Hi guys,
This is a review of my new Terminator tonearm.
I have a large record collection of mostly classical records and opera. A lot of vocal, choral and chamber music. And a lot of recordings of pipe organs.
I have a Clearaudio Master Reference turntable with ceramic magnetic bearing.
I previously had two Clearaudio TT2 arms. Before those I had the predecessor TQI. Twenty years of Clearaudio happiness. The TT2 concept is also used in the TT1 MI in the Clearaudio Statement turntable.
I have a Clearaudio DaVinci and a Goldfinger Statement (GFS) cartridge.
An air bearing arm has been on my list for years, but I never found one that worked smoothly with my Clearaudio Outer Limit ring weight or with multiple arms.
And then I realized that I could mount the Terminator (and perhaps other air-bearing arms) to my turntable in a way that solved all of my previous issues.
I think that you will find that this is a very different installation:
It allows for the arm to be pivoted away from the platter so that multiple tonearms and record ring weights may be used.
It has a different VTA readout that attaches to the arm board, rather than the tonearm.
The Terminator VTA is adjustable during play which greatly simplifies this relative to the Clearaudio.
The arm board is supported by a single ball bearing in the top of an (unused) Clearaudio turntable spindle.
It is locked in place by a one half turn plunger that locates on a rubber gasket so that no vibration is transmitted.
The phono cable was robbed from my second Clearaudio TT2.
See other pictures here:
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9362
I bought the Terminator to play other cartridges than Clearaudio. I started with the DaVinci because my intention is to replace the DaVinci with another cartridge, perhaps a Miyajima mono cartridge.
The DaVinci sounded so good in the Terminator that I swapped in the GFS. WOW!
The largest improvements have been the sense of soundstage and space around voices and instruments and the quiet background. I thought the TT2 was very good, but the Terminator blows it away.
My room was built for great sound and it has not disappointed. But the music never really filled the room. The horns are position sensitive and have a relatively small sweet spot. Now the room is alive and sounds good everywhere.
In comparison, it is 4D vs 3D.
Same turntable, same cartridge (GFS), same arm cable. A very impressive achievement, IMHO.
The “flow” of the music is more real, more lifelike; the musicians are in the room with you.
Bass is better and more lifelike. Everything is more clear and more precisely located in space. Choral music is uncanny. Are you getting the idea that I am thrilled?
I need to give credit to the rest of my system and the room, but it was the Terminator that turned the corner and brought out the best.
I am ordering a second Terminator arm. Both arms will mount on my turntable and rotate away from the platter to change records.
Best,
Don
