Confessions of a Cartridge/Tonearm/Turntable Setup Scaredy-Cat

Posted by phinson (A) on August 9, 2020 at 22:05:25

So I had been a little overwhelmed by the apparent complexity of setting up my VPI turntable arm and cartridge for several years --- ever since I bought it. When I bought it I had a local specialist set it all up --- a real pro who is known all over the area (and the state for that matter) as THE guy to have do your setup. He's a great guy and has helped me broker the sale of an expensive Micro-Seiki turntable I inherited from my brother. I had him do a tuneup on my turntable a year or two ago. I had moved to a different home in the same city and I was afraid some of the settings had gotten "off" in the move. More recently (maybe partially because I'm stuck at home in this era of COVID-19) I started bit by bit to get interested in checking what he did for myself. So I started beginning about a week or two ago to read about setup and the geometry involved in getting a cartridge properly aligned in all its various parameters. I bought the Fremer DVD and watched it. I read about the various protractors and ordered the VPI jig which I had lost between the time I purchased the turntable years ago and now. What I discovered was that my expert had the alignment ALL WRONG. Or it could be that the cartridge had shifted on the headshell because he used these little plastic washers under the screws holding the cartridge to the headshell -- the washers were pretty flimsy and could have easily allowed the cartridge to shift although I had never touched the screws holding the cartridge to the headshell. But it was truly all wrong by any alignment method, canted at an angle that was more than a few degrees off. I've now corrected all that, played with the VTA and azimuth, checked the horizontal alignment across the arc at the null points more than a couple of times and it sounds SO MUCH BETTER. So my ADVICE to you, if you are a setup scaredy-cat like me, take the plunge. Sometimes the experts get it wrong. To be fair, it isn't a turntable that this particular "expert" sells so that might have been part of the problem. I'm finally beginning to "get it" with the fascination with vinyl -- everything is now so much better locked in than it was before with my expert. I'm enjoying my records all over again.
- Paul

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Topic - Confessions of a Cartridge/Tonearm/Turntable Setup Scaredy-Cat - phinson 22:05:25 08/09/20 (9)

I learned that lessen a long time ago. - beach cruiser 23:15:14 08/18/20 (0)

like i always say - NuWave 17:15:49 08/11/20 (1)

After all is said and done, it only has to satisfy you! )MT( - J. S. Bach 09:28:30 08/12/20 (0)

Congrats, great going. - viridian 07:31:37 08/10/20 (2)

sorry news about the rega set up.. - beach cruiser 23:29:56 08/18/20 (1)

RE: sorry news about the rega set up.. - Jack D II 10:38:51 08/20/20 (0)

RE: Confessions of a Cartridge/Tonearm/Turntable Setup Scaredy-Cat - phinson 06:52:22 08/10/20 (0)

RE: Confessions of a Cartridge/Tonearm/Turntable Setup Scaredy-Cat - Todd Krieger 01:05:09 08/10/20 (0)

Congratulations! It's fun to do-it-yourself! ;-) /nt\ - John Elison 22:27:20 08/09/20 (0)

Confessions of a Cartridge/Tonearm/Turntable Setup Scaredy-Cat

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