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!
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!