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In Reply to: RE: Alignment, HiFi Test Record, Mystery Brand Turntable, and Frustration... posted by corgraham on June 25, 2009 at 21:02:49
The shape of the tonearm doesn't really matter. There's the pivot, the record and the cartridge. You could construct a cardboard box over the entire tonearm, and it would be impossible to say anything about the shape of the arm based on the motion of the cartridge. You can use any alignment with any arm as long as there's enough of a slot to get the cartridge shoved and twisted where it needs to go. IMHO, aligning with a record is fraught with pitfalls. Two-point methods are inherently difficult because you might need to go through dozens of iterations before the cartridge is correctly aligned on both grids. Download a copy of John Elison's spreadsheet at www.enjoythemusic.com, download a copy of my template generator at www.conradhoffman.com, then measure your pivot to spindle distance and see what's possible with your arm. It'll cost you nothing to print out an arc template to prove one way or another what alignments your arm will tolerate.
CH
Please bear with me here: It still makes no sense to me where you begin to align your cartridge on a protractor if one has no idea where to begin with the cartridge on the headshell. Does the cartridge go in front, middle, or back of the headsell? How many mm out should it be? If I were to be accurate, how can I possibly begin to use a protractor when have no idea where to place the cartridge. Won't the cartridge be able to align to the two points with no difference to where the cartidge is?
I know this is common knowledge to all of you, but I am having a hard time grasping all of it. Please be patient. Thanks.
Well, you have to begin somewhere, so you just screw the thing in and see what the protractor/template tells you. This is the reason I like arc templates. They have a line the stylus must trace. You'll either be shy of the line and have to move the cartridge towards the front of the headshell, or you'll be over the line and have to move it back. Once the front-to-back distance is set, the overhang, then you worry about the angle, the "twist". That's where you use the grid. There isn't much question about it- if the stylus traces the arc, and the cartridge body is aligned to the grid, you're good to go. There are various subtleties, and I talk about some of those in the readme file with the program. Don't over think it. Just do the four steps- measure the pivot-to-spindle distance with a good ruler, print the template, get the cartridge following the arc and get it rotated to the correct angle to match the grid. That will get you close enough that if you hear anything amiss, it's likely some other problem than alignment.
It is possible to align your cartridge to either of the two null-points with your cartridge in almost any position in the headshell. However, there is only one position in the headshell that will provide alignment to both null-points simultaneously.
I believe the easiest alignment protractor to use is an arc protractor, but you need to know the pivot-to-spindle mounting distance of your tonearm in order to print the correct arc for your specific tonearm. If you can accurately measure your pivot-to-spindle mounting distance, then you can download Conrad Hoffman's arc protractor generator and print your own protractor. The advantage of the arc is that it indicates exactly where in the headshell your cartridge must be placed in order to precisely follow the arc across the record playing surface.
If you want to use a standard two-point protractor, it requires an iterative process to arrive at the proper alignment. Brian Kearns has written an excellent set of instructions for using this type of protractor. If you follow Brian's instructions, there will be only one position for your cartridge in the headshell that will yield proper alignment.
I believe the least accurate type of protractor to use is what you call a linear offset protractor. The reason I don't like this type of protractor is because it is rarely possible to point the site line accurately. The slightest deviation of the site line will cause gross errors in the null-point alignment. On the other hand, if the linear offset protractor also has two alignment grids, then you can use Brian's instructions to iterate the correct alignment.
As far as sibilance is concerned, it might not be caused by cartridge misalignment. It might be a worn stylus or a loose stylus assembly or excessive play in the tonearm bearings, etc. If you bought a used turntable with an old cartridge, you probably should replace the cartridge or at least replace the stylus assembly.
Good luck,
John Elison
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