MAGIC after Cartridge + Tonearm alignment of the Clearaudio Ambient

[malvai]

Hi guys!

Just thought I'd share my experiences of setting up my cart + tonearm.

I had ordered certain tools on the insistence of Shaizada and another audio hardware guru.

I bought them reluctantly, coz until now I have been a super cool 'el cheapo'! And its served me fine.

But, in comes the super fancy, straight out of MOMA, Clearaudio Ambient, and my hifi pals go nuts on the accessory suggestions.

But, thanks to those two buggers mentioned above, I (reluctantly) made puchases of over USD 300.

I got myself an Acoustech Stylus Weight Guage (it's supposed to be super accurate). I also got myself a KAB stereo canceller, for fine tuning the azimuth, a Mobile Fidelity Geo Disc for Tonearm alignment and cartridge setting. Plus a whole lot of other knick-knacks for record wet cleaning, dry cleaniing, static removal and a really super stylus cleaning gel!

But coming back to the point, I first used the most expensive tool - MY EYES, to set the height of the tone arm. With the arm parallel to the platter. I moved on to using the Geo Disc. It has very simple clear instructions and in minutes the Tone arm was set up.

Next, against the Geo Disc, it became clear that the cartridge was off by several mm's! (In audio terms it was off by several hundred miles! But at that point, it just appeared to be off by a few measly mm's!)

On setting the cartridge visually as per the Geo Disc, I put a thin mirror on the platter, to check for the azimuth. I like using the mirror coz its one of the cheapest tools! I found that the cantilever is a wee bit bent to the right. So, I compensated for it, by tilting the cartridge a wee bit, until i could see the stylus/cantilever as a stright line to its reflection.
Having done this, I hooked up the TT via the KAB Stereo Canceller.

I pulled out a mono recording of The Beatles from the rack and played it. Now the principle of the KAB is that it cancels out sound. So, lesser the music coming through, the more aligned the cartridge!

With gentle taps on the cartridge shell, I manged to fine tune the cartridge/ stylus alignment until veyr little music could be heard through the speakers.

Once I put the Clearaudio back onto the preamp directly, I placed Led Zepplin III.

And boy, was I in for a surprise!

It sounded more lush than I have ever heard it.

As I write this, I am listening to Steve Miller Band's ABRACADABRA.

Its almost prophetic!

Coz, while I have always believed these kind of tools and accesories to be Voodoo, I have ended up writing a glowering review of 'em!

I'll end this review by singing the chorus, "Abra cabra cadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya..."

So, vinylheads, go grab them tools and hear the difference!

 

[anm]

wow great! pls bring your tools along with you when u come to delhi next

Regarding the stereo canceler, can it be done by just reversing the polarity on one of the speaker wires?

 

[marsilians]

Great to hear about the recos and your personal review. While I am not in vinyl specifically, it amazes me to read small tweaks such as yours can lead to a large improvement.

I have had a similar realisation regarding DACs lately and will be posting a quick review soon. In the meantime back to enjoying the music...

 

[malvai]

wow great! pls bring your tools along with you when u come to delhi next

Regarding the stereo canceler, can it be done by just reversing the polarity on one of the speaker wires?

dude, the Technics does not really need any of the tools for set up....

Its all there on the arm. I will show you how its done in less than 10 mins!

 

[mahiruha]

Hi Malvai,
very interesting reading. Good to know it went well. This Kab stereo thing sounds good seems like a very decent way to get the azimuth correction done. Btw what stylus cleaning gel you are using?
Thanks.

 

[anm]

what about this?

Regarding the stereo canceler, can it be done by just reversing the polarity on one of the speaker wires?

My hk amp has a mono button - so it can make any signal mono, and then reversing the polarity on one speaker should do the cancellation. Can someone confirm this?

 

[Hiten]

Yes Manav, if you have knack for tweaking and alignment settings this things can be fun and there is no doubt about improved results in SQ.
regds.

 

[Hiten]

what about this?

I am not sure but if you reverse polarity of cartridge wires you can get stereo cancellation, but method is complicated. will look for any article on net. I think Kab method will be simple and efficient.

 

[stevieboy]

I am not sure but if you reverse polarity of cartridge wires you can get stereo cancellation, but method is complicated. will look for any article on net. I think Kab method will be simple and efficient.

hi hiten and anm,

yes there's a way you can make a custom wire to get mono signal with a patch cord for some testing like this, i'll have to dig out the link though. can't remember which site i read it on now. but the kab seems to work on a different principle that of less sound coming out when things are right.

regards

 

[stevieboy]

congrats on the better sound malvai! sure pays to tweak a turntable. will be getting something soon too... the gel am guessing is the onzow?

 

[shaizada]

congrats on the better sound malvai! sure pays to tweak a turntable. will be getting something soon too... the gel am guessing is the onzow?

Yes, it is the onzow cleaning gel he is talking about.

Manav, congrats on seeing the light with these tweaks. I am so happy you were able to use the tools and effectively increase the performance and sound of your rig. Setup is everything with turntables and they really are not plug and play... especially as you go higher up the analog ladder.

Frankly, sometimes I personally feel that when people other than myself mention these tweaks and fine tuning methods, our members take more note of them. I feel most people can relate better to your setup and journey than mine. I guess it's because I am talking about these things AFTER going through the major part of the journey myself...while everyone is somewhat experiencing the journey with YOU in your case This is just a thought that crossed my mind and I felt like mentioning it.

You did well my friend... you did well.

