Trans-Fi Audio

Home of the Terminator Tonearm

 

Here we have a selection of Terminator installations. 

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Vladan, Serbia. Turntable: SAM (Small Audio Manufacturer), model Aldebaran

Long ago I decided to purchase the turntable with separated motor housing and separate tonearm. I could not even dream that I will come this far.
I had pivoted arms before only, therefore was a little bit scared how will I manage setting up the linear tonearm. I was wrong. It is easy. Actually, it is much easier for setup than standard tonearm (and Vic is always there to help and reply on all questions).
In addition, the smallest change in parameters (VTA, Azimuth, VTF,..) are very, very audible. 

Sound: The first time when the needle touched the record, it was a jaw dropping moment. 
Firstly  big, full, deep soundstage. Then there are are so many details that I was unaware of before. 
Treble, mids and bass are all there in fantastic balance. Exactly as it should be, which is very  hard to experience with pivoted tonearm. Only now I can see the coloration and unnatural forwardness of pivoted tonearms. 
But the most stunning effect is natural, easy flowing sound. No matter is it a huge symphonic orchestra, or choir, or just voice with guitar, everything is so fluid.

To sum up: This tonearm is a true gem. I have mentioned soundstage, treble, bass, details, but the real value is that you simply forget all audiophile words.
There is only MUSIC. Your system disappears, you do not see your speakers. The musicians are there in front of you.
As a friend of mine described: before it was like watching a HDTV, now it is actually being there, in the theatre. IT IS THAT GOOD!
 
Salvation "Black Beauty" with magnetic levitation bearing. 

This is the latest generation Salvation TT mounted on two slabs of black granite, decoupled with Herbie Labs products. Total weight apx 50 kg!  Total awsomness!

I have known Vic for a some years now, visiting him several times in his home in UK. I have vitnessed the evolution of the Terminator with all its upgrades, and also the birth and development of the Salvation. To my surprise Vic manages to refine and improve on products that are so good that you would simply believe it was an end station for sound quality. Now I believe that the magnetic bearing will be an end station. I have not seen upgrades for the Terminator in a long time, and I would be surprised if we would see any significant upgrades for the Salvation also. It is so close to perfection that the weak link is probably the vinyl record/recording itself. This should set a whole new standard for vinyl playback. As far as I know the Salvation is the only idler drive TT with magnetic bearing and super quiet DC motor. No matter how much I loved my Garrard 401 with all it´s tweaking, it just had to go in the favour of this "new standard". It has all the fun and drive of a classic idler drive, but without any of it´s flaws. It is dead silent! Thank you Vic, for making this level of music reproduction affordable to people on a normal budget. Your service is as always outstanding.

Regards, mr N. Dahl, Norway
 
 
 
 

Germanus, Germany ZET1



Hello Vic. Here are some pictures of my Terminator set-up on my Transrotor ZET1-machine. As you see I
 took some liberties with the original mounting column. I just didn´t trust the Terminator fastened by
only one bolt, with the better part of it floating in the air. So I turned a solid aluminum pillar,
fitting the other parts of the ZET 1, polished it to a mirror finish and screwed the Terminator on top
 of it. Now every thing for me seems to be ship-shape and rock-solid, even though Ì´m convinced that
I overdid it once again. But be that as ist may :the deed is done and Terminator is doing now, what it
 has been designed for :making music !! And what a wonderful music it is now. My phono set-up so far was
 not bad at all : Transrotor ZET1 with my well seasoned "Uccello Reference" MM system, my "Valvet"
Pre-Amp and my two "Valvet A3,5 Mark II" power mono-amps driving my two superb DIY-Duettas seemed to
 mark the top of musical reproduction at an affordable price. I happily admit that your Terminator proved
me wrong. The musical accuratenes has reached a new level, even though your phono silver connects are not
burned in yet; bass comes rolling out into the room with enomous, yet well controlled power without any
 booming, the trombones in Franz von Suppe´s "Leichte Kavallerie" suddenly show a truely majestic blast,
 like those under the walls of Jericho must have had, and the violins in the same time-honoured piece are
 clear like mountain crystals without any sting, and the cymbals trickle down like a silvery waterfall.


