Mint Best Protractor

I bought one of Ken's protractor's in December for my SME V. Works perfectly! Perhaps at some point in the future, if I were to get into experimenting with various arm/cart combos, I would go with something more universal, but Ken's protractor may be the best available for my arm, for the price.

 

I have a Mint LP Best Tractor and it's great! If any of you have access to a DSLR/tripod with video and a macro lens, it's very helpful for seeing what you're doing without the cumbersome loupe. I plug the camera into the HDMI port on my TV and use the zoom feature on the camera. It gets me this close and it's plenty big on the TV:

 

Wow, those shots are awesome. I would like to have a better solution for the magnification aspect of the process. The round loupes are pretty awkward to use. It doesn't help that I've been working with my table from it's playing position on the rack (rather than removing it to a more comfortably positioned table top), so the way I have to physically lower my torso to get the right line of sight is part of that challenge. A tripod and a macro lens would be a significant improvement to the process.

 

I don't have a Feichert, I would love to own one. After visiting my dealer, and watching him, he uses one of the old Dennsen (the metal one) to set the alignment, etc. I use the the VPI to "rough" the stylus in, and my Clearaudio (which is similar to the Feichert) to finalize the settings. Doing it this way gives me the exact same thing that the Dealer had. Of course I could skip using the VPI jig and just use the Clearaudio, but... that would make too much sense. When I get a Feichert this year, I will just use it.

M~

 

A question for you Mint users- how do you know where to place the protractor? Or is it trial and error aligning the overhang until the stylus follows the arc?

What I liked about the VPI metal alignment one is that one point goes to the unipivot base and the other through the spindle hole so it is fixed and you're not left sliding around a protractor all over the place trying to find where it's really supposed to be. Unfortunately I don't have a VPI table anymore.

 

First you put the stylus on outer point. When it sits right in the place then you go to the inner point. And as manual says it could be three situations. A) Your stylus sits in front of the inner point; B) it is right on spot or C) behind inner point. Accordingly you change your cartridges overhang.

 

As mentioned - you set the Mint down and get the stylus to hit the outer edge of the arc...then move the stylus to the inner. If it's not lining up...adjust the cartridge and do it again.

After each "adjustment" on the headshell - always move the Mint around to get that outer arc placement...then check inner. When they finally DO line up - that's when you lock the mint down and start the finer null point work and getting that cantilever just right.

I also took delivery of a Ken Willis this week and it works great. I do have to get that macro lens camera deal going tho. These old eyes are not what they used to be and trying to line up the stylus tip and cantilever with just a 5x mag glass is not happening....

I just finished with the Ken Willis and my Denon Dl-160 sounds pretty sweet. I am certain that it's not there yet...but this kind of work requires patience. Will try again this coming weekend...this time with the camera lens action in place!

VP

 

Thanks for the replies!

I have mine aligned with a Conrad Hoffman described by someone in the first page, and it is the same process as the Mint. I was hoping for something with a bit less trial and error ala Feickert which fixes the protractor to the pivot.

 

Yes, you basically got it right regarding the Mint tractor setup. Using the VPI jig gets it pretty close as a first step. It's very important to use a stopper, like a pencil eraser, under the platter so it remains stationary.

Starting with the outermost point your tonearm can physically allow, you adjust the protractor so the arc line meets with the stylus. Then you check the alignment at the closest point to the spindle your tonearm will allow, and adjust your overhang until the stylus meets the line perfectly. From here, you iteratively check the outermost point, and adjust the template, then return to the inner point, and adjust the overhang until the stylus touches the arc through the entire path

You can tape the tractor to the platter as a precaution at this point, but I didn't. Then you move on to adjust the cantilever alignment between the parallel lines provided at each of the null points.

Lastly, go back and check that the stylus still lands on the null points, and adjust overhang if necessary, check the cantilever angle again, until your OCD allows you to say the job is done

The VPI jig is great for ease of use because it's stationery since it uses the tonearm base as a reference point AND there is only one point to check.

Here is where the Mint is very good - with most protractors, you can't really tell when you are viewing the alignment from exactly straight ahead - so you're certain to make errors. The Mint tractor's remedy to this inherent problem is to provide thick parallel alignment lines and a mirrored bottom surface. You can tell when you are looking at the alignment from straight ahead when the parallel lines, and their mirrored reflections are all lined up with a clear path for aligning your cantilever running up the middle (hope that makes sense, because its key). See dconsmack's pictures above for reference. Plus, you are verifying the alignment against both null points, so it is definitely more accurate than the single point, guess-timation of the cantilever angle process of the VPI jig.

The question is whether this level of accuracy matters, and based on the very audible results I am experiencing I'm sold that it makes a big difference.

 

I agree with Ken. I set the overhang with the VPI jig then fine tune with the Mint. The parallel lines on the Mint allow you to really align the cantilever without your eyes playing tricks on you. If you have a very slightly off center cantilever as I do on the Denon 304 it makes a BIG difference in detail retreival and channel balance.
Regards, Sam

 

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This is exactly why I got a Mint Tractor, I setup my Scoutmaster/Dyna 20x yesterday using the Mint all I can say is WOW!!! What a reward for all the hard work, the sound quality is awesome compared to using the VPI jig. It's a lot of work but worth it, now that it's done I don't have to touch it again...

 

That is a fantastic idea of using the DSLR zoom to the TV while aligning. I'm going to have to give that a try this weekend. MUCH better than using a loop.

 

BTW those with Mints. I was using mine the other day and went to remove it just grabbing it by the end. As it came of the spindle it slapped back onto the spindle and KAPOW (to quote Batman). Glass/metal spindle/sharp slap back down on it. Byebye C note for the mint.

Thankfully, being someone developing an addiction to setup tools for tt's I have a near mint (haha) Dr. Feickert protractor from agon on its way.

 

Have to admit I have changed my mind since my earlier post in this thread on the Mint. It really is an exceptional product but because of its precision it does require more effort than perhaps some other protractors. That effort, however, is rewarded in the end with a much more precise alignment and better sound quality.

I think the instructions that come with the Mint could be a bit better and should include recommendations for better/specific lighting to really benefit setup with it, along with better magnification. I find the 10X loupe that comes with the Mint (I think it's actually an extra charge) is useless for the most part. I now use a 40X loupe to align and that works much better, but it may just be because I am getting old.