondered if you have reached out to Vic about his crazy trampoline wand? Or if you have contacted Anfrey about the carbon fiber wand?

I noticed the Mounting plate twisted when I was levelling the manifold/Slider. I would get it just right, hovering in the middle and when I tightened the Pivot Bolt the plate twisted and the slider moved at speed to the right. So almost impossible to set accurately. Every time I adjusted VTA it would throw it out.

If you notice, I have turned the slots through 90 deg.
This allows me to position a cartridge anywhere in the long Wand mounting slots and make adjustment at the Mounting plate to accommodate this.
The stock slots are about compatibility with the most number of decks.
Make the slot positions to suit your own deck and run them front to back, in my opinion, this is more useful. I used M5 bolts in 6mm slots. This gives more than enough wiggle room to align the manifold angle.

Wow, I don’t think my Missus would go for a 150L smoothing tank in the living room.
My pump has two outlets, the output oscillates from one to the other.
Common practice is to use a "Y" connector and join the two, before entering the tank at a single location. I am going to try feeding the tank with both outputs individually. Joining two 4mm tubes into one 4mm tube must restrict flow or cause back pressure.
Then I’ll try filling the tank with Polystyrene balls 4 to 6mm diameter.
The air will have to find its way through all the fine passages between the balls, or it may even act like a fluid bed, the air lifting the very light balls. I’m not sure if the flow/pressure is sufficient to do this, so its a suck it and see.
I will fit an inline filter, after the Tank, to stop any small particles going down the line into the manifold. It wouldn’t take much to block the holes in the manifold.

@qwin Thanks a million for the drawing!  As you indicted, the mounting slots are for your TT. I will use  the existing mounting slots for my arm. 

There have been a few occasions when I accidentally bumped into the far end of the cantilevered slider. And there would be a slight twisting at the mountinf plate, not enough to cause a cartridge mis-alignment. But I did wonder about the structural integirty of the plate. You solution solved it. Brilliant!

 

I knocked out a dimensioned drg for my Mounting Plate, in Coral Draw. Its linked on my website and also below. Feel free to use this in a non commercial way, if you so wish. DRG

Sorry I can’t help folks out with these, but some details of the Bracket and other tweaks can be found Here:

And my purpose made Turntable for the Arm Here:

I don't have CAD files for the part, but I will see if I can knock out a dimensioned drg.
I got a local machine shop to mill the three slots, I made the rest using hand tools and a belt sander.
Note the mounting slots are specific to my DIY deck and may not suit others.

@qwin HA! HA! It was quite presumptuous of me to think that you would. My apologies! What would be helpful is if you would share the CAD file or a PDF file of the mounting plate. If not, your photos are quite clear, I’ll be able to figure it out. 
 

I have been working on dressing the phono wires as you have this year. My scheme is quite primitive in comparison to yours, but I use medical tape. It’s very thin and about 4cm wide. I tape it on the slider, make a slit at the center, and pull the wires underneath the tape. It works fine. 
 

I think when you start to work on the air filtration tanks, you will find a further improvement on SQ. I am up to 150L of air filtration with a combination of various 20L plastic and stainless steel tanks. But I am in the process of simplifying the tanks by getting a 120L single stainless steel tank with a couple of 20L ones to supplement, less contact point for leakage. Please update your experience when appropriate. 

I did a long post explaining why I cant make for others and how to go about making one yourself, but it did not publish and was lost.

@qwin

I visited your web blog and browse through your art work...very nice.

Regarding all your tweaks and modification on the Terminator tone arm, they, too, look impressive. Most of  your modifications have been adpoted by Andrey when I bought my tonearm from him.

What is most interesting is your mounting plate. I'd like to PM you and see if I can buy one from you, if you are willing to make extra. 

