Interesting Articles on Cartridge Alignment

Another important point:

As Risch and Maier state in their article in the March 1981 edition of Audio magazine:

SRA, however, is generally 91 to 95 degrees relative to the record surface in order to facilitate lacquer chip removal... Proper hifi set up should therefore concentrate on cartridge adjustment such that the contact SRA face is 92 degrees between the stylus and the record surface. Such alignment will at least approximate correct SRA.
 
Opinion anyone? I recall being pretty close, but reading this makes me want to get the protractor out again.

sra.PNG
 
Really need to see the alignment from the side. Then need to use a protractor or sight by eye
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Another important point:

As Risch and Maier state in their article in the March 1981 edition of Audio magazine:

SRA, however, is generally 91 to 95 degrees relative to the record surface in order to facilitate lacquer chip removal... Proper hifi set up should therefore concentrate on cartridge adjustment such that the contact SRA face is 92 degrees between the stylus and the record surface. Such alignment will at least approximate correct SRA.
Click to expand...

Myles B. Astor said:
Just for reference:

http://www.aaanalog.de/media/downloads/VTA-SRA_Audio_March_1981_3.pdf

Hopefully Andre will chime in!
Click to expand...

Ok Myles, you brought me out of the shadows. I use this approach as part of my cartridge setup routine.

JV wrote an article about some of the basics of my work in the July/August 2014 edition of The Absolute Sound (TAS244).
The web version of the print article can be found here: Setting Up a Phono Cartridge | The Absolute Sound

This is one of many of my setup steps but it is as crucial as the others mentioned.

What's important to remember is that throughout the article we mention that ears are always your final judge regardless of method used.

Dre
 
Thanks Andre! I'd hope everyone would read Andre's excellent article and ask questions! There's no question that if you're paying top dollar for a cartridge, you should get your money's worth. Geometry, mounting, azimuth (phase vs. crosstalk) and SRA are crucial elements to obtaining all the cartridge is capable of.

Perhaps if Brian Walsh is reading this thread, he can chime in on his experience setting azimuth with the Feickert software.

And one of these days, Peter Ledermann will have his device for setting up cartridges ready. Plus it will come as an iPad app!
 
Dre_J said:
That last stylus photo looks awfully familiar. Probably because it's mine. :)

Dre
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Dre...It's a crop from my GFS. Took it with a 100mm Canon macro. I really need to take some more of these shots. The lens produces some amazing close-up qualities like polish marks. No doubt being used by a few as desktop wallpaper. :D System thread here

Thanks, for the Andre Jennings way.... I will read your methodology in detail.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
20 fotos macro superzoom de agulhas fonográficas | Som Vintage - Áudio Vintage & Classic Rock
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Steve said:
Dre...It's a crop from my GFS. Took it with a 100mm Canon macro. I really need to take some more of these shots. The lens produces some amazing close-up qualities like polish marks. No doubt being used by a few as desktop wallpaper. :D System thread here

Thanks, for the Andre Jennings way.... I will read your methodology in detail.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

I was talking about the last photo in the link Myles provided and I added to this reply. It's actually a picture I took of the MC Anna Stylus/Cantilever - setup and taken at an angle to view the cartridge SRA. Didn't mean to confuse things.

Dre
 
Andre-if I remember correctly, the A90 and Anna are a little more difficult to align than several other cartridges because of the cutting/shape of the stylus?
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Andre-if I remember correctly, the A90 and Anna are a little more difficult to align than several other cartridges because of the cutting/shape of the stylus?
Click to expand...

Hi Myles,

It isn't really that much more difficult than other styles of stylus profiles. The difficult part of most SRA alignments is knowing the true location of the contact line. The Replicant stylus in many Ortofons (MC Anna, MC A90, Xpression, Windfeld, Cadenza Bronze, etc.) is a specific variant of one of the Gyger stylus types. The line contact patch in these models is located along the rear facet of the diamond shank.

This is different from a large number of contact patches of other stylus types where they are mostly running down the center of the diamond shank. Although most are this way, it is important to know where the contact patch is really located before attempting the procedure. Otherwise the measured (or sonic) results will be less accurate than expected.

Dre
 
Dre_J said:
Hi Myles,

It isn't really that much more difficult than other styles of stylus profiles. The difficult part of most SRA alignments is knowing the true location of the contact line. The Replicant stylus in many Ortofons (MC Anna, MC A90, Xpression, Windfeld, Cadenza Bronze, etc.) is a specific variant of one of the Gyger stylus types. The line contact patch in these models is located along the rear facet of the diamond shank.

This is different from a large number of contact patches of other stylus types where they are mostly running down the center of the diamond shank. Although most are this way, it is important to know where the contact patch is really located before attempting the procedure. Otherwise the measured (or sonic) results will be less accurate than expected.

Dre
Click to expand...

I guess that was what was confusing me. Do you happen to have for comparison, a microphotograph of a cartridge with the contact area in the middle of the stylus?
 
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