The Feckert/Clearaudio/Project 'Uber Protractors look totally great & particularly if one is setting up a wide variety of TT's with arms of different effective length/geometry etc, well worth the expense prolly. Indeed then the expense of the tool doesn't really seem expensive at all in relation to the amount of TT's it'll be used with.Also noted that there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for some of these other alignment tools, are they just over-expensive tools?
If the resonant frequency is too low, it will be excited by record warps and footfall and can (will?) throw the stylus out of the groove with the consequent possibility of damage to the LP and the cartridge. If the resonant frequency is too high, it will be excited by recorded low frequencies on the LP, and will result in heavy, bloated bass. Of course some people, especially those with small bookshelf 'speakers might actually like that, but it also increases distortion and makes mistracking far more likely. Again, there are some who might actually like that effect.Great replies gents, thankyou. I'm afraid I'm still struggling with the overhang concept though Serge, when you say that it's the distance between the spindle centre and the stylus, how do you actually take the measurement?Follow up questions too (sorry....) offset angle?? This is something to do with the angle between the centre line of the main arm tube and the centre line of the headshell, yes? So what effect does this have on the setup geometry? And why is the resonant frequency of the arm / cart combination so important? What happens when it's too high or low (in either horizontal or vertical directions)?
Also noted that there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for some of these other alignment tools, are they just over-expensive tools?
Is it compulsory to wear a big woolly jumper with long sleeves when changing a cart?Just sayin'
I was equally in the dark about this point a couple of years ago. I had some problems setting up a brand new cartridge on an SME IV (using the SME protractor) and ended up with more bias than it really should have needed. When i borrowed a Phantom II arm to demo, i transferred the cartridge and used the excellent setup tools supplied with the arm. Well, with those tools, it was fairly obvious that something wasnt quite right with the cartridge so after arguing with the distributor that i wasnt a heavy handed gorilla, it was sent back to Japan to have its suspension rebuilt. I cant remember exactly the whys or wheres of the tools but i think it was something to do with the detachable armwand. Maybe someone can post some photos of these tools so you can get an idea of how they work?[*]What if the cantilever isn't absolutely parallel with the cartridge body? Is it fucked? (Mine is fine as far as I can tell, but I just wondered if it was an indication that the cartridge suspension might be past it's best)
Same here - bought the bloody thing new and found that the existing cartridge alignment (based on free protractors) was spot-on. So a brief smile of satisfaction and then a more sustained pang of regret for the armful of S/H vinyl I could have bought instead.In a fit spending, i bought the Dr feickhert protrator, used it once and its sat in the box ever since. Unless youre constantly setting up decks and arms, they're really not worth it.
Same here - bought the bloody thing new and found that the existing cartridge alignment (based on free protractors) was spot-on. So a brief smile of satisfaction and then a more sustained pang of regret for the armful of S/H vinyl I could have bought instead.Anti-skate is another matter, I can't make sense of it with my arm/table. Current setup behaves very poorly on HiFi News test LP. I decided to dial it in midway and stop worrying about it, so far so good.
+1 on this recommendation of the Michael Fremer DVD. I set up a cart on my own for the first time recently and this DVD was a great help. It's not exactly a slick production but made things a lot clearer for me.
It is a j7 masterpiece, goldplated and I intend to be buried cradling it in my arms like a Pharoah with a Scepter.Hi David,Interesting feedback from a Feckert?? User/Owner. Just a thought re your PU7, is at a Syrinx or a J7....could there be any difference between the variants....Johnnie 7 would be the man to ask or users of both on the forum I'd think.
Clicked this link and got a really nasty Trojan virus, spent the best part of an hour getting rid of it. be warnedI found this custom arc protractor really useful - it will generate one for any arm using the alignment of your choice (it's the third link from the top of the page). You just need to make sure you print it out at 100% without scaling. Really easy to use and costs nothing.