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In Reply to: RE: No, and for a second reason posted by John Elison on April 13, 2014 at 10:22:44
Hi John, yes, that was the issue. There wasn't enough slot to allow the cartridge to come forward far enough for the stylus to reach either arc.
My Wally Tractor has two arcs, one marked Baerwald, the other Löfgren (It doesn't specify A or B).
Now here's something interesting. It had been quite a few years since I'd even looked at my Wally Tractor. After reading your post, I thought the issue was that the cartridge wouldn't come forward far enough, but thought I'd refresh my memory.
I just put the Tractor on my table, and checked again. It looks like there MAY be enough slot there for the Baerwald. When I tried it back in 2008 with my Denon 103R, and some other cartridge, it didn't work. With the currently mounted Dynavector DV-20XL...Maybe?
That doesn't make sense to me. Nothing's changed. Same table, same arm. I'm not ready to say "mea culpa" just yet. I'd have to try realigning the cartridge, and that's not something I look forward to, despite my having read Zen And The Art Of Cartridge Mounting many, many times.
Follow Ups:
So? You're using a different cartridge. Not all carts have the same bolt-hole-to-stylus distance.
Regards,
Andy
So, when I bought a $150 miracle protractor (and joined Ferd's mullet club) I wasn't informed that it would be useless with many cartridges.
Since Wally didn't supply a list of cartridges which would work with my Rega specific WallyTractor, maybe you could?
but I suspect you won't countenance any of the options. :-)) :
1. buy a different arm.2. buy a cart which has a longer bolt-hole-to-stylus distance than your current cart.
3. move your arm towards the spindle 1/8" (if the cart is jammed up against the outer end of the headshell slots). This will mean you have to make a slight elongation in the hole in the plinth/armboard which the arm pillar goes through.
4. use an alignment which is suggested by the late, great Allen Wright (Vacuum State) - the 'Guru' method - which you can get on the VSE web-site. This places the stylus back towards the pillar by about 0.8mm, from the main arc.
I have a Wallytractor for my Graham 2.2, BTW. Works perfectly because my G2.2 is mounted at a distance that puts the cart bolts in approx. the middle of the headshell slots (for my Grado and for my Benz, anyway).
It's a great device.
Regards,Andy
Edits: 04/14/14
You forgot the easiest solution. Simply align the cartridge in accordance with Rega alignment geometry. Remember KISS.
Best regards,
John Elison
The arc marked Baerwald is what we now call Löfgren "A" because Erik Löfgren developed this alignment three years before Baerwald. Erik Löfgren published a paper in 1938, but it basically got lost during the Nazi takeover of Germany. Baerwald published his paper in 1941, but his alignment was identical to Erik Löfgren's "A" alignment. The alignment called "Löfgren" on the WallyTractor is a slightly different alignment, also developed by Erik Löfgren, which we now call Löfgren "B."The DL-103 series cartridges have a very short stylus to mounting hole distance of only 7.5-mm. This is the reason you cannot get them far enough forward in the headshell for the WallyTractor. I don't know what that distance is on the Dynavector 20XL, but it might be no longer than 8-mm. Audio Technica cartridges have a longer stylus-to-mounting-hole distance of 9.5-mm, so they should work with your WallyTractor on the Rega tonearm.
As long as you can get the stylus to follow the arc, you will get a good alignment with your WallyTractor. In fact, I consider Löfgren "A" to be the best alignment possible.
Good luck,
John Elison
Edits: 04/13/14
Now that I read your post, I do seem to remember reading that bit of history regarding Baerwald / Löfgren here on the Asylum once before, possibly one of your previous posts. But I'd forgotten all about it.
Based on your information, I'll post a tentative "Mia culpa" regarding my accusation of my Wally Tractor being made incorrectly. But I will also say that if it only works with certain cartridges in the ubiquitous Rega arms, that is the first time I've ever been made aware of it! My question would be, how would someone know ahead of time, even if the Wally Tractors were readily available? I just checked the Dynavector site, and no specification for "stylus-to-mounting-hole distance" is given for the DV-20. A quick check of specs of various brands of cartridges on Needle Doctor didn't list it either.
Perhaps if I ever get a wild hair, I'll try and realign my Dynavector using the Löfgren "A", to see if it'll reach. But I look forward to cartridge alignment about as much as I do extensive dental work.
There ought to be a list of mounting hole to stylus tip distances for various brands and models of cartridge available to us vinylistas. The issue you are dealing with is common. (I ran into it when trying to use Baerwald to mount a vintage MM in my Dynavector DV505 tonearm for example.) Vinyl Engine would be a perfect place to post such a list. But maybe we could start one here by having guys report their measurements, so as to develop a data base which could then be shifted to VE. The only issue would be that it is rather difficult to make an accurate measurement within 0.5mm.
Any takers? It seems that John already has some of the pertinent information.
> There ought to be a list of mounting hole to stylus tip distances for various brands and models of cartridge available to us vinylistas.
If you want to start a thread, I'll be happy to contribute.
Best regards,
John Elison
Ken Willis makes an excellent protractor. He will custom make one for any unique situation.
This discussion already stimulated me to order a protractor from Ken Willis, about an hour ago, for my never so far auditioned Grace G714. I imagine he will be swamped this week.Forgot to mention I will measure some cartridges this weekend and post results here. But I fear it will be difficult to make an accurate measurement, say within 0.5mm.
Edits: 04/14/14
> I look forward to cartridge alignment about as much as I do extensive dental work.
I know what you mean. Nobody looks forward to cartridge alignment. The best part about it is getting it right because once set, it lasts until you change the cartridge. I believe the fastest and easiest way to make sure you get it right is with an arc protractor. Although, I prefer a non-mirrored arc protractor.
With regard to Rega tonearms, they can be aligned to Löfgren "A" with any cartridge if you mount the tonearm at a distance of 219.5-mm from the spindle rather than 221.7-mm (or 222-mm). Of course, you would need an arc protractor designed for a mounting distance 219.5-mm, too. Wally used to make them.
Best regards,
John Elison
But buying a new armboard blank from Roksan is a rather expensive proposition. It's machined Delrin, the inverted top-hat shown at the bottom of the arm in the picture.
Hardly seems worth it for 0.3 mm. Buying Ken's protractor makes a lot more sense.
I've thought about a better arm a few times, and when the thought hits, I go listen to music until the urge goes away.
Thanks again for the information.
No, it's not worth it for 0.3-mm. What I said is if you move the tonearm mounting base toward the spindle by 2.2-mm, you can align any cartridge to a Löfgren "A" alignment with your Rega tonearm. That will provide enough overhang for all cartridges. If you do that, you need a new arc protractor designed for a mounting distance of 219.5-mm and Ken Willis can make one for you.
Good luck,
John Elison
I knew you meant relocating the arm to the 219.5 position, but I didn't make that clear.
There's a plastics place in my area, and one of our maintenance techs at work recommends them highly. I need to get over there at some point to ask them about making an armboard for my Technics SL-110. I'm hoping they will able to recreate the Roksan armboard too, but that's more complex than the Technics.
Finally, thanks for the link to Ken's site.
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