Arm geometry and null points

Null points (Baerwald and otherwise) are defined by measuring a specified distance along a radius centered on the TT spindle. The tonearm has nothing to do with their location.

Null points do not change whether you adjust spindle-to-pivot or overhang correctly or incorrectly. They do not change regardless of which tonearm you use, or even if you use no tonearm at all! The null point is the null point.

This literal answer is so simple that I suspect you intended to ask some other question than the one you actually wrote. :-)

Henry,

Still not sure why you had to ask moi in particular, but thanks for clarifying.

Yes, you can use the Mint's null grids after setting S2P and overhang by other means. As Mark noted and you obviously understand, the Mint's arc won't be useful for any other arms, but the null grids will. Neither the null points nor the intercept angle of the grid (cantilever) at those points ever varies.

Yes, Yip may have responded from his own economic agenda. Or he may reasonably believe that an accurate arc for setting overhang is essential to optimal alignment, and that skimping on a $110 tool when optimizing a $10,000 tonearm is irrational. Or both, these two explanations being in no sense exclusive.

You of course have an economic interest in that you'd prefer not to buy more Mints (rather as I surmised in my initial response). That interest of itself is neither more nor less valid than Yip's, though he or others might question its rationality as noted above. It's almost interesting that you asked us (me) a naive technical question while concealing the economic agenda, precisely as you're supposing Yip did with his answer. Perhaps you should check with your mirror.

You may knock me over with a feather, Henry, but hardly with this. Still, since you asked me personally may I mail an invoice for consulting services? Like you and (perhaps) Yip, I forgot to mention my $110 fee. ;-)

No.