 Tonal accurateness, superb speed, well balanced bass, voices and instruments like bolted down to their
 positions: all this adds up to a the most musical and true-to-life-performance of a tonearm, I´ve heard
 until now. And I doubt that I´ll will hear a better one; nor do I feel any need to look for one.
 My résumé: this simple, - and well functioning things are often reduced to a brilliant simplicity -
 and achaic-looking piece of aluminum does a splendid job. It is worth much more than its price tag tells
 you.

 

Jose, USA

Garrard301 with a custom made base in solid mahogany and a Audio-Technica AT50ANV moving coil cartridge.
 
Here my comments:
 
As an acoustic engineer I have had the opportunity to listen to pratically all tonearms ever produced. The Trans-Fi Terminator is the best kept secret on audio industry. An affordable, very well made tonearm that competes with all expensive tonearms and by far, the best sounding tonearm I have experienced. Amazing clarity, great extention on bass and superbly finished with utmost precision. Congratulations, Vic, for producing this great piece of engineering. Also, the Reso-Mat is a outstanding mat that kills resonances and certainly contributes for the overall great results.

 

 

Harold the Barrel, Direct Rim Drive modified Oracle


 


Peter, USA, Auto-customised Micro-Seiki
The table is a Micro Seiki DDX 1000 circa 1978
I took it apart, mass-loaded all cavities with lead-shots and potting epoxy. All vertical and 
other flat surfaces is covered in dynamat. The upgrade prevented the TT from ringing and it
also added some additional weight to the unit. The footers are custom made Myrtle wood
and the electronics (switches, capacitors etc.) were all re-built to like new standard including an IEC
AC plug. And finally I added a Ferrari red paint scheme to match some other equipment.


 

Stefano, VPI Classic 3, USA
stefano_rumori@yahoo.it
after more extensive listening tests and after having properly regulated the geometry and dialed in the corect weight for my cartridge, which ended up to be the recommended weight of 2gr, I can say that the sound is outstanding.
Tracking is perfect, dynamic is huge probably in pair with a master tape.
This is the purest sound I have heard on the audio market so far regardless its price.
SOund is so pure, dynamic and precise that it is hard to think of any CD player in the range of 20-25K that could get close to this performance.
I really love this arm and Vic is very nice to deal with.




 

Thomas, Hong Kong, Scheu Analog - Premier II turntable

My T3Pro has been set up & singing in the moment. Sounds great, thanks!  I can hear the finest details that I didn't aware before, in terms of both end of frequency.  The bass extension is even better & solid.  My friends said, it is great purchase & I can't agree more.


 

Lee, Hong Kong, Micro Seiki

"Terrfic.  Detailed and dynamic."


 

Roy, USA, Soundsmith

Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the Terminator. It takes a little getting used to in terms of adjusting things like azimuth and overhang but does allow very precise adjustments. Using a Soundsmith strainguage cartridge and after a great deal of listening and adjustment I can confidently say that I am experiencing the best quality sound ive ever heard in my home. I have used many other very high quality arms/cartridges such as Kuzma Airline, Schroeder Reference and Air Tangent. Cartrdiges such as Van den Hul Colibri, Komdo IO-M and ZYX UNIverse. Your arm produces the least colored sound and extracts the most information. With very careful setup I am now getting sound that is comparable to 15 IPS master tape dubs. Its that good.


 

Holger, Germany, Transrotor ZET 1 with two motors

Today I´ve finished mounting the Terminator T3 Pro with setting position and angles and so on...

It was easy and it was big fun, really. I´ve enjoyed mounting the tonearm.

Together with my ZYX cartridge R 100 FX I´ve never heard what happens today with my "best of" vinyls.

A great sound much better than my best compact discs. I think all my compact discs will go to Ebay and I´ll buy all that stuff again in vinyl.

"Wow" is not enough to say... I think I´ll spend this night and some of the upcoming nights together with the new Terminator and all my old and beloved vinyl discs to see if I can hear something new or even better.




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Pascal, Lenco, France

Translation from French:
    Now I have long listened to the terminator, and I can say with enthusiasm that I am particularly pleased with my purchase, as I have rarely been. I do not have much to add to the splendor of what sound saying his other owners may be outside the natural restoration on which we must insist. It's really a great arm.
    But it has other important advantages:
    First, it is probably the most friendly arms which are, indeed, for those like me who use several celulles, stereo, mono; 78rmp for reading with lateral or vertical ... etc, just to have the number tomahawks appropriate, adjust, and change takes less than a minute, I do not think there are other arms that can do that.
    Secondly, we think a lot LP, but for 78rmp, reading tangential even more profitable than for LP, as if they were burning surface that often goes very far toward the center, the reading error is even worse for them But with the Terminator, it's a real pleasure to listen to his old waxes.
    Terminator is a very big arm in terms of sound, but also because of its versatility.

