Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

all the leafs are brown... the fall is coming.. :-)
Yes Blue-Tak is something to have around, and I use it (I'm swiss :-) on my jewelers screw driver - when I remember...

No, I wasn't in LP mastering / cutting, but I have a profound interest on the electronic & physics side of that hobby. I make recordings of concerts at our place, and did some recordings already in the 70's with a semi-pro JVC portable cassette-deck from my brother.
And I did a few Magnepan modifications for customers, and made new low-diffraction panels, and calculated all new crossovers for MG3 and MG 3.3s.

I had to trade in the ET1 for the ET2, so I don't own it anymore, contrary to the ET 2 it was slightly crude in set-up and detail solutions - but it worked very well.

My main messages about the arm (which I always loved) are as follows:
- If the bass is off, it's probably the set-up (side level or maybe a too softly springed counterweight stud).
- If I only touch the VTA adjustment a bit on *my* ET2 - the side-leveling is severely off. If it's not, I was lucky. To check is better than to believe...
- The "critical theory" against air bearing arms, and specially the ET2, stands IMO on very shaky feet, as I tried to show above. If there is a structural problem it might be the slight elasticity in some of the joints.
- subchassis turntables have two main problems with an air bearing arm:
- the lever mechanism of the shifting mass offsets the subchassis (-> increases sideforces)
- The needle drag problem, ie. the varying friction with tracking, potentially sets up rotational forces in the subchassis, with every arm. This leads to a slight instability in the subchassis and pitch uncertainties. But it also kicks air bearing arms in a different, very undesirable and quite audible way: Side-ways. (Much more audible than a radial tonearm, where the kick goes much more along the stable axis needle to arm bearing).
So one gets both problems - the bass instability and the pitch instability.
But it's still feasible and it can sound very good.
- In my book of experiences, every screw that creates a touch more grip than needed to keep a joint or a connection from gliding, introduces quite severe grades of transistor-feedback sound. I understand this as a necessary minimal torque, but every further bit of torque is like tuning the screw up, in the sense of a steel string. Tune these down & out, and they ceae to resonate. It is less storage of resonant energy. So my ET 2.5 runs with minimal torque on all screw connections. It sounds less artificial and more integrated to my ears.

My ET 2.5 sits now on a partially spring suspended Technics SL1210 with some modification on the electronics. With a very old, original AT OC7, which sounds very, very good here. I know, it shouldn't :-)

****So my ET 2.5 runs with minimal torque on all screw connections. It sounds less artificial and more integrated to my ears.****

Hah! Precisely my observation. Very good exchange, Chris and Pegasus; thank you.

Hi Frogman - as Pegasus said the leaves are turning, some brilliant colors. It marks the transition soon from summer cottaging up north to some serious music listening coming up to help me get through the winter.

Pegasus - From your last post you must have quite the space to be able to hold concerts. I miss my daughters daily piano solos while she is away most of the year at school. When you mention customers and repair, modifications to Magnepan, do you have an electronics business of some type?

Many good points - the "minimal torque" a key one that was discussed here early on and Frogman indeed stressed it initially. If I may share some experiences with this "minimal torque" and it directly relates to your comment;

If I only touch the VTA adjustment a bit on *my* ET2 - the side-leveling is severely off. If it's not, I was lucky. To check is better than to believe...

The coffee has not kicked in yet so pls excuse any rambling. If I really start going you know the coffee is starting to work.

My first ET2 over 10 years ago now that came on a VPI HW19 MKIV.

From my other tonearms in the past including Technics, SME, VPI's, Dynavector, FR64s, etc... they all come/came with a flat surface mount. They are relying on the partner table to be level. This is not good. Turntables are crude devices. Many plinths/armboards not level with the turning platter. The cartridge is always the end victim. The ET2(.5) as we know have a genius grommet 3 spike mount. They could be mounted on the Leaning Tower of Pisa if need be. However the spikes WILL dig in over time if the surface is not hard, which causes the Pillar of the arm to go out of level. I have seen people mount them directly on hardwood. Not good. The VPI tables came with an aluminum plate to prevent marring of acrylic. Never great IMO to add layers but there was no choice and business (selling the tables/tonearm combo at the time) meant it had to be done. The spikes can be shaved down to allow for removal of the plate and naked mounting on the acrylic. ET2's mounted naked on a hard surface are much better sounding to me. Multiple layering of armboard materials - UGH ! And then some put layers on their platters too...

sorry to ramble; ok that first table VPI HW19 MKIV / ET2 I got, the previous owner could not get the ET2 to work. Long story short it was set up bad and the pump was down 1/2 psi - could not complete the last grooves of a record. I got another pump, which allowed for whole lps to be played; the sound in its as is condition still trumped the VPI JMW 12 inch arm at the time. I used it for a while then decided to take it apart. I discovered the two vertical bolts that level the arm on the VTA pillar were tightened down so much by (previous owner/s and my short use to that time) that they had put two bolt indents in the base below. Imagine the stress put on by the bolts. This was truly the opposite of minimal torquing.

These Two Vertical Leveling bolts are an operational dilemma with the ET2. Owners set them up initially and everything seems fine. Then over time with cartridge changes, bumping or moving the table, room seasonal structural changes to wood beams, etc ... things go out of level a bit and the vertical bolts need small adjustments over time. Owners give the vertical bolts a touch of a turn here and there not realizing the bolts are already putting pressure down. They go away on holidays. Come back... more listening. There is no way one can remember how much torque is on those bolts. A little more adjusting here and there. This ends up stressing the plate below, and could deform it. You will never get the patented VTA to work ! So this is a mistake not in initial setup, but from an ongoing operation. A possible outcome if not observed and it is not covered in the manual. One person I know did not realize how much force he had placed on the plate below and he ended up actually cracking it.

How I solved this problem was easy (like some things in our lives) Simple awareness and a habit change. If a level adjustment is needed, take 30 seconds and undo the torque on each vertical bolt; then re-apply this "minimal torque" as required on each bolt, as if setting them for the first time. This takes 2 minutes total time to do. This is very important and has worked well for me.

If you have mounted the ET2 spikes on wood direct - you will never get the table/Et2 and the VTA to work properly as the spikes will dig in over time causing a shift with the different tensions used to get level initially. My two ET2(.5) are mounted naked on a solid brass billet pod with the SP10MKII, and on the Aluminum solid billet pod on the La Platine Granito Verdier (Mr. JC Verdier- RIP)

Both are bolted down to the plinths below. The VTA works the pillar stays level. Metal ET2 spikes on a metal armboard.

IMO - success with any analog rig regardless of the cost point comes from the setup and paying special attention to the details. One more detail - The one ET2 (.5) threaded mounting hole is filled with oil prior to inserting the bolt. If you are using a wood armboard do not put oil in it.

For non-Et2 owners reading, the vertical bolts referenced in the previous post can be seen here click me

They are circled in red.
Also - when I do setup on the 2.5 it is always without the wiring. The wiring gets added after. IMO - the only way to fully understand (if you are little anal and want to know) how much of an affect the wiring has is to follow this process.
When I used to set up with the wiring, the wiring push / pull caused the post leveling to be off a bit. The effects was different with different wires. With the mounting post doing its impression of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - it means your VTA adjustments are thrown out.

Cheers and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

Enjoy the colors, Chris.