 

 

Hi
On the subject of wands and upgrades......
I’ve been a Terminator user for over a decade.
Back in the day, when Vic at TransFi was fitting steel pivot pins, running directly in the Aluminium "V" of the Strap extrusion, users like myself were experiencing chatter based distortion. I discussed this with Vic and mentioned I was going to try lining the "V" with various materials including Silicon and Nylon. This would not be easy to achieve as a production feature and I mentioned that an alternative might be to use Nylon pivot pins, which are available off the shelf, just requiring a point to be added. This is where we followed different paths, Vic followed the plastic pin route and I followed the plastic "V" route. I removed material from the bottom of the strap extrusion and let in some Nylon 6 strips.

This works very well and by pressing down with finger pressure, the steel pins leave impressions in the Nylon, which stops the wand moving around in the "V" or sliding out when I return the slider to its resting position a bit to enthusiastically.

Another issue I had, was the Mounting Plate was flexing/bending when I tightened the Pivot Bolt. This made levelling the Sled almost impossible, so I designed and made a stronger Mounting Plate.

 

 

This mounting is much stronger.
I will be turning my attention to smoothing the air supply next, maybe filling the tank with Polystyrene beads.
You can see my whole project, including my method of wire dressing, on my Web Blog Here:

@pindac Thanks for the reply.

I had an accessary sent from Russia to me in 2022 and it took two months through its postal service. With the War on, I did not expect a reply from Andrey. 

Anyone has an unused carbon fiber wand for sale ?

Is there not a shut down in the operations of dealing with the postal system within Russia at present, where post is not being sent in, when received by Western Countries Postal Services and not being sent on ti Western Addresses when received by a Western Country Postal Service.

Sanctions I believe are in work.

My own plan to receive a service from a Russian National have been on hold for over a year.

I wondered if any Terminator owners have been in contact with Andrey in Moscow? He is not returning emails.

I would like to order a few carbon wands.

Thanks!

I'd like to relate two recent experiences/queries with the Terminator:

The first has to do with cartridge compatibility.I had been using an Audio Tekne MC-6310 for the past year. It is not a well known cartridge, but sells in the $5000 range. The cartridge never quite worked. There are resonance issues especially on piano music. And  the stereo balance is somehow off. In anycase, I acquired a ZYX Ultimate Omega last month, also in the $5000 range. But the Ultimate Omega is behaving completely in sync with the arm. The soundstage is completely all-enveloping. Music just sounds right with this arm/cartridge combo. Both cartridges weigh in the 8-9g region. However, The Audio Tekne is low compliance ( I do not have figures ) while the Ultimate Omega is middle compliance. 

It would seem that the carbon fiber wand is too light and is not happy with low compliance cartridges. Am I alone in this experience? Terry has developed a heavy wand for his Koetsu Rosewood Sig. Platinum. I had thought that was an issue with the weight of the cartridge and not so much a compliance issue. In anycase, I am wondering how are you dealing with low compliance cartridges with the Terminator?

 

The second experience concerns the surge tank / air filtration experiments that continues to intrigue me. I have added a total of 150 litre of surge tanks. There are two stainless steel cylindrical canners holding 50 litres, and the rest are plastic containers. I had assumed the best way to filter air was through these containers that trap and modulate air flow and that simply running long tubing would not do it. Well, I now that that is not the case. Running long tubing does in fact add to the modulation of air flow. I know there are folks  are placing their compressors remotely and running very long run of tubing to the arm.  And perhaps it is a case of longer is better in terms of air filtration.

Over the past month I had gotten back into refining the air regulation arena, partly inspired by Don @redcars and Terry. The additions of gauge and surge tanks have provided some numerical data points. I am able to make the following observations:

1. The starter kit:

The supplied Sera 220 pump and a 1 gallon surge tank should be considered the most basic kit that will allow the proper operation of the Terminator. The Sera 220 has a max pressure output of less than 1 psi and a 4 liter / min flow. The actual air pressure at the manifold is probably as low a 0.1 psi - 0.3 psi. 

