So, I aligned my Cartridge by myself for the first time and.....

[ClayTune]

I used a mirror protractor, a mini screw driver and used the cartridge as an alignment indicator, rather than the head-shell.

The result is that the square end of the Cartridge is not aligned to the Square end of the head-shell when looked at from above, but perfectly aligns with the straight line that is imprinted across the mirror protractor the entire direction of the tool.

I assume this is okay and that there is no specific rule regarding the squares of the cart and the head-shell having to be perfectly lined up?

 

[ClayTune]

Here is a Graphical representation of what I am talking about. In it you see that the cartridge head square is Mis-aligned to the head-shell square head but aligns at the null points across the protractor tool. Not the best representation, just wondering if i'm doing this thing right.

 

[432HzBob]

Seems about right.

 

[NoTransistors]

I am curious. Is the cantilever straight? Sometimes, a cantilever will get a bit skewed from incorrectly-applied anti-skate.

 

[ClayTune]

Seems about right.

Yea the square end of the cartridge lines up very nicely to the null point lines at the two points of the protractor tool.

I heard purists like it when both the cart and head shell are square to each other, but is that just aesthetics?

 

[ClayTune]

I am curious. Is the cantilever straight? Sometimes, a cantilever will get a bit skewed from incorrectly-applied anti-skate.

Yes, the Cantilever bottom is parallel with the record surface. I have been extremely gentle with this turntable for the year or so i've had it.
I also set up the anti-skate to basically glide at the center point of a blank record to where it's not skating one way nor the other. I did that about two weeks ago. I think the cart being at a mis-angle to the head-shell top is more a product of the tone arm length and shape? I used a pretty good protractor tool I purchased from ebay. The protractor is pretty much on a mirror surface.

 

[ClayTune]

By the way the mis-alignd square top of the cart was square to the head shell when I started but I soon realized when using the alignment tool that it wasn't matching the straight lined null points along the tool, and I realized pretty quickly that the cart end might have to be off angled from the head shell after aligning. Just wondering if this is common?

 

[432HzBob]

Some will align with the headshell when they are aligned with the protractor.
Some will be canted a few degrees in or out from the headshell when aligned with the protractor.
Trust the protractor here despite it looking a bit odd with reference to the headshell.
I have a Pioneer TT that always has the cartridge canted slightly outwards but it sounds fine,
And then listen to a record you know well in the headphones for equal sound in both channels.
Reference test records are good for this as they take you through several tone tests, channel tests and try to find flaws in the cartridge setup so you can try and adjust them out.
Personally, I set a cartridge to the protractor and don;t fuss with it anymore.
If your TT has a vertical tracking adjustment to raise and lower the back of the tonearm, that seems to help dial in the sound as well.
Good luck. Have fun. Trust your protractor and your ears!

 

[ClayTune]

Reference test records are good for this as they take you through several tone tests, channel tests and try to find flaws in the cartridge setup so you can try and adjust them out.

I listened to a couple Classical and Jazz record I am fairly familiar with right after making the alignment and there was noticeably less sibilance in the majority of the record.

If your TT has a vertical tracking adjustment to raise and lower the back of the tonearm, that seems to help dial in the sound as well.

It actually does have that feature built into the Tone arm, I have never played with it though. It has been set to default the entire time and I have not yet explored how to use that feature, or how to "dial in sound" with it.

Please feel free to share the manner in which one would use this feature.

 

[432HzBob]

Lowering or raising will change the bass and treble sound and will change the stereo seperation somewhat.
Lowering the back of the tonearm will add more bass at the expense of the high end (to a point) and raising the back changes the angle of the needle in the groove and brings out more treble.
Experiment with this while listening to something you are familiar with and you will run across the sweet spot where it sounds best.
Not all turntables have it and the adjustment need not be radical but it is yet another adjustment you have to get things sounding best.

