Thanks for the explanation
Why do tonearm specifications list null points?
I happened to be going through the manual that came with my Clearaudio Universal 12" tonearm and noticed they list inner and outer null points, 66.04 and 120.9 respectively, along with all the other specs.
I was under the impression that tonearm geometry can be set to anything you want to use (Lofgren, Baerwald, Stevenson, custom) by setting it up with the specified spindle to pivot, overhang, and angle settings using a tonearm protractor, e.g., Dr Feickert, etc.
So, is the tonearm manufacturer trying to say that this particular tonearm is somehow optimized or was designed to utilize those null points they list in the spec?
Showing 3 responses by jimmy_jet
@larryi Thanks for even more clarification - I was struggling a bit about the azimuth being thrown off but also concluded that it would have to be very minute.
This really brought it home for me and now it's clear why the manufacturer would list the null points in the tonearm specs 💡 I don't know if it's just psycho-acoustics or reality, but when I switched back the alignment from Lofgren B to use the manufacturer's null points (virtually Baerwald), the soundstage magic returned... |
Regarding a mirrored surface, I'm currently using the Dr. Feickert generation 2 protractor; while it doesn't have a mirrored surface, it has white etchings on a black matte aluminum surface are very precise and extremely easy to read (for me personally, this is easier to see than white etchings on a mirrored surface on protractors used in the past). I also have a very high intensity work light that I use from different angles (same height as stylus and shooting from the side or front as required) as well as magnification to ensure the diamond tip is in the cross-hairs. I'll admit I think I do have it easier than most because the Clearaudio Jubilee MC cart I'm using has the long cantilever extended out in front of the cartridge body making it very easy to confirm the cantilever's parallelity with the lines on the protractor. With all this said, I'll be the first to admit that the improvement I think I'm hearing from switching back to to Lofgren A (Baerwald) from Lofgren B is a) either in my head because Clearaudio specified the Baerwald null points in their tonearm specs, or b) as @rauliruegas pointed out, most likely from tiny errors from my hand or sighting with the protractor. Thanks all for your comments - always fun to discuss these things and learn from each other. -cheers! |