Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners



Where are you? What mods have you done ?

I have been using these ET2's for over 9 years now.
I am still figuring them out and learning from them. They can be modified in so many ways. Bruce Thigpen laid down the GENIUS behind this tonearm over 20 years ago. Some of you have owned them for over 20 years !

Tell us your secrets.

New owners – what questions do you have ?

We may even be able to coax Bruce to post here. :^)

There are so many modifications that can be done.

Dressing of the wire with this arm is critical to get optimum sonics along with proper counterweight setup.

Let me start it off.

Please tell us what you have found to be the best wire for the ET-2 tonearm ? One that is pliable/doesn’t crink or curl. Whats the best way of dressing it so it doesn’t impact the arm. Through the spindle - Over the manifold - Below manifold ? What have you come up with ?
128x128ct0517
Thanks for the great pointers. I am going to start by mounting the tonearm using the current pivot hole with the fender washer suggestion. At that point I will measure suspension deflection to see if it is factor and if so try some different tonearm angles to see if the deflection can be minimized.
Mounting the tonearm via the current pivot hole does not work for a couple of reasons:
a) the ET bearing spindle is not sufficiently long to allow the tonearm / cartridge to reach the outer diameter of the platter. The mount point, by necessity, has to be approximately half way down the arm board to allow the tonearm to reach the outer edge of the platter.
b) The Linn pivot hole mount point pushes all the tonearm weight to the outer edge of the suspension. This is a necessary evil with traditional tonearms. With an armboard midpoint mounting the tonearm weight now rests between the two suspension points supporting the armboard/platter which seems like a much better solution.
I would mount the tonearm closest to the One o’clock location, moving in from the current pivot mounting hole. Close enough so that the tonearm spindle is allowed full travel. This will probably put it close to where you mention ?
I like pictures so.
Here is a shot of the underside that shows the three suspension mounts "Red Arrows" that control everything.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iY4q68yf6tCFEUrt6

Picture shows the position approximately, for the mount of the tonearm on the tonearm board on the opposite side. When the ET 2 is mounted I would then take time to re-balance as necessary by added weight to the plinth in the appropriate areas - experiment - to get the right vertical bounce that is needed with the Linn.

The tonearm asks for a straight tracking line, and this line can be anywhere on the platter.


ncampbell - for consideration.

Take a small piece of square wood thick enough to hold a wood screw and long enough to go through the ET2 mounting plate center hole.

Attach the ET2 mounting plate to this free standing piece of wood.

Assemble the ET2 .....WITHOUT cartridge, onto the mounting plate then while securely holding the tonearm, proceed to experiment and find the best position on the plinth.

When the best spot is found for the tonearm. Use some green painters tape or like, to mark the 4 positions of the wood on the plinth.

***********************************

Now remove the tonearm from the mount plate and the mount plate from the piece of wood.

Put the piece of wood inside the lines of the painters tape.

The hole in the wood tells you about where you will need to drill the small tonearm mounting hole, on the tonearm armboard for the center bolt to hold the tonearm.

After doing the measuring exercise 3 more times.....then feel confident to drill the mounting hole. 



Please see the picture below.
At the top left is the original Linn tonearm mounting point. This is where I first mounted the ET tonearm.
The new ET arm mounting point is called out. I prefer this mount point because it is between the suspension points and is directly above the point at which the sub-chassis connects tot he armboard.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/LQdv3P7Uw3RZf3FWA