Souther Linear Arm- Setup Tips Here!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by meister, Sep 7, 2003.

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  1. meister

    meister New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Hi Guys:

    No one on the planet seems to know how to properly set up a Souther-style linear tonearm. So- without further delay- here are some must-do's/must-remember's. Anyone please feel free to ask anything or debate what I've written. Only a few of the below applies to linear arms in general. Maybe someday I'll get truly nuts and grab a Walker table or maybe just an Airtangent arm. Who knows what occulted disasters lurk in the realm of the air-bearing linear tonearm...
    Anyway:

    1. Light cartridge, pref. < 7 grams
    2. Counterweights far as possible from fulcrum- yes, the opposite of a classic single-pivot arm; cart. weigth is a variable of course. Having < 20Hz vertical res. freq more important than lowest possible moment of inertia.
    3. Leveling- forget that "set for slight downward-angle" (toward spindle) crap. Level the sucker. Downward angle is only relevant when considering that perfect level is not possible; error (read tiny error) should be downward toward the spindle.
    4. Don't take the dust cover off the arm chassis (certain models only). Screwing it back on could bend the arm. Pressure is oh-so-easy to apply unevenly. Only experts should attempt this.
    5. Never never never use isopropanol or any other solvent to clean the quartz tracks- I've had glue holding the track to the chassis actually fail and the track hang off the chassis. Blow with "duster" style air cans (no moisture). I've resorted to cleaning the tracks ever-so-delicately by hand with a dust-free cloth.
    6. Keep those wheels clean- not unlike a friggin' PC mouse :)
    7. Funny to say this, but don't lift the chassis without first cueing the tonearm full right. I've seen people just gleefully watching the entire tonearm/cart. assembly slide down the rail and _WHACK_!, right into the stop, over and over again. Then, "Hey, why does my azimuth adjustment keep going off?"
    8. Making different VTA/SRA adjustments: Hahahah. Good luck.
    9. Heirarchy of parameter interaction/basic setup elements: First, arm chassis is lined up, counterweights and arm set at best estimate (cart. attached). Set VTA/SRA 1st with that gawd-awful-better-just-want-one-VTA-setting screw arrangement. Then, set linearity of tonearm proper in relation to spindle. Azimuth adjustments are best done next. Then, adjust tracking force by moving weight(s). Failure to set up in that order will result in alteration of parameter(s) that the user previously set.
    10. VTF- use slightly more, ie, w/ range of 1.8 to 2.2g, use 2.1-2.2g.
    11. Phono IC's- get integrated phono IC outs from the tonearm chassis. Do not get the default RCA post option; the RCA's on the cables you use will spin and be stressed when moving the tonearm chassis up and down with all but the flimsiest of phono interconnects. RCA blocks on tonearm chassis get scratched, damaged, and worn. Worse- you get RCA phono IC's with those screw-snug connectors, and gradually rip the RCA posts loose on the tonearm chassis with the repeated up/down lifting of the chassis over time.

    Hope the few of you out there still using Souther design arms have enjoyed this information. Feedback encouraged.
    -M
     
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  2. aashton

    aashton Here for the waters...

    Location:
    Gortshire, England
    Hi Meister,

    I no longer have my arm as it went when I traded my Clearuadio Reference, I never really had that much trouble "dialling" in my arm but the dealer it went to still sends me e-mails full of *&%$£* comments :) :laugh:

    My tuppence worth :)

    1. I enjoyed using my Clearaudio Accurate 12.2g and a heavy Koetsu ;) :)

    2. The positioning of the weights was the element of the set up routine that took the longest and every cartridge had its own mystical configuration. I had the extra weight set with a number of intermediate size weights - I found this invaluable and think it should be included as standard.

    7. Experience is the best teacher - a heart attack inducing noise , this is a lesson that you learn quite quickly :) :agree:

    11. I preferred to use my own I/C with RCAs - any twisting can be minimised by experimenting with positioning of the phono stage and by using longer interconnects to give a bit of freedom.

    If you have never tried a Souther/Clearaudio arm before and get the chance to play with one I would recommend it - it is a very good tool for teaching setup and sounds nice too :D

    All the best - Andrew.
     
  3. meister

    meister New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Aashton:

    I agree with much of what you say, but matching such heavy cart's with that itty bitty ultra-light arm? Not the best idea IMHO, but can sound good anyway, as does my BenzM Ruby2H (9.6g) on the TQ-1 2000.

    As far as moving the weight as far back as possible from pivot- harsh reality of the short tonearm and vertical resonance. Everything has exceptions, but I've proven to myself that this is a good general rule. I've played with that w/three carts, all modulate >20Hz unless you go w/less counterweight and weights further back. Otherwise, musical tones excite the vertical resonance.

    I kept wondering why I couldn't get image stability and good bass with 10G of counterweight for 9.6g of cart. using 1.9g tracking force. Then, I discovered an old primer on Souther arms, specifically recommending less weight further back from the pivot. Tried it, and viola! Much better.
    Higher moment of inertia= no big deal. I'd recommend a cart. weighing <7 grams to minimize MOI.

    Integrated RCA's- well, one can use any wire to make the integrated phono-out signal wire. I'm liking my integrated balanced outputs (XLR-ended) w/special Audience Au24 wire. I've tried many RCA IC's b/4 that, & all scratched the crap out of the binding posts or spun the posts on the arm chassis! Anyway, my phonostage is balanced and prefers balanced operation.
    Thanks for your input!
    -M
     
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