Dover, I agree. Rhythm is something that is often overlooked or given short shrift in discussions about audio in general. Another favorite saying among musicians is "no one gets fired for having a bad tone". Somewhat of an exaggeration to be sure, but the message is simply that as far as the music (as opposed to ear candy) goes the most important fundamental is rhythm. There are some musicians who possess exquisite tone, but their sense of rhythm is rough and/or musically inflexible. Most musicians would much rather play with someone who has a great sense of rhythm and phrasing even if the tone is less than ideal. Because the ET2 is a mechanical device, subject to the effects of mechanical resonances and is not a human being, this concept only applies to a degree. However, for me, one of the reasons that the ET2 is so rhythmically correct is the fact that it is also so tonally correct. In audio, tonal distortions can have a very significant effect on our perception of rhythm.
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 ?
- ...
- 2154 posts total
Frogman - One interesting experience I had years ago was when a friend played a Phillips reissue of a Mercury Living Presence recording that I had. I could not believe it was the same recording, the reissue being very slow and ponderous. After investigation the only difference was that the tonal balance had been altered in the reissue. In terms of correct tonal balance I only use MIT Oracle cabling in my system - the gains in accurate fundamentals and harmonics over other cables ( assuming you have a decent system to start with ) are evident to my ears. Here is a very interesting video on the subject - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgK87tmRVeY |
Shubert - I had an Audiomods tonearm with the VTA adjuster on a Verdier briefly a while ago and was quite impressed albeit with a Moving Magnet cartridge. Very easy to set up and adjust, same mounting as a Rega/Origin Live and reasonably priced. When I had an hiatus from the ET2 due to springy wooden floors and the difficulty of wall mounting a 125kg turntable I decided to go to a unipivot, the rationale being that the unipivot bearing has much lower friction than conventional gimbal arms and would be the next best option. I had had unipivots before and they have good pace and timing in my view compared to gimbal bearing arms. Purchased a Naim Aro and can happily live with that as well as the ET2. Funnily enough Martin Colloms used the Aro on his Linn for the same reason - unipivots are less susceptible footfalls on sprung floors. |
- 2154 posts total