Yamaha PF-1000 PF-800 owners...need your help

[monologuist]

Greetings. I just recently purchased a Yamaha PF-1000 turntable that appears to be in excellent condition. The cartridge that I have for it is a Shure V15vxmr with a JICO SAS stylus (stylus is new/cartridge is in mint condition). My questions concerning cartridge installation are as follows:

1. My PF-1000 came with one headshell, which I assume is the standard mount type. However it is not obvious to me how the Shure cartridge attaches to this headshell because the top of the Shure is not completely flat. The two points where the screws attach the cartridge to the headshell are raised higher than the cartridge body on the Shure, and the headshell doesn't seem to want to attach flush to the screwpoints. With a cartridge that is flat on top, the headshell attaches nice and flush to the cartridge and it fits together seamlessly. It is a bit hard to describe, but anyone familiar with both this Yamaha headshell and the Shure V15 would know what I was talking about. Anyone care to shed some light on this issue? Is there something non-standard with either my headshell or cartridge, or do I need some sort of adapter?

2. Is there a way to adjust azimuth angle on the PF-1000 tonearm or headshell?

Any further tips on installing a V15 cartridge on the Yamaha PF-1000 or 800 would be much appreciated!

thanks,
Mono

 

[Punker X]

Here's a picture of my old set up. Ran the V15 on two PF-800's and PF-1000. Do you have the correct headshell, you need the finger lift which is separate from the head shell.

I don't recall an azimuth adjustment other than shimming the cartridge.

 

[monologuist]

thanks for the pics. that looks exactly like my setup. If you look at the pic from the frontview, do you see how the headshell is just a little wider than the gap between the screwpoints on the Shure, and just a little thicker than the finger lift? My problem was that I am having trouble attaching the Shure so that it is perfectly flat because of these 2 things; there is always a little space between where the finger lift screws to the cartridge, and it is hard to make sure that space is exactly the same on both sides to ensure that the cartridge (and therefore azimuth) is not mounted at a slight angle. With a flat top cartridge, of course, the top is flush with the headshell, eliminating this issue.

- Can you tell me how far down from the end of the headshell you've got the finger lift mounted? I don't have the overhang gauge that came with the unit originally.
- Also, in terms of VTA, do you have the arm close to completely parallel with the platter (with record on it), or did you find it optimal to have the tonearm bass side slightly higher or lower?
- Finally, did you find an optimal VTF for this setup?

Thanks much for the help. So far I am pretty impressed with the table. I am coming from a Music Hall MMF-5 with Goldring 1042. I have not done a side by side comparison, but I am hoping that the PF-1000 will be a clear upgrade from that setup.

 

[Punker X]

I have had this set up in over 5 years. I wore out my V15 with it. I was never quite satisfied with it. Could never get the surface noise down to acceptable level. When replacement styli were selling for more than what I paid for the cartridge for I upgraded to a Benz Glider, then ditched the Yamaha for an Oracle and never looked back.