The addition of surge tanks and air filters is I think fundamental in improving the performance of any air-bearing linear tracking tonearm. The terminator sounds very good with the starter kit, but it will only improve will better air filtration, modulation, and damping. The purpose is to minimize as much as possible the air pulsation produce by the compressor. The glider that carries the wand with the attached cartridge should operate in as close to a 'friction-less' bed of air cushion as possible.

2. The signature Kit

Taking the cue from Terry, I began last year to introduce more filtration in the form of additional plastic surge tanks. With the initial addition of a 20 liter tank, the improvement to sound quality was immediate. More detail, more stable sound-stage, ..etc. And then came an additional 20 liter tank as well as a 4" pipe capped at both ends acting as a air filter. The sound quality improved further.  With the last addition I had come to the limit of what the Sera 200 can pump out. 

The 'signature' kit consists of a compressor that can put out at least 3-5 psi. The usual suspect is a Hiblow hp 40, max 5 psi with 44 liter / min flow. I am using a Hiblow clone, Alita, with the same specification. I have a total volume of 80 liter worth of surge tanks. And the pressure out of the compressor is at 1.25 psi. Both Terry and Don have pressure levels at  0.3 - 0.7 psi. The reason for my high pressure level has to with the type of tubing and the total volume of surge tanks. 

It is possible to add more air filtration ( which I intend to do ), the limit being the output of the compressor.  How much sound improvement with the increase yield ? When is the point of diminishing return ? These question I do not have answers to. However, given that the Terminator operates in a low-pressure environment, I think it is possible to extract a bit more. If on the other hand we use a Air-Tangent of Kuzma Airline where the operating pressure is around 35 psi, then the use of even more powerful compressors may be prohibitive for domestic use. I believe this is one of the main advantage of a low pressure air bearing LT arm. It is more accommodating to air modulation. And in LT arm,  increased air filtration is really one of the important factors in maximizing its sound quality. 

In the most recent Analog Corner segment in Stereophile, there is a reprint of Framer's 2019 review of a linear tracking pivot arm, Klaudio's KD-ARM-AG12. He commented with respect to this arm that "the tangential possession is misguided". I am of the opinion that there is not  necessary a clear advantage of linear tracking vs pivot arm. And  the Terminator is always thought of by me as a highly musical, utterly under-valued and under-appreciated arm that happens to be tangential tracking. Given what it is, then maximizing its air filtration potential should really be on every Terminator users' to-do list.
Marc,
Thanks for that input. And Andrey is carrying on the mantle, so hitting a thousand should be a matter of time. 
Terry,

Congrats on the success of the Panzerholz wand. It looks like your are getting very comfortable with it. 

FYI, the link below shows a pre-Tomahawk wand carrying an Ortofon SPU :  https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=1539.0

I recall reading that there are maybe a thousand Terminators in circulation. The figure seems high to me. I think there are less than fifty Air-tangents in the world. 
Pz wand continues to impress. A record which was having tracking/distortion issues with the Tomahawk (Renaissance Lute music on BASF label) is now just plain good listening. Five hours yesterday.


Over the past week, I followed old threads on the Terminator from the forum Lenco Heaven. Apparently there were quite a few early adopters of the arm circa 2009, pre - Tomahawk days. I’d like to share a few interesting notes:

1. Vic designed a custom wand for the SPU during the early days. This is a 30g cartridge, mind you. While it was not plug-n-play, the written, Daiwok, eventually got it to sing. That’s 30g !

2. There was a summary of the pressure levels required for the various linear trackers, e.g. The Rockport and the Kuzma operate in the 35 psi region, ET-2s’ around 5 psi, and The Terminator, MG -1, and other low pressure arms, less than 1 psi . This correlates with the actual useages of Don and Terry. Having received my 0-3 psi gauge, I am operating in the 0.5 psi range. 

3. Additional Surge tanks and air filtration are required to get the best out of the Terminator. And this does not mean just running long hoses. What is required are devices to modulate, damp, and minimize the air pulsation of the compressor.

4. Daiwok had done extensive comparisons between the Terminator and other top grade arms. At one point he had a Rockport ( not sure which model ) in his listening den. And according to him, putting the Terminator/ Lenco PTP in the ring did not produce a Rockport knockout. 