 

Jim, USA, DIY Denon

"Denon DP-80 with New Plinth Designed and fabricated by me,consisting of 3/4" slate on top of 3 layers of 3/4"baltic birch,sitting on 4 blocks of 3/4" slate for feet,to which are attached the footers.A Solid Silver phono cable, similar to that as made by Vic at TransFi,made by Applied Fidelity,Reno Nevada.And of course the all important Terminator Pro,which to my hearing is the best tonearm money can buy,and I have pretty much heard them all on many tables.This combination of the Plinth and the Terminator Pro makes the DP80 really sing.I previously had the Terminator Pro on a DP 6000 with the old style arm,but added the Tomahawk to this new configuration,and the sound just opened up in all ranges,with a more solid and deeper bass,and better articulation in the mids and highs,with a soundstage having more depth and width."




 

G. M. USA, SL1200

 

Andy T. UK Scheu

Got the Terminator set up last night. Its not 100% set up yet and I
discovered one channel of my phono amp is playing up. That aside it really
was a WOW moment, quite unusual these days!

I wont bore you with details, you designed it so i am sure you already know.
I will say that no way will you be having it returned!

 

Alan, VPI-HRX, USA

 

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Salvatore, Lenco, Italy

I admit I don?t have much experience with linear tracking arms, so I understand my thoughts must be taken with reservations. But, I listened to a lot of pivoted arms, and what I can say is that, once you install the Terminator, even without careful set up, you suddenly realize there's a lot of colorations -expecially in the midbass- you have been taking for granted for all your audiophile life. Simply, they aren?t there any more.

Along with this, the other huge improvement affects what HP would call ?continuousness?: that effortless, natural flowing of music that makes you believe, with certain small combos recordings, that you are actually listening to the real thing. It?s just a moment, I know, but it?s priceless.

Then, transparency: the music looks like jumping from a black curtain, like some electro-mechanical noise has been removed. Impressive.


Eventually, dynamics, micro and macro. Stunning. No other word can aptly describe what I heard.

Clearly, no other pivoted arm I heard can even approach this level of performance, let alone equal. What I found very interesting -although somewhat disconcerting- is that the only other arm I know which, even if to a much smaller degree, offers a performance that in some areas (continuousness, in particular) reminds what the Terminator can deliver, is the RS-A1. This can look strange, since the RS-A1, with its rotating headshell, actually tracks uncorrectly, which is exactly the opposite of what a linear-racking arm is supposed to do. I guess that the biggest benefits do not descend as much from correct tracking, as from eliminating centripetal and centrifugal/anti-skating forces issues, along with a much shorter effective length of the armwand.

As to installing and setting up, I feel it's much more difficult saying than doing: actually, once you understand the basic mechanical principles, both installation and VTA/tilting/level regulations are pretty straightforward. A big plus.

Summing up: if the Terminator would cost 3,000 euros, it would be a luxury that few could afford, but it would still be a bargain, 'cause it can easily stand up with the big boys, and even beat them. Since it costs less than one-fourth that price, it's unbelievable. Really.

 

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John C., VPI, Cricklewood, London,UK

I met Vic about 8 months ago it was one of those happy chances that happen in life. Vic mentioned he made a arm and after listening to his system I thought be no harm for him to come round as I had a spare arm-board I was going to use when I got a Graham Phantom in the future.

At the time I had a VPI SME4 silver with a ZXY R100H Cart. This has now gone through a radical change and has morphed into a Super Scoutmaster with rim drive. The arm not only works well with the Scoutmaster but also looks good too!

Vic fitted the arm to new board he did this within30mins including removing the old arm board and having all aligned etc.

I have to admit the change was huge everything improved the whole sense of PRaT (Pace Rhythm and timing) had improved. I have rarely heard such difference made by one product even when I have moved to really exotic equipment.

