Hi all
I haven't been on this forum for a while.
In very recent times I've done some cartridge alignments for some friends, and would like to put this out there.
A phono-cartridge has a tiny contact point to transfer the print from a mechanical profile to an electrical signal that can be amplified and enjoyed as music.
The engineering is of such a small mechanical scale that the smallest corrections can make a huge audible difference.
The tracking angle, azimuth, pitch angle and tracking force all influence the signal that you hear from your hi-fi equipment.
Accuracy is everything with cartridge alignment. Recently I calibrated a Dynavector cartridge on a beautiful tonearm, attached to an Oregon Live deck. The owner, a gentleman of note, knows his set-up very well. Both he and his wife remarked that the results exceeded expectations.
Now why is this remarkable?
The changes were cartridge movement of less that a millimeter, an angle adjustment of less than 0,5 degrees and a tracking force adjustment of .05gram.
It's all in the scale of the mechanics.
The stylus has a footprint of one hundredth of a square millimeter, fixed to the end of a cantilever of less than a centimeter, turning a movement of micrometers into an electrical signal of a few millivolts; all situated at the end of a wand, 20 to 30 odd cm from a stationary turret; which we then amplify into music. At this scale, half a degree, one microgram and 1 nanometer make a difference.
In a high performance motorcar engine, tune-up accuracy is measured in liters, tenths of a millimeter and whole degrees to produce kilowatts. It only stands to reason that the tiny parameters of a turntable "tune-up" would use way smaller units to accurately deliver sound output measured in millivolts.
I haven't been on this forum for a while.
In very recent times I've done some cartridge alignments for some friends, and would like to put this out there.
A phono-cartridge has a tiny contact point to transfer the print from a mechanical profile to an electrical signal that can be amplified and enjoyed as music.
The engineering is of such a small mechanical scale that the smallest corrections can make a huge audible difference.
The tracking angle, azimuth, pitch angle and tracking force all influence the signal that you hear from your hi-fi equipment.
Accuracy is everything with cartridge alignment. Recently I calibrated a Dynavector cartridge on a beautiful tonearm, attached to an Oregon Live deck. The owner, a gentleman of note, knows his set-up very well. Both he and his wife remarked that the results exceeded expectations.
Now why is this remarkable?
The changes were cartridge movement of less that a millimeter, an angle adjustment of less than 0,5 degrees and a tracking force adjustment of .05gram.
It's all in the scale of the mechanics.
The stylus has a footprint of one hundredth of a square millimeter, fixed to the end of a cantilever of less than a centimeter, turning a movement of micrometers into an electrical signal of a few millivolts; all situated at the end of a wand, 20 to 30 odd cm from a stationary turret; which we then amplify into music. At this scale, half a degree, one microgram and 1 nanometer make a difference.
In a high performance motorcar engine, tune-up accuracy is measured in liters, tenths of a millimeter and whole degrees to produce kilowatts. It only stands to reason that the tiny parameters of a turntable "tune-up" would use way smaller units to accurately deliver sound output measured in millivolts.
