Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Cartridge Alignment

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Cartridge Alignment

    So how many use the Feickert, Fozgometer, Audio Technica, etc for azimuth?
    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
    ________________________________________

    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

  • #2
    I use a 8mm diameter bullseye bubble level (weighs .28g) on the headshell to get basic level(vertical/perpendicular) to record surface and then fine tune by fozgometer/ear
    Last edited by rockitman; 02-13-2016, 01:43 PM.
    Christian
    System Gear

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by rockitman
      I use a 8mm diameter bullseye bubble level (weighs .28g) on the headshell to get basic level(vertical/perpendicular) to record surface and then fine tune by fozgometer/ear

      You are in a little special circumstance with your Graham and that jig. I saw Bob set up at Rowland Complement back in the mid '90s in five minutes with that jig. That belongs in the Guiness Book of world records. Do you compensate for the little bit of cantilever deflection from the plastic piece in the alignment jig?

      Ever get a hankering for another arm on your AF?
      Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
      Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
      ________________________________________

      -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
      -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
      -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
      -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
      -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
      -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
      -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
      -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
      -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
      -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by MylesBAstor


        You are in a little special circumstance with your Graham and that jig. I saw Bob set up at Rowland Complement back in the mid '90s in five minutes with that jig. That belongs in the Guiness sBook of world records. Do you compensate for the little bit of cantilever deflection from the plastic piece in the alignment jig?

        Ever get a hankering for another arm on your AF?
        The plastic alignment plate slides up and down allowing it to be parallel (level) with the cart....in a manner of speaking correct VTA/SRA. So yes, you can compensate. the plastic plate weighs less than .5g so the vertical deflection isn't much. It is an easy way to align and a lot quicker than a mint.

        This will sound controversial but the precision you can align with the Mint may be greater than any other way...but that added accuracy doesn't really matter if your anti-skate is off by a little bit and horizontally deflects (a small amount) your mint aligned cantilever anyway. In truth I want pivot to spindle dead on . In terms of cantilever alignment and skating forces, I think there is more room for error. The record still tracks great with small cantilever horizontal force defection. Of course VTA/SRA should be correct for various record thicknesses...another area where Graham makes this easy to do with the pivot tower spirit level. The idea is to do the best you can..stop obsessing and listen to music.

        Christian
        System Gear

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by rockitman

          The plastic alignment plate slides up and down allowing it to be parallel (level) with the cart....in a manner of speaking correct VTA/SRA. So yes, you can compensate. the plastic plate weighs less than .5g so the vertical deflection isn't much. It is an easy way to align and a lot quicker than a mint.

          This will sound controversial but the precision you can align with the Mint may be greater than any other way...but that added accuracy doesn't really matter if your anti-skate is off by a little bit and horizontally deflects (a small amount) your mint aligned cantilever anyway. In truth I want pivot to spindle dead on . In terms of cantilever alignment and skating forces, I think there is more room for error. The record still tracks great with small cantilever horizontal force defection. Of course VTA/SRA should be correct for various record thicknesses...another area where Graham makes this easy to do with the pivot tower spirit level. The idea is to do the best you can..stop obsessing and listen to music.
          I also like how Bob has the marking on the side of the tower so it's really easy to go back to where you were. Not like the VPI where you have to write down how many fractions of a turn or turns you did. And there's always a smidge of slop so it's never quite exact.
          Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
          Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
          ________________________________________

          -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
          -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
          -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
          -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
          -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
          -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
          -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
          -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
          -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
          -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

          Comment


          • Patsuh
            Patsuh commented
            Editing a comment
            Hi myles, how do you adjust antiskate mechanism in vpi classic 3 turntable, it is really akward to do, the base mechanism is difficult to align properly with the sedal filament

          • MylesBAstor
            MylesBAstor commented
            Editing a comment
            I don't use the VPI anti-skate. Tried it and the sound just became worst. I look at the twist in the wire and cantilever deflection and then use my ears for the center image.