The above observations were from 2009 - 2010. Here we are at 2021. Don is the most recent adopter of the Terminator with positive results. I know this has been said before, but the Terminator has to be one of the audio gems with a bargain  basement price to boot!
Don,

I did pay attention to the gauge you employed, 0-3 psi. Unfortunately, for us in the metric universe, the smallest gauge I was able to obtain is 1 kg /cm2 or 14 psi. I have a 0-3 psi and 0-5 psi gauge on order. The reading I am getting obviously is not well calibrated, in the 0.75 psi region. I took a pressure reading at the tonearm end, and the gauge barely moved, so I am guessing in the 0.1 psi region. 

With the gauge, I can begin to answer the question posed during an earlier post on the relationship between increased pressure and surge tanks. The simple answer is that the Terminator operates at around 0.1 - 0.5 ( ? ) psi taken at the tonearm end regardless of  the amount of output pressure at the compressor end. Once the 0-3 psi gauge arrives, I’ll be able to be more precise.


Hi Albert,
Thanks for your nice words.

Did I mention that my regulator is designed for 0-2 psi, and the gage for 0-3 psi.  I think that it is important that these items work accurately under 1 psi.

No problem with the CF wand and the GFS.  And Andrey told me that the Ortofon Anna worked well.  I did have to take one of the extra brass weights and attach it to the top of the counterweight with double-stick tape.

Best,
Don

Don,

Buying a second Terminator certainly is a resounding endorsement!

We all  have come to the Terminator from other branded, more expensive, highly touted...etc. arms. For one reason or another bought the Terminator as a cost effective way to experience the linear tracking tonearm ( for me ) or to experience other cartridges ( for you ). The thinking was that if the Terminator did not work out, it was no real loss. And if it did, it would be a stepping stone to other, 'higher level', arms. What is unexpected is just how revealing an instrument the Terminator really is. And now you are buying more while I continue to improve on what I have.

Partly inspired by your incredible back-of-the-house heroics with custom valves, gauges, ..etc and my continued issues with my new cartridge, I started to replace compressors, add surge tanks, and insert measuring gauge to be more precise with setup. I will have more to share in the coming days.

Questions for you, the GFS is 15g. Are there any special weights and/or counter-weights added? The CF wand is working okay? Any problems with the heavy cartridge?

Hi guys,

I promised to report on the sound I am getting with my new Terminator from Andrey ( https://www.musicfromvinyl.shop/ ).

I have a large record collection of mostly classical records and opera. A lot of vocal, choral and chamber music. And a lot of recordings of pipe organs.

You may remember that before the Terminator I had two Clearaudio TT2 arms. Before those I had the predecessor TQI. Twenty years of Clearaudio happiness. The TT2 concept is also used in the TT1 MI in the Clearaudio Statement turntable.

I have a Clearaudio DaVinci and a Goldfinger Statement (GFS) cartridge.

I bought the Terminator to play other cartridges, and because I like mechanical things and wanted an affordable air bearing arm. I started with the DaVinci because my intention is to replace the DaVinci with another cartridge, perhaps a Miyajima mono cartridge.

The DaVinci sounded so good in the Terminator that I swapped in the GFS. WOW!

The largest improvements have been the sense of soundstage and space around voices and instruments and the quiet background. I thought the TT2 was very good, but the Terminator blows it away.

My room ( https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9362 ) was built for great sound and it has not disappointed. But the music never really filled the room. The horns are position sensitive and have a relatively small sweet spot. Now the room is alive and sounds good everywhere.

In comparison, it is 4D vs 3D.

Same turntable, same cartridge (GFS), same arm cable. A very impressive achievement, IMHO.

The “flow” of the music is more real, more lifelike; the musicians are in the room with you.

Bass is better and more lifelike. Everything is more clear and more precisely located in space. Choral music is uncanny. Are you getting the idea that I am thrilled?

