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Pioneer PL 570 Tonearm alignment

TimDean

New Member
Hey! I'm new to the group and have always had a love for vintage Pioneer gear. I currently am running an SX1250 with a PL 570 TT with an Ortofon Blue. Set of HPM 900's and HPM 150's. First off, I'm looking for a comparable woofer for one HPM 900.
Second.. aligning tonearm? Id love some explanation on how to do this. or a link. I have the tonearm balanced, but alignment and any other advice on perfect tonearm set up on the 570 is what i'm after. Id appreciate any input. Thanks!
 
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I'm not sure what you mean by 'aligning the tonearm'. I have a 570, and you basically have 5 adjustments.

One is azimuth, which is the height of the tonearm pivot point, or base. This should be adjusted so that when the needle is sitting on an average-thickness record, the arm is level. (Although with some cartridges, like the older Grado series, you might want to set it 'tail down' a bit, or with the base lower than the needle end). I believe there is a set-screw for adjusting this at the base.

One is balancing the tonearm, which you seem to have done.

One is aligning the cartridge, which is purely up to you as to what school of geometry you subscribe to. I align mine to Baerwald using the protractor from Turntable Basics...however, their customer service is spotty at best, so I can't in good conscience recommend that one to you...although it is an excellent protractor -- if the guy ever mails one. The free one at EnjoyTheMusic.com works well also. There are scads of threads on cartridge alignment here on AK.

One is antiskate, and that is best set with a record with one smooth side (if you can find one....or make one out of acrylic by cutting a 12" circle with a spindle hole). Lower the needle onto the smooth side and adjust til the arm swings neither inward or outward. In lieu of that, I find that if I set the anti-skate to about 3/4 of what the tracking force is, that's usually about right on most turntables.

And finally, one is that outboard weight that hangs toward the platter off the side of the arm. I have no idea how to set that. I'm not sure what difference it makes. Someone will laugh at me, no doubt, but I can't hear or notice a difference no matter where I set it.
 
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