There seems to be a special synergy between the ZXY and the Terminator which allows the music to flow no matter what you taste in music is. I tend to listen to a lot of Rock Fusion some Jazz and the odd piece of classical music the arm allows the energy and percussive attack of Al Di Meola to be fully experienced; yet it can do delicate well too Listening to Diana Krell through the arm allows her voice to come shinning through without any trace of Sibilance in all its beauty.

Over the time Vic has made many updates that have added a touch of class to how the arm looks; the carrier manifold has now chrome polished finish allowing for pump pressure to be set low I no longer hear the pump motor.

I have heard quite a few arms all costing between 3 to 6 times the price of the Terminator and have yet to hear a better arm. I guess the biggest compliment is as soon as people hear the arm they immediately are impressed by it and this has ended up in them buying the arm.

I think the arm is amazing value please bear in mind it totally destroys the SME silver wired 4 which is over 3 times its price and for me out performs arms like the Graham Phantom.

When I think about its design there are two main areas which I think make it sounds so good. Using the inverted slider allows the arm be placed closer to the platter, this allows for a shorter arm decreasing resonance and the use of a blade bearing keeping friction to a minimum.

In my opinion they are few really true giant killers in the world of audio, this is one of the best arms made regardless of price.

  

johnjcahill2004@yahoo.co.uk

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Adam P., SL110, Boulder, CO,USA

 I started getting back into vinyl a year ago. Since then I have experienced several exponential rises in sound quality. The first was switching from a project tonearm to a rega rb 250 with counterweight mod. The second was switching from solid state to valve amps. The third was getting the terminator tonearm. While the rb 250 sounded great, the terminator tonearm is a massive leap forward. The soundstage and depth of the music is greatly improved. The vocals project from the speakers. The sound is consistent across the whole record from start to finish, unlike a pivoted arm where sometimes it sounds great and other times not so great. This tonearm extracts every nuance from the grooves of the vinyl and lays it out there for you. This tonearm draws you into it's grasp, and you don't want to leave.

adampatacchiola@gmail.com

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PatrickD., Garrard301, UK

This is a 1956/7 grease bearing Garrard 301 which recently replaced an LP12/Ekos2/Troika/Lingo2 setup.  The 30mm Welsh slate plinth is a work in progress, and replaced a 36mm marine ply plinth decoupled with squash balls.

I initially tried the 301 with a Rega RB250 arm, rewired and with an upgraded stub and counterweight (using the same AT33-PTG cartridge) and was impressed with its wide soundstage, metronomic timing and dynamics.  On switching to the Terminator arm, at first I though it was less dynamic than the Rega, before I realised that the dynamics were actually the same, there was just so much more of the midband.

The arm is a doodle to set-up and use, and tracks beautifully from the first to the last groove (well, it's all one groove but you know what I mean!).

So, would I go back to the Linn?  No chance!

Contact through me: k9vap001@aol.com

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Jerry S., VPI Scout, USA

The arm it self is a big step up in sound from my VPI JMW9, definition of the sound stage is better, dynamics is better, it's like a bought a new cartridge, enjoyed setting it up and I like the way it looks. I can tell a big difference in the way that the all the songs on the same side of the lp sound the same, on my pivoted arm the first song never sounded as good as the middle songs. It is awesome to listen to a 50 year old lp like Ella meets Oscar Peterson and here it the best way it can sound.  Really good arm, see attached pictures.

jtsnead@comcast.net

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Simon C., Lenco, Australia

Testimonial:

I?m new to vinyl, but the combination of my turntable with this arm has made me want to sit down and listen to music a lot more than I used to.  It is worth my time and money starting a new collection in vinyl.  Any new album?s I buy will be vinyl if possible.

 The Terminator arm is easy to use once you set it up.  First time set up was slow and steady, but when I had a need to reconfigure the arm due to relocation of the table, it was a piece of cake.

simon.cockram@hotmail.com

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IainB., MicroSeiki, London, UK

'When my terminator arm was installed I had the pleasure of meeting Vic
in person.  The arm set up is fairly straightforward and I've located
the pump out of the room.  The arm has no 'hiss' and tracks perfectly
with my AT-OC9 and across the whole LP which is my personal plus point
with this arm.  The sound quality is as good as I had hoped and after
over a month of use would have no hesitation in recommending a
terminator arm!'

