Setting up the TT and cartridge the best way for Novice

[Captjoe]

Just getting my feet wet and wanted to see what would be the best tools to add to my collection in setting up my new TT and Cart. Been ready alot and I read everything from free print online stuff to 750.00 software driven programs. What do you guys think?

[miner]

Minimum tools for proper setup: Dr Fiekert alignment gauge, a digital scale for VTF, Fozgometer for azimuth (some say this can be set by ear/hearing - the same with SRA), and a test record to use with the Foz.

[Puma Cat]

For some tonearms, e.g. Rega and SME there is no need for a Fozgometer because the azimuth is set by the factory to very tight tolerances.

I use the Uni-Protractor for alignment, but this is a fairly expensive protractor; you don't need one this expensive.

[Captjoe]

Originally Posted by miner

Minimum tools for proper setup: Dr Fiekert alignment gauge, a digital scale for VTF, Fozgometer for azimuth (some say this can be set by ear/hearing - the same with SRA).

awesome thank you

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by Captjoe

awesome thank you

Hi Joe, if you haven’t done it before I’d recommend hiring someone with experience.....since you’re diving in headfirst here you do want to mess with that without direction. Setup is very critical so you don’t want any setup errors making you think that there’s something wrong with the cartridge or table.

- Buck

[j3brow]

Hi Joe,

I’m down the road in Baton Rouge. There is a guy here I know who has decades of experience setting up turntables, long time audio industry guy. I always turn to him when I need a cartridge set up.

[W9TR]

I’ll third the recommendation to hire a pro - but hire one who will explain what is going on and teach you how to properly set up a turntable.

I learned the craft from Bert Whyte, a fine and patient gentleman who took the time to explain to me how everything worked. May he Rest In Peace.

[zettelsm]

Hi Joe,

On the subject of cartridge alignment if you ask five audiophiles you are going to get at least six different opinions.

There are a lot of good tools out there and what have been mentioned so far are all good.

You can generally divide alignment protractors into two broad catagories -- those that require you to locate the bearing pivot accurately for your given tonearm length by centering a pointer on an arm over the center of the bearing, and those that require you to know what the specifications -- effective length, overall length, overhang and usually offset angle -- of your particular tonearm are. The latter will as a first step have you set your stylus tip on one end of an arc, then the other end and adjust cartridge fore-and-aft in the headshell until the stylus lands on both ends of the arc.

Even before this though, you need to decide on what particular geometry you wish to use. There are a bunch of them -- Loefgren B, Bearwald (aka Loefgren A), Stevenson, IEC alignments of different flavors -- naming just the most popular. These geometries each have somewhat different "null" points across the playing surface of an LP, and differing amounts of deviation from true tangency, also referred to as % distortion from zero.

I prefer Baerwald or Loefgren A, since it has the lowest average distortion across the entire playing surface of an LP, even though it is not the absolute lowest distortion at the end of a side. If a person mostly plays classical music, with many pieces having loud finales toward the end, they might opt for Stevenson geometry.

So, before choosing a protractor it's probably good to know the measurements of your arm and what geometry you want to use.

Here are two articles among many from Michael Fremer's Analog Planet website that might be helpful:

https://www.analogplanet.com/content...m-geometry-101

https://www.analogplanet.com/content...b-just-clarify

(The last URL is in the context of Uni-DIN vs. Loefgren B, but shows the common distortion curves across the LP surface)

I like Ken Willis' AccuTrak protractors -- when you furnish him your tonearm specs he makes a protractor that will give you a choice of Loefgren B, Baerwald and Stevenson (or other geometry of your choice for a small upcharge), but there are many quality protractors out there:

http://www.accutrak.us/index.html

A couple other tools I find essential are an accurate digital scale with an offset or cantilevered weighing platform that gets as close to the actual surface level of an LP on the platter as possible. This is important, because if you change the angle of the tonearm from what it was when you set vertical tracking force (VTF) to the time you actually have the stylus in the groove playing a record, your actual VTF is going to be different than what you thought you set, sometimes by a significant amount.

