Conrad Hoffman Phono Cartridge Protractor help

He, @ConradH was a forum member for a hot minute in 2019. Hasn't been back since the middle of 2020.

 

Part of using an alignment gauge is twisting the cartridge in the headshell.
Normally you are advised to keep cantilever/ cartridge body aligned to the reference side of headshell which is the right side as viewed from the front looking back.
This assumes arm manufacturer has got the geometry right.
If not, then by twisting slightly in slots
The path of stylus can be changed.
Of course if your arm has holes in headshell and headshell either dlides on arm tube( Hadcock) or body at base moves forward( SME) there is little you can do.

 

And you can just cut an X at the crosshairs for the spindle cutout. No need for a circle. Stay within the lines.

 

Yes.

Bear in mind that the Rega alignment most closely resembles Stevenson so if you want to have the cartridge sit relatively square in the headshell (which is what most of us are expecting when we do an alignment) use Stevenson alignment, 222 mm. pivot to spindle and click on IEC.

If you choose Baerwald (Lofgren A) or Lofgren (Lofgren B) understand that you will have to shift the cartridge out further (the overhang) toward the end of the headshell and slightly twist it inward toward the spindle to achieve proper alignment. The cartridge will not be sitting square in the headshell if you want to align correctly on both null points and trace the arc correctly with those alignments. It will likely take more time to achieve a proper alignment with Baerwald or Lofgren because of the extra fussing about in terms of twisting the cartridge.

The 3 different alignments all have positives and negatives depending on which part of the record you are playing so I won't go into that. But if you are looking to achieve a positive alignment with a Rega arm the easiest way to do it (notice I have not said the best way to do it lol!) for a neophyte with alignment is with Stevenson.

 

IMO you should use Lofgren B, less average distortion, that is a fact. The other alignments have advantages in certain areas of the disc.

Next, as has been stated, the Rega P3 S2P distance is 222 mm.

Once you verify the print and mount the cart.
1. Move the tonearm to the extreme inner radius near the spindle.
2. Then move the platter to align the stylus with the arc.
3. Move the tonearm to the outer radius and observe where the stylus lands with respect to the arc.
4. Move the cart farther away from the arc, the bigger the gap the more you should adjust.
5. Repeat step 1.

I can usually get this with 2 or 3 iterations using the method outlined above. Once the stylus hits on those two spots your good for the overhang.

 

Thanks guys! Ok, I changed the value to 221.7 mm pivot to spindle , and printed the Lofgren B protractor.

After about 3 tries, I got the cart seated in the headshell where it follows the swinging arc line exactly, and sits parallel to the two check points. I knew I wouldnt be able to get it any better, so then I used my Neotek digital gauge to set the tracking weight to 2.25 gms.

It was getting late, so I only had time to play one side of an LP (Duane Eddy Greatest hits). While I cant say I heard a big "difference" from before, I CAN say it sounded great and I heard no distortion on the last track. I think this is about as good as I can make it, and I'm very happy with the sound coming out of the Stanton cart. I'm using the OEM Stanton stylus that was made for DJs. Some of my records are not in the greatest shape, and these styli were made to track any disc well. I'm just wondering if I should bump it up to 2.5 gms or not.


Thanks for all the help! Mucho appreciated!

 

Try a microline stylus down the road. Something like an AT vm95ml or vm540ml. Glad you got your Stanton working well!

 

Thank you very much. The amount of technical knowledge here is always amazing.

 

I had a Stanton 881s in the 80's and my friends were literally trying to steal if off my old Technics TT. Great cartridge. Stanton was already going out of the vinyl business by the time I got back into it.

 

Yes, pretty much, everything one can read about the 881 is that it's an excellent cart. I do know that lp reviewers used it for reference back in the day. That works for me.

 

Ha, thanks. I'm glad to hear that. I was trying hard to keep it usable for beginners while still giving the more advanced users all the options they need.

Baerwald works quite well for me

 

Did a little more listening today. Put on The Ventures first album, "Walk, Don't Run' .
First press 1960 Dolton stereo.
Unbelievable. Resolution was remarkable .
The instruments seemed to snap into focus. I could hear every part clearly in its own space. I would have to think I have the cart aligned correctly now. Tonight I'll try the German press of The Monkees first album, or maybe "Re-Focus" and see how it sounds.