zen7151@zen.co.uk

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Saffier, Teres, Nederlands

The sound of the Terminator is just incredible. In fact I do not listen to CD anymore, well only in my car. The sound is so natural and flowing. The distortion is so low that it has a great emotional impact on me as a music lover. The operation and setup of the arm is straight foreward and easy. This arm VTA has a major impact on the sound, more so than with my previous tuned SME 3009R arm. Probably because the distortion is so low on the Terminator. The sound stage is just floating in the air and is rock solid in position, no walking around soundstage. Surface noise is almost gone, well I do need to get a record cleaner now to get rid of the last occasional pops and ticks. Air noise from the Terminator is just unaudible.
The Terminator unravels complex music and makes it more easy on the brain to get it in as a whole, just like a good acoustic concert.
Bass is just kicking in with authority without getting lumpy and thick.  Your arm is top!

teres004@hotmail.com

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Mike Greene, USA

It's still early days, but I am not sure I have heard bass like this out of any tonearm. Just to be clear, my system is a little bass heavy - the last thing I would want is more wooly upper and mid bass. As a matter of fact, I was a little worried about this after reading he review but this is clear, low, articulate bass that does not interfere with the other registers.

 

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Clive M., Garrard 301, Manchester, UK

I reviewed the Terminator for Enjoy the Music over a considerable period and still have the arm on my deck 6 months later.  The arm will not be swapped out anytime soon.  The performance of the arm is right up with the very best and the price is right down at the level of very mediocre arms.  Quite simply a stunning piece of kit.  Pivoted arms just seem "wrong" now.

meakins@enjoythemusic.com

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Marcial, Project, Chile

After contacting Vic on some doubts I had in regards to The Terminator as to any hissing noise or how difficult it will be to set it up all my concerns of changing on my demo MusicHall MMF 9.0 with the ProJect Carbon pivoted arm were put to rest. What I can recommend to anyone even thinking about spending thousands on a new pivoted arm is to please do yourself a favor and purchase a Terminator since the advantage of Vic´s design are so tremendous that you will smile every time you turn on the pump and enjoy what a cushion of air in a parallel tracking set up just plain kills pivoted arms costing 3 to 5 times it modest cost.
 
All of the attributes of what we enjoy music at home are just plainly magnified by The Terminator, sound stage increased and voices float in mid air, bass is just a killer with depth and definition that once you hear it you could never go back, please spread the word so Vic can keep on making them and us taking advantage of this sublime musical instrument named THE TERMINATOR !

marcialohaco@gmail.com

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Kevin M., Acoustic Solid One, France

I'm a classical music/Opera fan and a fairly regular (work allowing) concert goer.  I'm also a keen collector of classical vinyl and have a collection running to about 3000+ albums (bought another 60 second-hand albums today).


We dont have a TV at home but do have various musical Instruments. My wife and kids, between them, play the piano, cello, violin and flute.  I'm surrounded by live music and that makes owning an artificial means of making music a challenge as I have the real thing to compare It with.

  
Over the last 30 years i've had various record playing systems and my goal has always been to try and recreate the sound I hear at the Opera/concert, at home.


Working In Singapore allowed me to listen to a variety of "high end" systems. An afternoon listening to a  Rockport Sirius  was a big mistake.I suffered withdrawal symptoms for weeks and it was the  kiss of death for my beloved 3 motor Voyd/Helius Cylene.


 I travelled to Germany to buy an e bay "will not post, buyer must collect" Acoustic Solid "Solid One" with a Rega RB600 Included (suitable for teenage offspring use).   I tried various SME (great bass average midrange and treble), Hadcock (very nice) and Rega (mediocre) arms but nothing had that effortlessly dynamic, sort of clean low distortion but vibrant sound that I had heard from the Rockport.  I despaired but a review of the air bearing terminator arm In enjoy-the-music.com got me thinking...Could a cheap-as-chips arm fitted to my Solid One sound even remotely like a Rockport? Took the plunge and did the 30 day trial or return.


The RB600 makes the Acoustic Solid sound like It's worth the £1200 I paid for It but that's about all. The terminator makes the Acoustic Solid sound like It's worth every bit of the £4000 It would have cost new. There was that kind of effortless, dynamic, clean/uncluttered, tonally rich very listenable sound I remembered from the $70,000 record player!  There was the almost Inky black background and lack of surface noise.


Can my Solid One/terminator compare with a Sirius?


