Transfi Owners Ideas


I am a long time happy TransFi Terminator arm/Salvation TT owner and have added all of the modifications Vic has offered through the years. I am starting this thread in hopes that Transfi owners will share the tweaks and modifications they have made to further improve the performance. For example I understand that dgarretson has fabricated a carbon fiber sled to reduce the horizontal mass of the arm, I also understand that Terry9 has added weight to the wand to increase the vertical mass, I think, to create a better match for low compliance cartridges. I also understand that Harroldinthe barrel has worked with Andrey to create a brass manifold and a carbon fiber wand, again I think, to reduce the horizontal mass of the arm. I hope this thread will provide a central place where Transfi owners can share ideas.


PLEASE DON'T HIJACK THIS THREAD TO DEBATE THE BENEFITS OF PIVOT VERSUS LINEAR TRACKING OR TO DEBATE THE TERMINATOR VERSUS OTHER LINEAR TRACKERS. THANK YOU
sgunther
A couple great tweaks that will improve that arm. First get some fo.Q tape https://www.ebay.com/p/1074648791 Thin is perfect for tone arms, thick is perfect for speakers. One sheet is pre-cut. I like to maintain a stock appearance. So I put one thin strip on the underside of the arm tube where its hidden but still works great. But if you're worried about adding mass, which you won't be after you hear this but if you are, then use it anywhere around the arm base or plinth. 

The adhesive is amazing, sticks instantly yet the tape pulls back up without leaving any residue. One square inch of the stuff is enough to hear obvious improvement in presence and low level detail, and there's about 100 square inches in the two sheets. So a bargain in price/performance.

Then what makes fo.Q a whole lot better is a thin layer of Total Contact. Especially along the arm tube, where it also benefits the signal. 

Finally put some Synergistic PHT on the cartridge, and some ECT on the arm base. 

The total improvement from all these tweaks is not subtle. It will be like an entire arm upgrade. For a fraction of the cost. Yet they will leave your arm looking almost completely stock. Look closely at the images and see what I mean. 

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
@millercarbon,

I appreciate your journey and your knowledge. Having said this, please don’t add your opinions to others’ posts without (first-hand) knowledge of said tweeks and how they might work with the specific product, without personally owning them. Thank you.
Well Miller, as far as I know total contact is no longer available but have ordered the fo.Q. 
And Steve, I have yet to put my carbon arm into action. But if you say the improvement is there, I have the free time on my hands may lead me to do just that. I have a cartridge that's apparently very sensitive to azimuth and once getting it right have been reluctant to change anything. 
I am having a little trouble installing the carbon fiber wand in that I have a very early Terminator and the horizontal bar to raise and lower the arm is further back which puts it at the seam where the two pieces of the wand are glued together. I think I have a solution. I did purchase the arm mount from Owen and Darklantern which increased the stability of the arm, highly recommended. 
I am still very curious about the impact of adding or deleting mass to the arm. There seems to be two schools of thought. I would like to get some thought from those who understand it better than I do. Perhaps even Vic or Andrey. 
Is it beneficial to put stuffing in the smoothing tank? If so what type of stuffing? Also where can on get a pressure gauge for the air supply and what kind?
Thanks Steve
Guys, I've gone a little crazy w my Salvation/Terminator, originally bought in 2013.
In 2014, Vic fitted the mag lev to feet and bearing, and Reso Pods to platter.
The following are the changes I made.
To Salvation:-
LPS to replace stock psu to tt speed controller (Sablon Elite pwr cord/SR Black fuse/Symposium Acoustics Rollerblocks HDSEs under)
Symposium Acoustics Svelte pad to replace stock sorbothane pad under rim drive pod
Combination Stacore Advanced mass loading/pneumatics/cld isolation platform on North West Analogue Slateage slate stand (150kg total)
2.5kg vinyl periphery ring mounted on platter periphery as extra mass loading
0.5kg Pathe Wings panzerholz lp weight

To Terminator:-
Owen's Aluminium arm mount
Andrey's 2019 Terminator 
Hi Blow pump on Symposium Acoustics Svelte Shelf
Airlink 3kVA balanced power transformer to pump on Svelte Shelf

Remaining to be installed:- 

Roadrunner speed digital readout to replace strobe disc
Judicious use of Isodamp at cart/armwand interface
Kondo age-annealed silver wire/Cardas tags/Bocchinos RCAs tonearm wire

And the biggie...if it becomes available, commissioning a bespoke uber high quality battery psu-based tt speed controller and ultra low noise/smooth air flow pump.
Thanks for your input Spirit. I do have a couple of questions. First, I have three Symposium Svelte Pads, I tried them under the rim drive pod but it raises the pod to high so that it hits the platter when raised. I have a Svelte pad on top of the Pod which does a good job of reducing the Hum. I also have the Roadrunner Tach and the pod with the Svelte pad also hits the magnet for the Roadrunner. Either you made an adjustment or have a different version of the Salvation? Second, can you tell us a little more about the LPS (?) to replace the stock PSU?
Sgunther, I got Peter at Symposium to make a custom version of the Svelte to abs match the thickness of the stock sorbothane (hate that stuff with a vengeance).
Either 7 or 9mm thick, I forget.
The Roadrunner tach is now discontinued, replacement from SOTA Analog. I'll bear yr issues in mind before considering ordering.
LPS to Salvation speed controller features:-
High speed rectifiers
Oversized choke
Custom R-transformer 
Carefully selected caps
Has anyone found someone in the US that can make a wiring harness for the terminator? I would lime a harness with balanced termination.