 

[ClayTune]

Lowering or raising will change the bass and treble sound and will change the stereo seperation somewhat.
Lowering the back of the tonearm will add more bass at the expense of the high end (to a point) and raising the back changes the angle of the needle in the groove and brings out more treble.
Experiment with this while listening to something you are familiar with and you will run across the sweet spot where it sounds best.
Not all turntables have it and the adjustment need not be radical but it is yet another adjustment you have to get things sounding best.

Thanks.

One of the reasons I have not yet fiddled with this feature is that I was wondering if it necessitated re-setting anything else?
For example, would it somehow necessitate me having to change anti-skate again? Or Tone arm weight if these are already about as perfect as they are going to get?

 

[432HzBob]

No, that's about it.
No need to endlessly fuss with the setup once those things are set right.
Maybe the anti-skate and the stylus force.
A stylus force gauge is pretty necessary IMO.
I really do recommend a test record which can be found online pretty inexpensively.
Aside from the tone tests they employ, I have found the blank section useful for proper setting anti-skate, which is different than the numbers on the tonearm say,
Have fun

 

[ClayTune]

No, that's about it.
No need to endlessly fuss with the setup once those things are set right.
Maybe the anti-skate and the stylus force.
A stylus force gauge is pretty necessary IMO.
I really do recommend a test record which can be found online pretty inexpensively.
Aside from the tone tests they employ, I have found the blank section useful for proper setting anti-skate, which is different than the numbers on the tonearm say,
Have fun

I have a record by an instrumental band that has a blank side which I used to set the anti-skate.

Is that kinda what you mean by test record?

I will fiddle with the tone arm height tomorrow. I want to see what results I get.

 

[432HzBob]

I use this one when setting up a new cartridge
http://www.ebay.com/itm/An-Audio-Ob...d=401335579767&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[WaynerN]

I am curious. Is the cantilever straight? Sometimes, a cantilever will get a bit skewed from incorrectly-applied anti-skate.

All tonearms are designed around a particular alignment. When a different alignment is used (which is certainly OK and will work), the cartridge will be "crooked" in the headshell. Case in point, the Technics SL1200MKII's arm is designed around the Stevenson alignment. If you align your cartridge to a Stevenson alignment in its headshell, it will be "square to the world" and line-up with the headshell. However (as I have mine), when I align mine to a Lofgren B alignment, the cartridge looks crooked in the headshell. That is just the way the geometry works.

 

[Doug G.]

I always get suspicious if the cartridge body gets too far away from being square in the shell. Although yes, if a different alignment is used from the original, there will inevitably be some skewing.

Doug

 

[Luis.correia]

Yes. Been through this before. And my friend Wayner was a big help. It can be crooked on the head shell. It's normal. Just align the stylus and the cart body.. never mind if the cart is aligned with the headshell.

Some carts have a square body (ex. Nagaoka) and makes it simple to align if with the protractor lines

 

[musichal]

When new to aligning cartridges, back in the Paleolithic Era, I swung the arm (with tone-arm lifter in the up position) over the center of the spindle and used a mm scale just to ensure that my alignment was really in the ballpark. Measuring from the center of the spindle to the needle (which should extend beyond the spindle) should match your TT's overhang specs, because that's what overhang is, of course.

At first, I'd find I undershot the overhang sometimes, but I improved at finding the two null points pretty quickly. It's just nice to see that confirmation.

 

[ClayTune]

Thanks for all the informative replies guys.

So, after having aligned the cartridge to the best possible alignment I could get, I have been fiddling with the tone arm height as well and the results are pretty nice. I'm noticing the difference in high end clarity, vocals seem a bit less sibilance'd and there seems to be some anecdotal stereo separation I didn't notice before.

with these improvements just from messing with the current settings, I can imagine what getting a high end cart will do.

 

[dcmfan]

after having aligned the cartridge to the best possible alignment I could get, I have been fiddling with the tone arm height as well and the results are pretty nice.

Each of these adjustments affects the others, so after you get tonearm height where you want it, go back and double check your alignment again. It might need some tweaking depending on how much you raise or lower your tonearm.