Who cares. The point Is It's cured my withdrawal symptoms because I'm not aware of anything lacking and that's good enough for me!


 All the best Vic and you can have your arm back over my dead body, Kevin

kevinmoorenz@hotmail.com

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Andy P. . Oxford. UK Technics SP10

The terminator parallel tracking arm  -  Was a  breeze to set up  my on SP10mk11 it made my previous arm, a well respected £1000 radial arm, sound badly blurred and fluffy. I love the fact that since getting a Terminator  I dont need to worry any more if my cartridge is tracking optimally - Perfect tracking is a given.The additional detail and focus that Vic's arm brings to my system is extremely significant and means that  I can easier than ever before  concentrate  on listening to  the skill of musicians. 

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'Lawnlower', Oracle Delphi II.7, Finland
 
I have had SME III for 21 years, it has never let me down and is my first and last mechanical tonearm. It´s really high quality and works perfectly with high compliance cartridges with fluid damping. I´ve have listened Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland (1968) dozens of times with SME III: the sound of the arriving UFO is very wide and deep and the UFO easily enters the room leaving speakers behind. 
 
First impression with The Terminator with then cheap cables was amazingly detailed, very 3-dimensional sound on Electric Ladyland. And the arriving UFO was impressive as always, the overall sound was very convicting: something magical had happened.
But with proper cables the trackability of Shure with the help of The Terminator becomes simply impressive: extremely detailed, very powerful and fluid sound that I have never experienced before. And that arriving UFO is so real circling and swirling accross the room very near and it´s BIG! "Moon Turns the Tides... Gently Gently Away" simply blows me away!
 
Also instantly recognized was vastly improved bass, it´s depth and accuracy never witnessed before. And hugely improved was also vocals with richer nuances and natural timbre, the most impressive was the dynamics of human voice from the faintest whisper to powerful roar on  Genesis: Nursery Cryme (1971) and Uriah Heep: The Magician´s Birthday (1972). And the sound of Tony Banks´ Mellotron sound is truly stunning and extremely wide. For now on these records can be played at very high volume with ease.
 
In general the lack of certain harshness that was previously on majority of my records is a massive bonus. And most records couldn´t be played at very high volume because the overall sound became tiresome.
 
For now on, I can play majority of my records very loud and won´t get tired of listening.
 
Vic the Magician has reinvented the air bearing tonearm and found the solution for the tracking problem: frictionless bearing. I think his inverted V shape bearing is revolutionary.
Before I found Terminator on eBay I was planning to buy Forsell Airborne or Airtangent but I think they are inferior to Terminator in trackability. And The Terminator looks good too!
 
And me? I`m just a lawnlower
 
 
 
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Antonio, Micro-Seiki, Italy

I mounted the Terminator with my reference Pick-up (Shelter 901) and Pre Phono (Nibiru MK3) in my regular tube setup composed by two Graaf GM20,  a Pre Graaf 13.5 BII and Loudspeakers Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario. The Turntable is a Micro Seiki RX1500 in a weel drive configuration.
 
The results are impressive.
 
Great bass articulation, open and extended soundstage, detailed but effortless sound. Great musicallity and superb tracking ability. For the fiirst time I heared the Tckiacowsky Sinfony "1812" from Telarc without mistracking problems.
 
This tonearm clearly shows the limits of pivoted toneamrs. My reference arm was the SME IV silver wired and silicon dumped It costs 5 times the price of the Terminator, but it has not the same "agility" of the Terminator in reproducing the essence of the music, its bass is not as fast and as deep as that of the Terminator.
 
Highly recommended.

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Steve, Garrard 401, UK

And it's (tonearm) fantastic. It seriously blows my old O/L counterweight modded RB250 out of the water. I know you still think it's boring, but classical stuff sounds gorgeous on it (and the difference at the end of sides really shows what I was missing before). There have been quite a number of evenings where "I'll just listen to a bit of music" turns into "Where did that evening go?", and that is probably the best complement.

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Jack, SP10, UK


Since I was an owner of a Trans-fi Evo arm it was only natural that I should move onto a Terminator. After a (really quite simple) set-up I've come to the conclusion that this arm, with my slate SP-10 quite literally make other viny set-ups sound broken to my ears. The Evo was a fabulous arm but the Terminator is leagues ahead. Well done Vic, fabulous job designing this I'll never go back to traditional set-ups again!
 
