SF/Bay area turntable cart install help

Do we have any San Francisco/Bay Area members that have experience installing carts and dialing in VTF/Azimuth etc and who would be willing to help me with a cart install?

I just bought a new cart and I'm not too confident I'll do a good job with installing it. I did install my previous cart but it was mostly by eye and it would be nice to have it done by someone who knows what they're doing.

Happy to pay for your time etc.

 

Anyone able to help?

 

He's in the general area: https://www.audiosystemsoptimized.com

 

Thanks, messaged him....

 

Be advised the scope of the services he offers and charges for might be beyond what you’re looking for. Another possibility is Tone of Music in Noe Valley.

 

I did wonder about that, he seems very high end and my guess is the cost would be pretty high, most likely beyond my reach. I'll message ToM and see if they offer that service.

 

Last bump for this thread, a final plea to anyone in the SF/Bay area who could help before I give it a go myself

 

If It were me i’d Follow instructions on YouTube videos to get more comfortable beforehand.
Get a bright light ready and go for it!

DAB

 

Yeah, I did that last time. I have the tools, protractor, digital force gauge etc I just would have liked someone with experience to either watch over as I do it or show me how they do it.

 

when do you live. I'll help. I have a fozmeter and Fiekert

 

That would be amazing, I'm in the Sunset district in San Francisco.

 

This why I like it here so much!!

 

That's a lovely offer from mkane above. Hope that works out.

But if not, I'd suggest joining the San Francisco Audiophile Society (it's something like $25/year) and asking for assistance on their online members' forum. www.sanfranciscoaudiophilesociety.com. I'm sure someone knowledgeable and experienced from the Society would respond to your request for assistance.

Good luck,
David B.

 

The things that you want to do are really not that difficult, especially after the first few times. If you can get somebody to show you in person great, but looking at a couple YT videos, reading a few posts on the various forums will get you up to speed pretty quickly. And the thing is that turntable set up is not necessarily a set and forget type thing. So being able to know the in's and out's of your table so when it comes time to tweak is necessary. My recommendation is go at it yourself, and when you run into issues just ask questions here. Plenty of folks have been in your situation at one time or another, so we are all here to help.

And by the way, I am no techie. Not even close. I can't use most tools. But I realized years ago that if I'm going to collect vinyl, I should figure out how to set tracking force, azimuth, etc..

Good luck.

 

I taught myself and it took a very long while to trust my adjustments. It's reassuring to have help by your side. It's not that difficult after you've done it a dozen times. This will lead to cartridge rolling. AMHIK (ask me how I know)

 

When you watch a pro do it, it looks easy. I tend to be very methodical, make sure I have all the tools and parts handy, and just take it slowly. Good lighting is critical. If I need a break, I take one. I have assembled and disassembled my big heavy turntable about 30 times in the last month, trying to get it to balance with a second arm and arm tower (30lbs plus arm) on a Minus K isolation platform. You really don't know where you are with this particular set up until the arm towers are in place, with fairly precise pivot to spindle distance adjusted.
At that point, I've been unable to achieve full isolation which is a bear.
It also means I've mounted and dismounted the cartridges many times, which I don't like doing, because each time brings some risk. I get the trepidation if you are dealing with expensive cartridges. Put the stylus guard on. One thing that I don't like is that the Koetsu stylus guards are very hard to put on-- and put the cantilever at risk.
Mounting hardware- have it sorted- is the cartridge self tapping or does it require bolts?
Do you have a good stylus gauge? I have several and get different readings from each; I finally broke down and bought the Ortofon DS-3- it seems more accurate than the cheapies and gives more consistent readings.
Alignment- different protractors can give you different readings. I also use different magnifiers depending on what I'm doing. The angle of view is deceiving.
Azimuth- the Foz is OK, I tend not to get too worried about channel balance. Most of the time, unless the cantilever or stylus isn't mounted precisely in the cartridge, I get decent readings without having to adjust azimuth at the arm.
I am used to setting up a linear tracker which is easier in some ways-- no null points- a straight line, no anti-skate as such, but it requires incredibly precise leveling with a slight tip inward toward the spindle, but not so much that the stylus skates inward. That part is probably one of the hardest to adjust. With the pivoted arm I have been trying to add, I'm back to more normal set up with a protractor-different readings from different protractors and anti-skate, which is hit and miss at best. I remove the anti-skate weight altogether during set up, and when I adjust it, I'm applying far less than what stylus force would dictate. I do use the technique advocated by Soundsmith and Frank Schroeder about watching how the record plays out at the end. It is informative, if not definitive.
I keep a few loupes and magnifiers handy, along with a box of alcohol wipes for my hands, to keep them clean and dry.
I know this makes it sound far more difficult than it is, but when you watch somebody who does this every day, they make it look easy. I'm just very painstaking in my approach and take it slowly. Once done, I like to know it is dead on- and you can tell pretty quickly by how it plays, tracks and sounds. I'll adjust VTA only after the cartridge is broken in- i will usually start with the manufacturer recommendation; same with VTF, I usually apply the 'middle' amount of force recommended. Obviously, if you change VTA, you should check stylus force again.
Once you've done this a few times, you do have a good sense of the steps. But it does pay to have somebody who has a lot of experience do the set up if you can find them. I used to use somebody in NY- easy. In Austin, I don't have anybody, so I had to do it for myself, and it had been a long time. (I set up many tables as a kid, but it was a different world then, I'm older, I don't have the vision I did as a youngster, but I am more patient).
It's more precision, small, painstaking work than anything complex or difficult. I don't use software programs, which seem to be the latest thing, or digital microscopes, which I found hard to use.

 

Agree!

Give them a look, plus you may meet new audio buddies!

 

Hi Soundhead, did you find help? I'm in a similar situation and it's surprising how many dealers won't do it unless you buy a cartridge from them.

 

Yes, mkane very kindly offered to help out. Super nice guy, he came with all the gadgets and gizmos to do the install...

 

Hi all, I know this has been asked before, but it was last year. Anyone know anyone in the SF Bay Area that can do cartridge setup? I'm having quite a bit of trouble installing a cartridge on my turntable and would appreciate someone with more experience helping me out. I'm definitely willing to pay for the help. Thanks!

 

If you're not able to get some response you might try giving Audio Vision on Van Ness a call. I believe they are authorized dealers of MoFi turntables(if what you have in your profile is still accurate and that's that table you need help with) and in my limited experience with them good folks.

Hi Fi Home Theater San Francisco High End Electronics AV Projectors Highend Speaker Systems Loudspeaker System

 

I'll give them a call and see if they are open. Many places have different hours due to the COVID situation. Yes, I do have the MoFi Ultradeck. Thanks!

 

I believe they are open every day except Tuesday.

 

You could try Gene's Sound Service.

He gets rave reviews, and I used him once a few years ago. He really seems to know his stuff.

One massive caveat, however: He does house calls only, and I have to imagine that Covid has had a negative impact on his business model, since it involves going inside the homes of total strangers. There doesn't appear to be any info about this on his website, but it still might be worth giving him a call?

Sheldon from Champlifier in Alameda apparently works on turntables, but that might be getting too far from you in SF. (Sheldon is working on a Yamaha receiver of mine right now, so I'm not sure I can confidently recommend him until I get that back and see/hear the results. Also, he has a six-to-eight week turnaround, which may be too much when all you need is a cart installed.)

 

Thank you. More options doesn't hurt.