        • #6
          I use the Feickert. With the Graham I use his jig and with the immedia/Spiral Grove I use the ingenious jig Allen provides, sort of an inverse version of the Graham, its sits on the platter instead of attaching to the headshell.

          Comment


          • #7
            Originally posted by Rob
            I use the Feickert. With the Graham I use his jig and with the immedia/Spiral Grove I use the ingenious jig Allen provides, sort of an inverse version of the Graham, its sits on the platter instead of attaching to the headshell.

            Could you show a pic of Allen's jig? One issue for other table manufacturers is that Bob has a patent on his ingenious design and won't make it for other arms. He thinks it would give other arms a leg up. Personally, I think he could make a fortune doing it for other popular arms. Whatever.
            Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
            Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
            ________________________________________

            -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
            -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
            -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
            -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
            -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
            -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
            -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
            -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
            -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
            -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

            Comment


            • #8
              Originally posted by MylesBAstor
              So how many use the Feickert, Fozgometer, Audio Technica, etc for azimuth?
              Fozgometer with Triplanar and Transfiguration Proteus.
              Last edited by 1morerecord2clean; 02-13-2016, 04:51 PM.
              Turntable: TW Acustic TT with Ref motor & controller; Tri-Planar Arm; Transfiguration Proteus Cartridge (repaired and re-tipped by AnaMightySound), Massif Record Weight, PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp; KLAudio Ultrasonic Record Cleaner.
              Digital: Bluesound Vault-2 Music Server & Streamer
              Amplification: VTL 6.5 preamp Series II, Pass Labs 150.8 Amp
              Loudspeakers: Piega C711 Loudspeakers
              Isolation: Symposium Osiris Rack; Symposium Platforms and Roller Blocks and grade 2.5 Balls
              Misc: Acoustic Revive RR-888 Low Frequency Pulse Generator, Synergistic Research 12 UEF SE Line Conditioner, Level 3 HC AC Cord and Level 3 Atmosphere power cords, Synergistic Carbon fiber wall plates, Synergistic Research Orange Outlet, Furutech NCF Booster Braces, synergistic Research Galileo and Atmosphere X Euphoria Level 3 Balanced ICs, Synergistic Research Euphoria Level 3 Speaker Cables, Synergistic Research Cable Risers.

              Sennheiser HDV 650 Headphone Amp; Sennheiser HD800s Headphones.

              Comment


              • #9
                Originally posted by MylesBAstor
                One issue for other table manufacturers is that Bob has a patent on his ingenious design and won't make it for other arms.
                Myles,
                Do you have a patent # for the Graham jig? Just curious to give it a quick scan and see if it's still in its active period. Patents do expire.

                Regarding alignment jigs, I use one that came with my Immedia RPM tonearm. I also have an old Cart-a-lign which I use. And various jigs that can be printed off of the internet.
                And I've got Feikert Adjust+ for azimuth alignment.

                ---Gary
                Last edited by GaryB; 02-14-2016, 10:29 AM.
                Analog: Scheu + Immedia RPM tonearm + Koetsu Black + Pass Xono or Threshold FET 10pe
                Amps: First Watt F7, HK Citation II
                Pre-Amps: CJ Premier 14, Threshold FET 10e, DIY 417a with output transformer
                Speakers: Horning Eufrodite, Reference 3A mm de capo
                Tuners: Sansui TU9900, McIntosh MR78
                Digital: i7 Server (Roon) + SSD, Sonore urendu + Mutec MC3+ USB + Berkeley Alpha Dac, Audiomeca Mephisto
                Power: Audience AR12, Torus Tot, DIY filters

                Comment


                • #10
                  Originally posted by MylesBAstor


                  Could you show a pic of Allen's jig? One issue for other table manufacturers is that Bob has a patent on his ingenious design and won't make it for other arms. He thinks it would give other arms a leg up. Personally, I think he could make a fortune doing it for other popular arms. Whatever.
                  ill try to take a pic with my phone. There are at least two maybe more versions of Allen's jig, Sterling Trayle or Allen could verify this. I had the first version and 2nd version. Its mirrored plastic with engravings for lining up the stylus and references for the cart body. There's a single target for the stylus for overhang, what makes its stupid proof are two spaced vertical rods inserted into the jig that provide the proper alignment for the armwand relative to the stylus position on the jig.

