Mint Tractor


I'm sorry, I apologize, please forgive me for doubting all of you who have told me of the need for the Mint Protractor. I got it today, and just did a quick check to find that the cartridge is indeed off set up with the VPI protractor that comes with the Supercout/10.5i. I read the directions and it is a very tedious, and slow going procedure, so I'll get back in a while and tell you if I hear any differences.
128x128stringreen

Showing 8 responses by markd51

Well, I just ordered thr mintlp protractor as well, figured I might as well get on the band wagon with the rest of you fellas! lol I'll try posting my results as well when it comes.

Just a question I have, is this protractor indeed an actual glass mirror, or a plastic mirror, similar to the Turntable Basics Protractor?

Stanley (Stringreen) Remember about 9 months ago, you were having some sonic dislikes with your Benz LP Cartridge, and we were trying to weed through possible tweaks-adjustments to get you smiling? Maybe this was the one Key issue (alignment) that we all just didn't think of at the time? Mark
Yikes!
Then I imagine one should remember to excersize extreme care when installing, and removing the mintlp protractor on Spindle?

No lifting by the edges, no bending-flexing, remembering to lift the entire protractor straight up.

I informed Yip my VPI HW-19 MK-IV Spindle was exactly .282" diameter. Hope it fits correctly, otherwise, crrrrrraack, and you can then chuck it in the garbage can! Hopefully it will fit, and I won't have to resort to some sort of sandpaper to ream the Spindle Hole.

I'm glad Stanley that your Benz LP is really singing now for you. I reckon you were worried, and pulled your hair out for awhile there, trying to hit that nirvana sweet spot with it. We were all stymied there for awhile.

I'm waiting to see what improvements might be had with my relatively low hour ZYX Airy3X. It's sounding pretty darn fine already, and gets better, and better each time I play it. Mark
Just a heads up, I got my Mintlp Protractor today.
First time I ever got anything for Hong Kong in my life, and perhaps Yip should offer a side service, where he could ship me in a few bottles of some really good Chinese Oyster Sauce! lol Yummy!

Anyway, all arrived intact, Yip did a fine job of packing. I like the lighted magnifier, much smaller, and probably easier to use, than the huge affair I have on hand.

I like the personalized flair that Yip sis with these, it's made "especially for me"! The 211mm AQ PT Arc will work for both tables I have.

So, I'm looking at the Protractor, and saying to myself, ahh, a nice fine Arc line, but I only see just two lines on the Null Grids. Hmm, I thought.

Yanking out the 10X Loupe I have, I look closely at the Null Grids to discover two thicker lines, and three very fine lines in between, plus a very minute Tic, right on the Arc, which it where the Stylus must be placed.

While I haven't done the alingment yet (I know one must be prepped, and in a very happy mood before toying with anything like this) It looks to me, that Yip has made a very good product, with very high resolution.

It must be this ultra-fine resolution that sets his Protractor apart from many others avaliable.

Hopefully, I'll find a correct Spindle sized hole when I begin. I'll write again, when I can offer more to us 'Goners here. Mark
If the Moderators would be so kind, I would like adding my $.02. I just got around to using my Mintlp Protractor on my VPI HW-19 Table, with AQ PT-9 Arm, and spent about 1-1/2 hours with this Alignment process.
Hopefully, I can add what hasn't been covered by others, and will be helpful as a reference for the Mintlp.

Firstly, I'll state, comfort is paramount, know that you will be in front of the Table for a length of time, and w4ill be an impossibility standing over any Table in a Rack, and trying to perform this procedure. I know that lifting my Table, which must weigh near 60lbs as it is right now, out of Rack to place on the Kitchen Table is no fun!

Yes, my alignment, which was proviously done as meticulously as I could with a Turntable Basics Mirror Protractor was off.

When Aligning Stylus to the outside of the Mintlp Arc, and then swinging to the inside of Arc, I estimate I was off by a full 1.00mm, maybe even a tad more which probably equates to an error of +-.5mm. Checking the Carrtridge-Cantilever Zenith at the two Null Points was slightly off as well.

Conclusion is, that the Mintlp has much greater resolution for one, and the other is mis-interpretation error of trying to perfectly align a Sight-Line Type Protractor.

Since I did provide Yip with my Spindle Dia, of .282", I did find Yip made it a perfect, snug fit, and I felt there was no need to tape Spindle to Platter, that it stayed put as long as you don't bump it. I found that by leaving the Tractor in this state, it was easier to very carefull "nudge" the Tractor for the Alignment process. I'd like to comment that the surface of the Mintlp is not quite so "sticky", as others have claimed, that if one excersizes care, and doesn't have "the shakes", one can ever so carefully nudge the Tractor, or nudge the Tonearm, without too much worry of having your Stylus pop off the Cantilever, or yanking Cantilever from Cartridge Body.

Yip ingeniously left the area where the two Null Points are a clear Vinyl, thus enabling one to much easier see the Null Lines, thier reflections in the Mirror, and the ever so tiny reference "Tics".

Although "easy" is a relative term. With my ZYX Airy 3X, trust me when I say it is NOT easy seeing such a tiny little Stylus!

This is exasperated by the fact that Yip's reference lines-grid, and reference Tics are almost miscroscopic in nature.