I need to give credit to the rest of my system and the room, but it was the Terminator that turned the corner and brought out the best.

I am ordering a second Terminator arm. Both arms will mount on my turntable and rotate away from the platter to change records.

Best,
Don
'Unfortunately Owen passed away in a cycling accident a couple of weeks ago,..'

OMG !!!!! 

It was Owen's posts and his custom arm board for the Terminator that convinced me to take the plunge and adopted the arm. We exchanged emails a couple of times. He was always gracious in his reply.

What a strange day this has turned out to be with such a sad news. The fragility of life is all around us.
@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.
@dover It’s funny your mentioning high humidity in NZL. I had the impression, mistaken of course, that it was cold and dry down under  (  all those Lord of The Rings movies ). I just checked and relative humidity in the 70’s - 80’s, similar to where I am! 

BTW, I follow a NZL blog started by this guy, Owen, Dark Lantern, https://darklanternforowen.wordpress.com/. He is an advocate for the Trans - Fi Terminator. Learnt a lot from the site. I get the sense that there are quite a few adopters of the Terminator over there. I would think the same for the ET arm?
@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.
Don,

With the additonal surge tanks, valve, filters,...etc, I had assume that there would be a drop in pressure at the arm. But as you say, it's the sound that matters. I think someone, maybe Terry (?), commented that music sounds livlier at higher pressure. On my previous lighter cartridge, I could almost confirm that. 

It's interesting that you have arrived at the same pressue as Terry with the Panzererholz wand, given what I assume are two very different setups. There probably is a pressure range within which the Termintor is comfortable in.

With the ET arm, the range is ( according to Bruce on his web-site ) 3 - 10 psi depending on the pump used, it being a high pressure arm. It is ten times the pressure range that you are experiencing. And apparently at that range, condensation becomes an issue. Living in a very humid environment, I opt for a low flow / pressure arm to avoid the very real  potential for condensation. 
0.3 psi at the regulator sounded great tonight.  Arm pressure must be very close or the same as this.

Best,
Don
ledoux1238  
Pump > filter > bleed valve > regulator + gage > two 5 gallon tanks > 30 feet of 1/2 inch ID hose > 2 gallon tank > tonearm.  I don't have another gage at the tonearm.  Maybe I'll add one at some point. I can understand why you are asking, but the only purpose would be to compare tonearm readings with others.  With a regulator, it does not really matter.  It's whatever sounds best to you.

Best,
Don
Actually, the Pz wand prefers 0.3 psi.

Overkill? Overkill? What is this word? Sounds like blasphemy to me ...
Don,

The darker blue containers, seems like 20 litre, are surge tanks? There are two connected next to each other, and a third next to the turntable? 

You're getting a 6 psi reading out of the pump. Do you have a pressure gauge before the tonearm? I am particularly interested in what  the actual pressure reading at the tonearm. While I have a much more rudimentary pump / tank system, I am thinking of installing a gauge between all the surge tanks and the tonearm. The actual pressure to the tonearm should be much lower. If I am not mistaken, @terry9 has his arm set at 0.5 psi. J
Photos of air supply added (#40 - #43)

I know that it’s overkill, but it gives me lots of flexibility.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9362

The light blue cannister is an air filter. The carpeted item behind the filter is for quieting the pump noise.

New is a needle valve for a constant air bleed because the pump does not like being shut down from 5 psi to 0.5 psi.

The pump is in another room through an 11 inch thick wall.

Best,
Don
Hi Albert,
Thanks very much for your comments. 
Keep in mind that there are no air bearing arms on the market (AFAIK) that will allow a record ring weight to be regularly used.  This is what kept me away from these tonearms for years.  

Especially with short tonearms (the Clearaudio is 2 inches to the pivot; the Terminator is 3.5 inches) constant VTA is critical.  The ring weight solves the problem with warped records, and improves the sound.

The other significant factor is the ability to have multiple arms.

