Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Bigalt - The way the ET-2 is normally wired has always been an issue for me when deciding how best to mount it on my TT. Because the tonearm wires are soldered directly to the RCA jacks in the RCA box or mounting plate and the wire is supposed to be fed through a hole in the armboard to create a loop, installing or removing the spindle or manifold requires desoldering the wires and pulling them out of the hole. This is a major PITA and doesn't make installation an easy process.

The first post on this thread asked about wiring recommendations. Everyone here that has upgraded their wiring arrangement agrees the standard wiring setup is compromised. But lets also understand that everything is the way it is for a reason and to understand why this was done "wiring arrangement", one only need look at the objectives of the particular item in question. So lets take a couple of steps back for a minute.

For the ET2. At the front of the manual. PAGE 3

"It is a uniquely conceived tonearm, designed to be installed on turntables with universal mounts. It can be adapted to both solid mount (direct drive) turntables and spring suspended mount turntables. Its flexibility in many cases allows it to be mounted on many turntables without the need for special hardware. "

The above tells me that this Audio product is not something being made in limited quantities for a select market like many other Audio products. The purpose/objective here is to get it to the most people possible to enjoy it. Numbers sourced from Bruce and documented on this thread, show thousands made. When you distribute a product like this the wiring arrangement needs to satisfy many applications. That means some standard setup, compromises and all, need to be arrived at that satisfies most conditions. The standard wiring setup compromises the ET2 arm in two very different ways.

1) the number of solder connections
2) the wiring arrangement physically affecting the operation (movement) of the arm.

Not even Bruce himself uses the standard wiring arrangement as was clear in his 420 str cartridge review here. He goes straight into the preamp from the cartridge leads. My understanding is all professional reviewers listened to this arm with the standard wiring arrangement. Even in the standard compromised wiring arrangement the arm was very well reviewed.

Bigalt - In the end the important thing.... is that it is very good that you found a solution that works for you.....for now. :^)

For me from personal experience a happy face loop coming off the armtube works best. The full flat plinth presents more challenges to achieve this as you need to elevate the wiring to start; to allow for a happy face loop. The ET2 wiring is a natural for turntable setups that use armboards/pods that are elevated with the platter to allow for a natural happy face loop.

Bigalt -The solution is one of the wireless ( rf not infrared ) remote switched outlets that you can buy online. Press a button on the remote and on goes your compressor. Another press and it's off.....

Bigalt- thanks for the recommendation on the remote. A friend also pm'ed me about this remote upon reading my encounter with the troll. :^)

he sent me this link

I am very sensitive about what I plug into the wall. It all goes back to the main panel. My gut feel is I may be substituting a Troll** for a Gremlin, if I added that device between the pump and the outlet.

True Story
When finishing the 2nd adjacent music room there was this hum (aka Gremlin). I thought it was an amp issue. But when the amp was off it was still there. Go figure... I traced it to the door bell transformer mounted and plugged in along side the ceiling joists. I pulled the wires. Noise went away. Silence between songs.

** I later discovered the identity of the Troll. Our 20 year old son raiding our basement freezer early in the morning on his weekly food rampage. Freezer is plugged into a different outlet separate outlet :^)

Ct0517
While your freezer is plugged into a separate outlet, since it's also in the basement along with your pump it's probably on the same circuit ( both units controlled by the same circuit breaker ). If they're on the same circuit, the refrigerator compressor motor could very easily cause interference with the pump. The remotes ( you can find them on EBay ) are pretty cheap for a one outlet model ) so it wouldn't cost a lot to try one. There is also the X-10 type controllers and appliance modules that send the control signals over the house wiring. They may work as well .

When setting up my ET2 I found that leveling the arm wasn't easy even using the set up jig. I tried to come up with an easier solution that could be used to make sure the arm was level at any time and would make adjustment and readjustment a snap. This is my solution. Obtain a One Sided Record ( a record recorded on one side only with the other side blank- you have to make sure the other side is completely smooth as I have found some have large grooves on the blank side ).
Then lower the arm onto the spinning record. Adjust the two leveling screws on the mounting post until the arm stays in the same place without sliding back or forth. Lock down the two locking screws and that's it. To check if the leveling needs readjustment just play the blank sided record and see if the arm still stays in the same place or starts to slide in one direction or the other.

Bigalt -
In your methodology for levelling the arm the stylus has friction or resistance imparted even by the smooth record. A better way to check the level of the bearing tube (and the efficacy of the lead out wires ) is to add enough mass or move the counterweight to zero the tracking force. That way you can check that the arm is not running away in one direction, and if you tap gently you can double check the resulting movement is equal in both directions. Or buy an accurate digital level, you don't need an audiophile one ( usually overpriced ) buy an engineers digital level from an engineering supplier.