Eminent Technology ET-2 Tonearm Owners

This and That

Harry
Hmmm, options for audiophiles. Let me see now - Lighter weights all the way out or heavier weights closer in? Tweak VTA a little up or a little down? Nudge the sub woofer volume a little up or a little down? How about the crossover point of that sub? Magnesium or carbon fiber arm wand? Wire straight in to preamp or via phono block? Now, how about that loading - 100, 1000, or 47k ohm? Oh, yes, and most of these are interdependent - change one and you have to change them all. Which to do first and which to do last. Is the tracking force still correct? Sure is fun ain’t it?

Lets analyze Harry. Takes my mind off the oil stocks :^(

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"Lighter - weights all the way out"

follows physics; gives highest vertical inertia as well as following manual setup instructions.

Heavier weights closer in?

Opposite effect .... add enough weight close to the spindle and you will bottom out the air bearing.

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Tweak VTA a little up or a little down?

Everyone’s setup will be different. Some cartridges don’t need much VTA adjustment.

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Nudge the sub woofer volume a little up or a little down? How about the crossover point of that sub?

I would only after setting up the system without the subs first. This assumes the preamp output does not go through your subs first, before going to your main speaker amp/s.

Magnesium or carbon fiber arm wand?

Magnesium for Winter duty. Carbon Fiber for All Season use.

Wire straight in to preamp or via phono block?

Bruce uses a straight in setup. Have never heard of anyone who uses a "straight in" setup; going back to the multiple connections.

Now, how about that loading - 100, 1000, or 47k ohm?

If you go straight in you can adjust the distance between the wires changing the capacitance and altering how your phono preamp reacts to the settings. This can be fun; along with the extra gain one gets when going straight in.

Is the tracking force still correct?

Only with the ET2 :^)

When is boating season going to start ?

??

Harry,
Are you suffering from audio nervosa?
Just throw some money at it like I did. Don't worry; be happy.
I gave up on VTA as the Lyras are pretty immune with the cartridge top surface parallel to the LP surface.
I don't worry about loading any more either. The Allnic is fixed. I don't know what it is. Only the gain is adjustable at the SUP.
Is that screwey or what? -Really doesn't matter if it sounds heavenly!
Good weekend.
John

Just throw some money at it like I did

John - your statement brought back memories. I used to get dropped into various companies with a team, to fix problems. The first thing the CFO would say to us after the kickoff meeting.
  
"Ok , so tell me, how much money is it really going to take to fix this problem? "

Hey Chris,
It's ok to throw money at things as long as you don't spend your capital. Mom told me that a while ago, and it has worked for me. After all, it's only money. -Enjoy it if you've got it. 
Hey Harry,
Do you have the Calypso or Callisto. -Just wondering.
-John

Re "straight shot to preamp" wiring:

As just a gentle and friendly nudge to anyone the least bit curious about trying this. In my experience this "tweak" yielded the single biggest improvement in sound quality of any other tweak or adjustment to the ET2. All the other tweaks like using the correct spring compliance for mm or mc, magnesium arm wand and others which deal with resonance and which, to at least some degree, simply shift tonal balance around a bit which, in turn, may add to the impression of "improvement" in the context of a given system are not nearly as large in overall scope. The "sstp" wiring is a very significant improvement of a very fundamental nature with no downside that I ever experienced. Think about it: you are removing at least four solder joints and three connectors of different metals from the path of the tiny and fragile phono cartridge signal’s path. The increase in purity of sound, soundstaging detail and rhythmic coherence is huge in my experience. Of course the choice of wire is important, but secondary to the benefits of getting rid of all the "bumps in the road". The really committed (in more ways than one 😱) can always eliminate the connectors altogether and hardwire the wire directly to the circuit board of the preamp as I did.

Cheers.