Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

Hi everyone - time sure flies by when you are having fun ?

This came into my email inbox today - it may or may not represent an ET2 opportunity based on the auction selling price, but it is interesting for a couple of reasons so I thought I would link it here.

A base low pressure ET2 - and with a Mag wand !

You can tell it is a ET 2.0 not ET 2.5 by the end cap that overlaps the spindle. You know it is probably a base and not HP model by the original pump shown.

The Good

Remember the earlier post about the VTA Block / Worm Gear relationship. This one shows the bearing gap clearly from the top pic. Any bidders are however advised to verify the "rack of teeth" condition with the seller.
All parts are almost all there including the brass rings meant for "leveling" only. The VTA lever appears missing. Again verify with the seller.
The obvious Mag and Aluminum arm wands - sweet.

The Bad

That pump can be placed at the bottom of the rack - it is that quiet and cannot be heard from 5 feet away.
The seller (well his partner - read on) indicates it is noisy so l think the pump needs replacing based on the ad's wording.

The aspiring comedian in me found some of the ad's wording ...kind of funny.

I've replaced it because my partner hates it, and has dubbed it the "user-hostile" arm. She has a point -- you have to turn the pump on (and you should have the pump muffled or in another room, because it's noisy), and the arm's a bit fiddly to cue up.

"user-hostile" - there is that military weapon reference I alluded to earlier.

Also

Still, every cartridge and table I've tried with it (within reason, don't use a high compliance cartridge with it!) sound absolutely magnificent.

Obviously not a long term owner and has not been paying attention here. The original base ET2 came out in the hey day of higher compliance MM's . I have used an ET2 with aluminum armtube very successfully with a Sonus Blue MM. 50 cms/dyne x 10 (-6). What I think might have happened here was the seller was using the higher compliance cartridges with the big FAT boy.....Mag wand.

If the seller is part of the average 5000 viewing this thread appears to be getting every day - Holy Moly ! - I hope he doesn't mind us using his ad for education, knowledge sharing, and a bit of humor. I don't think he does as he does show a sense of humor himself.

Next post will be a Yellow Sticky again - Proper ET2 Bass Management......(ATB) "According to Bruce"

It will be my humble attempt to put Thigpen's words of wisdom from his two part ET2 manual, into "one short easy to read post" for audiophiles and music lovers.

Can this be done ?

Get the bass right, the rest follows....

It's all about the bass.
-

Chris, re high compliance carts with the ET2. I agree with you that it can be used successfully with them and have done so for as long as I have owned the arm; which is almost as long as it has existed. I remember more than one comment by "reviewers" stating that the arm performed best with low compliance carts; this, even before the mag wand was even available. Then there was the review which praised the Monster AG2000 cartridge (low compliance) as THE cartridge for the arm; and idea that I heard repeated many times in NYC audiophile circles. It is, in fact, an exceptionally good combination (I own it) even with the regular aluminium wand and I think that this contributed to that mistaken idea taking hold.

And it IS all about the bass. Get the bass right and things fall into place. Now, 350 millions hits! Actually, it's a pretty catchy and cute song. Too bad that a well intended (I think) message has to be combined with the typical-for-our-time crassness. "Junk in all the right places". Now, THERE'S a nice thing to point out to one's daughter!

The big guy dancing in that "Its all about the bass" video cracks me up. He stole all my dance moves. There is more mass moving side to side with him though. Like an ET2 without the decoupled counterweight.

Frogman - I think you can do a lot with the original aluminum armtube and play heavy MC on it as well with tweaking.
Your post supports this. But then you have also wrapped your aluminum armtube. A pic of it is attached earlier in this thread.
An audiophile wrap ? Hmm this gives me an idea ...... more in a bit :^)

It is not the same imo with my 2.5 with heavy Mag wand which I use with Richard's aluminum gooseneck. My experience puts this combo solidly over the fence onto the other side with Low Compliance MC cartridges only. The combo didn't work as well with the high compliance Acutex 420 str cartridge. That same 420 that had excellent drive and rhythm with the CF armtube and regular CF gooseneck joint became cruder and harsher sounding from what I remember. Its been quite a while. It didn't last long on there. The Acutex 420 high compliance MM is still on my 2.0 and aluminum armtube in my other room. That's also the combo Bruce liked best in his review of the 420 cartridge

posted here

earlier in the thread.

Good lord its been a little over two years since that post now. 8^o

****An audiophile wrap ? Hmm this gives me an idea ...... more in a bit :^)****

Yo, yo, yo! Wassup?

yo-yo-yo wassup ?

Been digging out from the past storm with a very weak snowblower. :^( We hardly got any of the white stuff that hit Buffalo a couple of weeks ago. It was seriously looking like a brown Christmas. That changed 2 days ago! Should have dealt with the symptoms of a stretched auger belt last year. Ones gets lazy with age.
Bought 20 years ago my Craftsman 11 hp 31 inch snow throw can once again win the snow pissing contest after replacing a $20 auger belt. A timeless design. I am a total sucker for these kinds of things. I am surrounded by this stuff and I include my audio gear when I say this; It will all outlast me. I can't stand disposable items ...which is what our society has become.

Note:
Its important when having so much fun hurling snow 20 feet to avoid hitting your wife's car. The 4 month old pup can't seem to resist himself, jumping and hurling himself too; trying to catch waves the of flying snow being thrown out by this incredible man made invention. btw - This is the only time you will ever be able to find a black lap pup - in amongst all the white stuff at night. He normally needs to wear a collar flashing light so we can find him in the dark.

In the spirit of this thread, some ET2 passion shots to warm things up a bit ? coming up