 
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Peter, UK, ClearAudio

Well the arm was set-up and working within 15 minutes - with the Allaerts in place.

The sound, well what can I say. More detail, more dynamics, more focus - which means much more enjoyment.

And, at last the turntable sounds better than the CD player again.

The trouble is, I now just want to go through my lp collection and listen to them all !

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Dave G., TNT heavily modded, USA

Review

 

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Gareth, UK, Technics SL1210

Some expensive CDPs can often pick apart a loved recording and proccess it in such a way that it becomes an unlistenable facsimilie of a cherished tune. On first listening, the Terminator seems to be doing the same thing. But there is no proccessing here, No circuit boards or chipsets, just a perfectly tracking stylus. What becomes clear  is that a good recording sounds incredible and that some titles, that previously seemed a little lifeless, can either be lifted towards greatness or utterly defrocked as the Lazy, poorly mastered mess of an LP they truely are.  Good or Bad recordings simply cannot hide from your stylus, and when the Terminator explores the groove the results can often be a revelatory experience - either way! A truly excellent product.


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Ernst, Michell Gyrodec, Hong Kong

I bought Vic?s arm after reading about it on the Enjoy the Music website, where it received a Best of the Year 2008 award. Installation was easy and the arm immediately revealed the strengths and weaknesses of my entire analogue front-end. The Terminator gets out of the way by truthfully reproducing the musical information that is contained in the grooves of a vinyl record, thereby allowing the cartridge and your phono stage to play out their own strengths. The Terminator conveys musical information in an honest mode and any noise on your records, such as crackling from scratches, is not perceived anymore as affecting the sound quality, but rather as incidental noise without effect on the sound itself from your vinyl record. There are no tracking errors or other distortions caused by skating forces. What you hear is what your cartridge and your amplifiers produce and this will allow you to listen to your analogue source in an unencumbered and tremendously uncoloured way. For me the question which tone arm to chose is solved in an amazingly straightforward and tangential manner.



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Nobu, VPI, Japan

Bigger sound stage, 3 dimensional image and crystal clear  
tone. The attacks sparkle in the air. It's really amazing.

 

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Roy, 401-Granite Plinth, Singapore

I had to write and tell you what an outstanding job you did on this giant killer tonearm.  It is not only one of your best, but ranks in top 1 or 2 of the best tonearms I've ever listen( and I've used half a dozen of them).  I really couldn't have asked for anything more.....it kept me up listening late into the night.


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Amr., Acoustic Solid, Germany

Mounting the T2 was much easier than I expected, so I can really say that all people telling me to keep my distance from a tangential tonearm because of  complex handling have to be  quiet ... it takes more time to set up compared to a pivot, but  is not more complicated.


I spent the whole Sunday listening and comparing T2 with an old Grado Reference Gold/ Scheu Classic 12", with Denon DL-103 / Origin Live Encounter & Nagaoka MP 200. I still did not buy a phono cable for T2, so I used a 2,5m (!) Sommer Polaris cabling for trial and connected it with a small Lehmann Black Cube Statement. The Scheu 12" is fully symmetrical cabled with XLR connected to an Aqvox preamp, the Origin Live (which is supposed to be one the best tonearm bargains nowadays) with Van den Hul cabling + bullet plugs connected to Aqvox's RCA's.

 

What I can say? My surprise can't be any bigger! Although T2 has the cabling and preamp handicap compared to the 2 other tonearms, Terminator sounded better in each way. No matter if I played Jazz, Rock, Classical, Electronica ... T2 had the much better sound-staging, dynamics and depth  ... your tonearm does not just play vinyl, it embraces vinyl - there is so much musicality in here.

 

My search for speakers ended when I found Robert Bastanis PROMETHEUS open baffles; my tonearm search has ended too: TERMINATOR 2 is a lifetime keeper.  

I can't wait until my T2 is married with Bastanis HEARTBEAT cabling and a good MM or MC. Thank you Vic ... I hope the so-called High End world will find out, that you don't have to spend thousands of bucks to receive an amazing tonearm and not to forget ... your amazing personal support.

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JohnB., Lenco, Ealing, London, UK

jmball@btinternet.com

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PeterB., Garrard 301, UK

valvesarebest@hotmail.co.uk

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Colin UK, Nottingham Analogue

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