Dr. Feickert Protractor

Dear @slaw /friends: The Stevenson alignment is " valid as said lewm but non-practical and really useless.

This alignment only gives lower distortion levels in the last 6mm. of recorded LP side and against Löfgren A alignment that happens in the last 4mm. ! ! ! all over the LP side Stevenson alignment has higher distortions.

Problem is that not only Stevenson but the followers ( mainly japaneses tonearm manufacturers and audiophiles. ) just did not analize the reality that's that almost none recorded LP side has " cresendos " only in the last 4mm-6mm ( inner grooves. ).

To my mind comes the Ravel's Bolero that ends at the higher climax but I can't think or comes to my mind other composition and if we take composers as Mahler his " cresendo " in the compositions are all over the compsitions. Same with other compositors. Even the works by Bach as the Toccata y Fugue comes the cresendo not at the end.

Perhaps for some of you Stevenson still make sense and I respect that. For me has no sense at all and can't help to any audiophile. MUSIC belongs to the whole compositions. 

Even in the 7" recordings make no sense because instead of the last 4 mm. this number change to only 1 cm.. of the overall recorded surface.

Stevenson has not the culprit, for he was valid his alignment calculations. The culprit comes from those " vintage " followers and latter on from  " stupid " persons that wanted to sold the idea more by commercial $nterest and they were sucessful about but it's time to rectify  because all those " promotional followers " were wrong because their interest was something else but MUSIC.

Anyway, as always is up to you.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @slaw : There are several LP’s that comes with dificult grooves to track NOT ONLY at the very inner grooves ( last 5-6mm ) where we can listenig using Löfgren A or B vs Stevenson.

Example: the Reference Recording Symphonic Dances comes with those " cresendos " way before the middle of the LP, Refrenece Recording Dafos ( Gate of Dafos track. ) almost the same: first part of the LP surface.
Mercury Firebird with the big drum attack at the middle. Reference Recording Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique where the high velocity recorded grooves are at the end but at the middle too.
The Telarc 1812 has not dificult recorded grooves at the inner grooves ( last 5-6mmm that’s where <<stevenson " works " ), it has several passages all over the LP surface.
Pictures at an exibition or Nigth Bald Mountain st several passages recorded at high velocities and not necessary in the low bass range.

As a fact exist several recordings where the hard task comes with mid and high frequency ranges at different LP surface areas. Many piano LPs recordings are dificult to track it and produce high distortions.

Now, when the cartridge/tonearm has dificult to track some LP grooves and these are at the inner grooves what we can do to find out which the problem we need to make this test ( obviously that the TT/cartridge/tonearm set up must be accurated. ): we listen to the LP in normal condition ( all the LP. ) after the side finished we clean perfectly the LP and the stylus tip and listen again only to those inner grooves and normally the tracking improves with lower distortion levels.

Why normally those happens?, well even if we can’t see any sign of dust in the stylus tip after only one LP side exist microscopic dust accumulated down there and this very tiny quantity of dust goes against the tracking abilities of the cartridge especially in the high velocities recorded grooves an increment distortion levels.

High velocities recorded grooves are hard to track it does not matters at what place in the LP surface. As I said piano can gives problems but trumpet or other " easy " instruments different of drums/percussions/organ makes its " job " challenging the cartridge rides. It does not matters either the kind of alignment choosed.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @jperry : About the MINTLP you posted:

"""  A great tool if you only have or will have one tonearm. """

I think it's a great tool even if you own 2-3 tonearms. There is nothing better than a TT/tonearm DEDICATED protractor that was made in specific to those items specifications and you can have it for only 125.00 for each tonearm.

makes no sense to invest any dime higher than those 125.00 even if you own several tonearms.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

@lewm : Here an answer on what you ask. I took a 265 mm. tonearm effective length and compare LÖfgren B vs Stevenson.

https://www.vinylengine.com/tonearm_alignment_calculator_pro.php?arm1=Arm+1&l1=el&a1lv=265&a...


You can see that only very very near the most inner groove Stevenson has lower distortion level vs Löfgren B : this is between 65.5mm and 60mm in the LP surface.
Löfgren is the curve in red and Stevenson in green color.

R.

Dear @lewm : Linear trackers has its own " problems ". I owned LT designs and my experiences with told me that LT are not so good as pivot ones in the bass range. Now, you know that in analog almost all depends on trade-offs we chosed. Anyway, is not the issue here.


You can compare distortion levels in over the first 2/3 of the LP surface between Löfgreen and Stevenson and you will know that distortion levels in Stevenson are higher than in both Löfgren alignments.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

@chakster : I own several 7" records that I don't listen often but in the times that I heard it I listen it with the Löfgren B or A with out any single trouble.

Stevenson made his alignment not for those 7" . When we learn and understand in deep the choices of alignment ( even personal/different kind of alignments. ) and the recorded MUSIC information in LPs we can " see " very clear that Stevenson is just useless for it. Anything is almost better than this kind of alignment. Please read again my posts to Lewm.

Any one can make what he or they want it, it's a personal choice.

For me Stevenson is a forbidden tool.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @lewm : """  Any alignment geometry that gets you two null points on the playing surface of an LP is as valid as any other that does the same. """

Valid? yes because is an alignment. Usefully is the real question. Stevenson is useless per sé and it's not only an opinion. Please read my posts about.

yes, no one cares about.

R.

Dear @lewm : As you know I owned that 505 and my alignment was made it using Löfgren B and never detected any single listenable kind of distortion.
I owned or own too almost all japanese top tonearm designs and always made it the same: Löfgren B with out no single distortion issues.
Your hipothesis is only that a hiphotesis.

Now, no one attend to a music hall only to enjoy the last five minutes of the concert.

In the other side, the audiophiles that like classical music like because the whole compositor work . The beauty of this kind of MUSIC it's not only in some parts of it but at each single note.
We all know that some works by Beethoven or Wagner or some other are works that takes more than one LP side even as the Opera or Wagner takes more than 2 LP sides.

So, where are the Stevenson advantages for any one of us?, just does not exist. As I told you makes no sense or as people says in USA: just bs.

Some one sold you that " crazy " idea ( for say the least. ) and you bougth it but with no precise or clear foundation.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @lewm : Every time that you post explained why Stevenson alignment is ok makes less sense to me. Ovbiously that some one bougth in deep that idea/argument.

For me it does not make sense sacrifice 20 minutes of the recorded LP surface in favor of the last 5 minutes especially because over those 20 minutes the distortion levels goes really higher against Löfgren A or B.
In the other side cartridges normally are good trackers and normally has no problems to ride the inner grooves. In my enterely audio life I never found out a cartridge that can’t does that task.

You have your ideas and I respect that but again makes no sense to me sacrifice the more for the less. What kind of " change " is that? where are the real advantages? why it makes sense to you that " some one " listen to his whole LP collection with higher distortions all the time because Stevenson alignment ? ! ! is just out of my mind.

In the past I posted that whom has the same idea as you make a simple test: with a good tracker cartridge matched to an specific tonearm ( a decent one. ) listen the inner grooves with Stevenson set up against Löfgren B alignment looking for differences and make the same test in the outer grooves too. I did it not once but several times with different cartridges, please do it and share your results.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @rdk777: All depends on the tonearm jig that comes with and how accurately it's.

The name of the game in cartridge/TT/tonearm set up is accuracy and you can buy for a lot less money than Dr's a dedicated protractor specific for your tonearm and that's the MINTLP and I think that you pay around 125.00.
The Dr's protractor that gives alignment type options means almost nothing. You only need one accurate alignment where Stevenson is out of question.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.