Best,
Don


Don, 

I think 99% of Terminator owners have taken a few inconvenience for granted, e.g. having to wiggle a record out from under the manifold. The swing out arm pod is brilliant! I would never have arrived at that solution. However, with your Clearaudio experience, lifting up and swinging out are bar for the course. My initial reaction was that there are just too many moving parts to my taste. But It seems to to be working fine for you.

My puzzle with VTF remains. I am dressing the wires exactly as you, under the wand and thread through and up at the pivot point. You, of course, have done away with the gantry and employing custom tubing to connect to the phono stage. While you are getting consistent readings, I still getting varying numbers each time I play records. I may make an attempt at your custom VTF garage. 

Please update on SQ as you see fit. And again congrats on a very well thought out setup!


Thanks for the update, Don. One gets so used to high quality playback with the Terminator that it’s useful to hear of a direct comparison against a very good arm.

Hi Albert, Terry, Marc, and others,

I am now busy listening to my new Terminator from Andrey.

I have posted pictures of the installation at https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9362 

See pics #31 to #40. (The last ten pics).

I think that you will find that this is a very different installation:

It allows for the arm to be pivoted away from the platter so that multiple tonearms and record ring weights may be used.

It has a different VTA readout that attaches to the arm board, rather than the tonearm.

The arm board is supported by a single ball bearing in the top of an (unused) Clearaudio turntable spindle.

It is locked in place by a one half turn plunger that locates on a rubber gasket so that no vibration is transmitted.

The arm mounting is adjustable in two directions rather than one, and is held down by two solid fasteners and can be adjusted with one hand.

The phono cable was robbed from my second Clearaudio TT2, and is as completely flexible as it looks.

The cueing device has been modified for use on the left rear corner of the turntable. There is also a stop added (not shown) for the beginning of play because of this more awkward location.

Picture #40 shows my modified VTF gage that I spoke about before. I get consistent readings that are identical both with and without the air supply running. The suspended scale prevents any side forces from affecting the reading.

The Clearaudio DaVinci cartridge, that was previously in a second TT2, is vastly improved by this tonearm (based on two evenings of listening). More on the sound when I have a bit more experience with it.

My air pump is similar to Terry9. More on that at another time.

I hope that these new approaches are helpful.

Best,

Don


Don,

It looks like a good month before we’ll get a report from you.  Looking forward to it.

@dover 
I emailed Vic regarding the new wand. It really is a trampoline! Adjustments of cartridge and counterweight are done by sliding ‘O’ rings. He developed this particular wand to deal with resonance together with a new isolation mat which I don’t see on his website.  The first things he said in his reply though was that I should stick with the CF wand if I am happy with it, no need to get the new wand. I too feel there is plenty of questions regarding on efficacy of the new wand.

@ ledoux1238

I recall you mentioning that your TT2 will only work with the Goldfinger, 15 g.    And in order to try other cartridges, you decided to try the Terminator. Did I remember correctly? If so, why is the TT2 so restrictive in its cartridge choices?

This is embarrassing. I thought that I had set my forum preferences to notify me when someone asked a question, but that has not happened, and I just stumbled on the thread again tonight. My apologies.

As far as the Clearaudio TT2 goes, it is a superb tonearm with any of the Clearaudio MC cartridges. Other cartridges, in general have problems to one degree or another. I have been advised by a knowledgeable dealer to get a Clearaudio pivoting arm for any other manufacturers’ cartridges. I am not an expert on this; just following what I think was good advice.

 Are you in in possession of the Terminator? Please report back. Thanks!

Yes, it arrived a week or so ago, and I have been building an armboard to allow it to be used with my other arm(s). I’m also still waiting for the air regulator which had a three week lead time. I want to make sure that it works as I expect before giving an update. If you have a specific question in the meantime, please send me a pm.

I will try again to adjust my preferences to follow this thread.

Best, Don


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.
Interesting about the new wand. I don't think that it should work, because the cartridge is not rigidly connected to anything but the plate, which is suspended by O - rings from carbon bars.