Here is a link to a very good digital scale with just such an offset, lower platform that won't break the bank:

https://www.amazon.com/Riverstone-Au...s%2C245&sr=8-6

While you're at it, you might as well pick up a gauge to help you judge when you have your tonearm level and parallel to the turntable platter. And, placed head-on in front of the headshell and cartridge, will help you judge the azimuth of the cartridge as well:

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Tone...3806000&sr=8-2

There are many inexpensive choices out there, this is just one. I favor the one made in the USA by Hudson.

These will get you started. You can also get as obsessive as you want, and add a USB microscope to allow you to see the stylus up close and with some free measurement software, actually measure the angle the stylus is making from perpendicular, known as stylus rake angle (SRA).

A test record with a 1000 or 3150 Hz stereo test tone combined with your laptop running proprietary (expensive) software, freeware oscilloscope software, or an actual oscilloscope connected to the output of your phono amp can give you a means to very precisely set azimuth. I happen to have a surplus Textronics o'scope so that is what I use, when I bother to use it at all.

Some arms don't lend themselves to azimuth settings and require you to use very thin shims between cartridge and headshell. If your new table is coming with a VPI unipivot, it's pretty easy to change azimuth with either the side weights or with VPI's dual pivot accessory for unipivots. VPI's gimbaled 3D printed arms have two screws on the side of the arm assembly near the bearings that will let you rotate the arm slightly.

Hope this helps. As I said, this is one of those topics that can go on forever as everyone debates their favorite methods.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up with, Joe.

Steve

[tima]

Of course you can always buy advice as some here suggest. Whether you do that or not I will urge you to learn to set up your own table. If you hire someone choose someone who is willing to be a teacher.

One way to learn is to use a cheap, inexpensive cartridge for practice and experimenting. You want to acquire skill in adjusting your tonearm and its worthwhile first to learn the terminology and how it applies to your arm and table - this is basec tonearm geometry. See the diagram below.

You will want to learn how to move your arms and hands around the table and tonearm - slow and cautious is the best advice I received. Quality magnification and good lighting are essential.



You could always look here at AA. Your topic has been covered many times. Search is your friend. For example:

https://www.audioaficionado.org/show...6&postcount=24

A few of the links in that post are obsolete. If you choose to buy a tool, don't be a cheapskate. Quality tools will last a lifetime and you can go through a lot of money until you find the right one that works. A tool doesn't have to be labeled "audiophile".

Ask questions.

Tools - I've tried almost all of them.

- Lighting and magnification
- A small quality machinist level - forget bubble levels. Edit: that is, round audiophile bubble levels.
- A weighing scale and/or stylus force gauge. I like the Ortofon DS-3.
- A protractor - the Smart Tractor or its more expensive brother the UNI-Pro are the best, period.
- For azimuth adjustment, the Feickert Adjust+ software is the best.

[tima]

I've had enquiries asking: 'how can I buy the Feickert Adjust+ software?"

I have no association with Feickert but here is what I know:

You can only purchase the Feickert Adjust+ software directly from Chris Feickert in Germany. He is pleasant and helpful and his English is excellent.

Write to him at: info@adjustplus.de
and tell him you want to purchase Adjust+. He will respond with info and his paypal address.

Cost: this info is 1 year old.
230.00 EURO - Adjust + software
055.00 EURO - Shipping to US

To run this you will need a laptop with Windows 7/8/10 and a USB port for the software dongle.

You also need to digitize the signal coming off your cartridge using an internal sound card or external USB sound card. HD Audio with 24Bit / 96kHz

I use a Soundblaster X-Fi surround 5.1 Pro.

The strongpoint of this software is azimuth adjustment, but it does more: rotational frequency and RPM, Wow & Flutter, the pro version adds arm-cartridge resonance frequency, harmonic distortrion, etc.

Also: http://www.feickert.org/index.php?id=12&L=1