                  the Graham design uses locating pins with corresponding holes drilled into the headshell. the only way to 'borrow' this design is with an arm that uses a detachable arm wand and a fixture of some sort of aligning the jig to the headshell. You also need to make sure the pivot to spindle distance is dead nuts on or you won't be able to get the overhang right. For this reason the "one size fits all" Feickert makes it indispensable because you have to verify the spindle to pivot distance before doing anything else.

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    Originally posted by GaryB

                    Myles,
                    Do you have a patent # for the Graham jig? Just curious to give it a quick scan and see if it's still in its active period. Patents do expire.

                    Regarding alignment jigs, I use one that came with my Immedia RPM tonearm. I also have an old Cart-a-lign which I use. And various jigs that can be printed off of the internet.
                    And I've got Feikert Adjust+ for azimuth alignment.

                    ---Gary
                    No I don't but the jig has to go back to the mid-90s.
                    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
                    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
                    ________________________________________

                    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
                    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
                    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
                    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
                    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
                    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
                    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
                    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
                    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
                    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

                    Comment


                    • #12
                      Originally posted by MylesBAstor

                      No I don't but the jig has to go back to the mid-90s.
                      A quick search on google patents turns up the following Bob Graham patents:
                      US4587646 - Tone Arm Assembly; Filed April 25, 1983; Priority date August 17, 1979.
                      US4686664 - Tone Arm Assembly; Filed May 5, 1986; Priority date August 17, 1979 - this one seems to cover the alignment jig
                      US7382713 - Method and Apparatus for Tonearm Magnetic Stabilization and Damping System; Filed March 11, 2005; I assume this is the Phantom tonearm patent

                      So any concerns about patent protection for the "jig" can be safely shelved since the patents for this are long expired. I see a business opportunity for you Myles!

                      Analog: Scheu + Immedia RPM tonearm + Koetsu Black + Pass Xono or Threshold FET 10pe
                      Amps: First Watt F7, HK Citation II
                      Pre-Amps: CJ Premier 14, Threshold FET 10e, DIY 417a with output transformer
                      Speakers: Horning Eufrodite, Reference 3A mm de capo
                      Tuners: Sansui TU9900, McIntosh MR78
                      Digital: i7 Server (Roon) + SSD, Sonore urendu + Mutec MC3+ USB + Berkeley Alpha Dac, Audiomeca Mephisto
                      Power: Audience AR12, Torus Tot, DIY filters

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        I also really appreciate the Graham jig - setting the 2.2 was a ten minute job. But setting the SMEV in the standard way was also quick and straightforward. The Forsell and the ET2's are a child game - you just need a rule with an hole and a very sharp line!

                        IMHO the most critical adjustment is lateral azimuth - and for this one I always used a test record and an osciloscope or a soundcard based spectrometer.
                        My opinions rely on listening mainly to acoustical, non amplified music. I do not care about electronic music or listening to rock at stadium levels, but I enjoy Mahler and Shostakovitch.

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Originally posted by microstrip
                          I also really appreciate the Graham jig - setting the 2.2 was a ten minute job. But setting the SMEV in the standard way was also quick and straightforward. The Forsell and the ET2's are a child game - you just need a rule with an hole and a very sharp line!

                          IMHO the most critical adjustment is lateral azimuth - and for this one I always used a test record and an osciloscope or a soundcard based spectrometer.
                          Could you expand on that for me.
                          Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
                          Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
                          ________________________________________

                          -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
                          -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
                          -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
                          -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
                          -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
                          -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
                          -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
                          -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
                          -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
                          -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            I only set up my Grahams myself. For the other arms (4 Point and Tri 7 U2) I make like the game show and use my "Call a Friend" lifeline

                            I can do it but he's just so much better at it!

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X
                            😀
                            🥰
                            🤢
                            😎
                            😡
                            👍
                            👎