I say should - but the final word is empirical evidence, that's just science. I trust Vic to be pretty careful in his experiments, so it's definitely something to take seriously.

That design could address the 'equivalent mass' issue in cartridge matching. Just need to change the plate to higher mass. But I'm still concerned about maintaining precise registration of stylus to record, especially tangentiality.
UPDATE ALERT!

it seems Vic has been a restless soul in retirement. He has posted a new wand that he claims to extract even more ‘details from the groove’. Frankly, I don’t know what to make of the new wand in light of recent discussions of compliance / weight. 

Go to Trans-Fi website, click tonearm, then tomahawk update.
@ledoux1238,

Well, I did try a bit more weight on the cart end, but I just settled on 12 since it was sounding good. Arriving at that weight was just a lot of trial and error, didn't happen overnight. I didn't think it would be a good idea to go too much higher, but never know, I'm always tweaking.

My thinking was more about a cart compliance problem than cart weight problem. It seemed to me that a stiff cantilever is going to need more mass or weight to trace the groove properly, more than a higher compliance or softer/springier cantilever. Before adding any weight, I increased the VTF and it seemed to help a smidge, so I figured the cart is not tracking like it should, needs weight, so that's what led me down that road.

But I wouldn't sweat adding weights. Besides, everything has a sound to it, it seems, aluminum, carbon fiber, even wood.
Pz is not really cost effective for the wand. Each one takes hours, would have to charge too much to be friendly.
Terry,

Thanks for the explanation, crystal clear.

As you can see, I am struggling with the CF wand and a 9ish g cartridge. Unless you start making your Panzerholz wand available for the masses, I am with @dnicol, getting by with adding weights. Sigh! 

@dnicol,
The timing of your post is uncanny. Prior to last week, I had been playing with a zyx ultimate 100, the entry level cartridge at 5 g - very enjoyable. More importantly it worked very well with the Terminator, I got to experiment with pump, surge tanks...etc without worrying about the compatibility issues, weight, compliance...etc. And it was pure luck. 
Last week, I installed a new cartridge, Audio Tekne MC-6310. There is no information on weight or compliance that I could find. I have not measured, but it’s probably 9-10g. I have set the counterweight as far back on the wand as possible using the supplied single copper disc, 5g. The MC is positioned as far out on the other end as possible, tracking at 1.8 g. I thought I had it with the first few days of listening. Then last night, playing a few records (  Bill Evans’ Tokyo and Paris concerts ), the sound became unlistenable, the piano was shrill, soundstage was off...etc. Not until reading your post did I know the problem. This morning I added weights as you described, but in the 5-7g range, not as heavy as where you ended up. And sure enough things began to turn for the better. Records I thought was good have now deeper soundstage, more transparency...etc, and ‘bad’ records are coming around. 
My question is how did you arrive at the 12g weight on the cartridge end? I know our cartridges are probably different, hence different compliance. I may not end up where you are. But wondering if you had gone over 12g and found it not to be optimal?
dnicol, I went much the same route. One way I added mass was to put a nickel silver disk (copper alloy: 770?) on top of the cartridge, and tap two holes for cartridge mounts (#3-56). The disk acted as a great big nut for the cartridge screws. But like my KRSP too much to switch.

ledoux, I will try to clarify. (1) start with a sheet of 19mm Panzerholz; (2) cut 7 blocks sized 25mm x 50mm; (3) glue the blocks together to obtain a bigger block 25mm x 50mm x 140mm. Note that the ’grain’ in the Pz block runs from side to side, so that vibration from the cartridge must pass through, not along, many layers of wood and many layers of resin, and consequently across hundreds of boundaries.

This block is then shaped into a wand, which further restricts resonance by changing dimensions: wider and thinner in front, narrower and thicker at the pivot. Obviously would have been easier to cut a 50mm x 140mm piece out of the Pz sheet, but vibration would have been conducted down the sheets of wood. Constrained layer damping works best when vibration has to cross boundaries.

Hope that helps.