 

[mahiruha]

Hi guys,
I have a question in my mind. Say whenever we are trying take a measurement of VTF using a pressure gauge and if get the desired pressure does it really matter if the tone arm is level or not? What I mean to say is I was playing around with my shure cartridge with my project debut III TT. THe counterweight isn't heavy enough to support the cart but with a particular positioning of the counterweight on the arm I get a desired VTF of 1.5 gms so if this is achieved doest it matter if the tone arm is levelled or not. In my understanding the level of the tonearm has a direct relationship with the pressure exerted by the stylus.
Thanks.

 

[stevieboy]

Hi guys,
I have a question in my mind. Say whenever we are trying take a measurement of VTF using a pressure gauge and if get the desired pressure does it really matter if the tone arm is level or not? What I mean to say is I was playing around with my shure cartridge with my project debut III TT. THe counterweight isn't heavy enough to support the cart but with a particular positioning of the counterweight on the arm I get a desired VTF of 1.5 gms so if this is achieved doest it matter if the tone arm is levelled or not. In my understanding the level of the tonearm has a direct relationship with the pressure exerted by the stylus.
Thanks.

hi mahiruha,

you can achieve the desired vtf force in any tonearm level but that's not the way to look at it. these are two independent settings. you need your tonearm level or slightly lower at the pivot if you're of that school of thought. after this only, adjust vtf.

regards

edit: the tonearm being level is a function of vta, how high or low your arm is at the pivot. you can lower or raise the tonearm to get it level and achieve the desired vta.

then there's the wtf setting. after doing all this you might find your wtf settings going sky high. this is when you step back, do something else and come back to it when you've cooled down

 

[mahiruha]

hi mahiruha,

you can achieve the desired vtf force in any tonearm level but that's not the way to look at it. these are two independent settings. you need your tonearm level or slightly lower at the pivot if you're of that school of thought. after this only, adjust vtf.

regards

edit: the tonearm being level is a function of vta, how high or low your arm is at the pivot. you can lower or raise the tonearm to get it level and achieve the desired vta.

then there's the wtf setting. after doing all this you might find your wtf settings going sky high. this is when you step back, do something else and come back to it when you've cooled down

Hi Steven,
I see what you are saying but they are applicable to higher model TT which has tone arm height adjustments and VTA adjustments. But for my Project Debut III the tone arm only moves around the pivot point. since my turntable doesn't have a VTA adjustment so in this case the VTF is a function of tone arm level isn't it?The way the adjustment procedure goes is balance the tone arm bring the dial to zero and apply the VTF which essentially will put the tone arm off from its levelled position. I am just trying to find a logical justification for not obtaining a separate counterweight.
Btw what is wtf?
Thanks.

 

[stevieboy]

hi mahiruha,

interesting thought. am not sure if increasing vtf will actually set the tonearm off from level. you can physically check this with your table by measuring it. since the tonearm level is set when the dial is zero and you're trying to balance it am guessing that's the level it will stay at. increasing or decreasing vtf will mimic to a certain extent raising or lowering the tonearm but not sure it will actually cause the tonearm to go off from the level position you've set in the beginning. do check and report back!

regards

wtf hehe what the f am i doing with a turntable adjusting all these damn things i can't seem to get things right! i wish i stuck with a plain old cd!

 

[malvai]

Hi Malvai,
very interesting reading. Good to know it went well. This Kab stereo thing sounds good seems like a very decent way to get the azimuth correction done. Btw what stylus cleaning gel you are using?
Thanks.

congrats on the better sound malvai! sure pays to tweak a turntable. will be getting something soon too... the gel am guessing is the onzow?

@mahi: Stevieboy has guessed correctly!
@Stevieboy: ole vinylheads think alike 'eh?!

 

[malvai]

Yes, it is the onzow cleaning gel he is talking about.

Manav, congrats on seeing the light with these tweaks. I am so happy you were able to use the tools and effectively increase the performance and sound of your rig. Setup is everything with turntables and they really are not plug and play... especially as you go higher up the analog ladder.

Frankly, sometimes I personally feel that when people other than myself mention these tweaks and fine tuning methods, our members take more note of them. I feel most people can relate better to your setup and journey than mine. I guess it's because I am talking about these things AFTER going through the major part of the journey myself...while everyone is somewhat experiencing the journey with YOU in your case This is just a thought that crossed my mind and I felt like mentioning it.

You did well my friend... you did well.

Thanks Gaurav! With friends like you and dada, its been been a journey that has been going all the way up!

Also, I wanted to tell you that people have noticed your observations earlier (people like me!) I guess i was ready to take the plunge, and now there are others who will take the plunge (hopefully) after reading my post.

Its like the Olympics torch being passed on! The fire for better sound gets passed on like this!

 

[mahiruha]

wtf hehe what the f am i doing with a turntable adjusting all these damn things i can't seem to get things right! i wish i stuck with a plain old cd!

That's very well placed along wih vtf. You got me thinking there if I am entirely unknown of another important force. Which turns out to be very important factor indeed.

 

[anm]

I think my original post included wtf and that confused u :lol:

shaizada - we do trust you man! only thing is that at times your recommendations sound too highly priced

@manav - who is dada?

That's very well placed along wih vtf. You got me thinking there if I am entirely unknown of another important force. Which turns out to be very important factor indeed.

 

[malvai]

I think my original post included wtf and that confused u :lol:

shaizada - we do trust you man! only thing is that at times your recommendations sound too highly priced

@manav - who is dada?

dada is a_e.