I will comment that just the lighted Magnifier that Yip includes with his Protractor will not be enough to let you properly accomplish the task of alignment. All this Magnifier will help you through, is perhaps setting overhang. It is I feel not sufficient for doing the Zenith Alignment, or checking exact placement of Stylus on the reference Null Point Tics.

With that being said, one should have the "10X Lupe" which it is called, that Yip sells extra, and I found I pulled out every Magnifier, and Loupe I have in my possession, which were two lighted Magnifiers, and three Loupes, Yip's, a 10X B+L, I have, and also a 30X fold away Loupe which I bought a couple of months ago at a gun show for $8.

The Loupes are a definitely needed item, but they too can be a PITA, due to the limited, short Depth of Field.

I also complimented my efforts with my Littlite, with 18" Gooseneck, and this was a handy item, letting me position the light in any way I wished, trying light at different angles to gain every advantage I could. Nice thing about the Littlite, it stays were you put it.

Looking at the Null Grid from a position at the front of the Cartridge, is exactly Akin to looking down a little Two Lane Road, with Centerline, and the Parallax feature incorporated into this Protractor is really pretty cool! It appears Yip has done his homework very well.

Here at the front of Cartridge, and also at the very farthest outside origin of the Arc though, are about the only two places where you may get close enough to actually implement the higher power magnification of the Loupe. Due to lack of depth of field, it is a very testy process trying to get close enough to focus the Stylus into view with Loupe. (perhaps you guys with the nudies, like the Benz Gliders will have an easier time with this)

I cannot stress enough, to make sure you use every little process-Loupe-Magnifier-Lighting-Comfort-Aid to your advantage. It will be these things that will enhance the use of this Protractor, and lessen the chance of any fubars, or grey hairs. The ultimate goal is of course, getting your Stylus dead nuts on the money, and your efforts will no doubt be greatly rewarded.

As Yip explains, take many breaks, do some, walk away, come back, check again, over, and over, so that when finally done, one has absolutely no doubts that your efforts were not wasted in vain.

I have noted that you will probably notice as I did, some very miniscule "Scratching" at the center of Reference Grids occuring, caused by the diamond tip scratching the vinyl surface of the Protractor. I imagine this cannot be avoided.

A couple of times through the process, I did do as Yip suggested, using a Q-Tip, with Alcohol to wipe the surface at the reference grids.

As to how is sounds, I didn't get too much listen time in, perhaps an hour, to test a couple of very good LPs, and it is too early to comment with numerous paragraphs of all the audiophile catch-phrases, but I will say that my sound has certainly not gotten worse with my aligning efforts, with my Airy 3X Cartridge, and I seemed to initially notice better definition-attack on leading edge of dynamic transients, slightly better, crisper detail in treble response.

As I close, I will say the Mintlp Protractor was money well spent, and I thank Yip for providing us folks with a really good product that does what its supposed to do. Mark
Please forgive me folks for the numerous typo errors in my last post. I'm a great speller, but a poor typer, and usually never spell check until "after" I hit send.

One mistake I made, and I want to further elaborate, like others have advised, I felt no need to have to tape the Mintlp Protractor to Platter.

A tip for you VPI folks I've noted, do remove your little Rubber Spindle Washer, the Tractor will then lay perfectly flat on the Platter.

For the HW-19 folks, what I did, instead of wedging the underside of Platter to Plinth, and worrying about marring my shiny new Custom Black Acrylic Plinth, I wedged a small Cube of Magic Eraser in between Platter, and Motor Pulley Cover.

Just earlier "I had to pull out the heavy artillery", yanking out a brand new LP I've never yet played on my system, The Pure Pleasure Re-Issue of SRV-Texas Flood.

Wasn't looking so much to evaluate my earlier alignment efforts, but just enjoy a bit of music

Of course Texas Flood was previously cleaned with a 4-step AIVS process, and VPI 16.5 before Stylus ever touched the Vinyl. I must say this LP really sounded killerwith such lead guitar "bite", yet not at all harsh-thin, or stringent. I'm beginning to feel that my system is starting to leave the realm of what I call "mid-fi", with much better refinement. I now can say without reservation, that my ZYX Airy 3X sounds "airy"!

Thanks to Doug, Mehran, and the others who know about, and review such equipment here. My ZYX was a very wise purchase.

Sirspeedy, Please forgive me for being "Phantom Dumb", but I'm sure there's folks here who can be of better help than I with good advice. I'm sure as others with much better Tables-Arms-Cartridges than I, such as Dan-Ed, Doug, and many others will attest, the Mintlp Protractor will pleasantly enhance your analog rig. Mark
Doug/All, I tried to explain the features of the Parallax Feature on the Mintlp Tractor, but I know my previous descriptions fell short. Probably anyone's will, until they see for themselves how neat this protractor is, and put it to use on thier rig.

I feel, just for the Zenith Alignment feature alone, this Protractor is worth the price of admission.

This was one parameter I felt I had "nailed down" exactly with everything I had in my arsenal, which in truth isn't much, the Geodisc, the TB Mirror, and an emailed paper tractor from Ken Willis. (not to detract from Ken's stuff, this was just a simple print up he emailed me free)

Picture looking down a 1/4 mile drag racing strip, with your Cantilever Looking like a large Log sitting in the middle of the road. And the road slims as it goes further away from you, just like looking down any two lane Road. You'll position your Stylus at the center of origin of this "Road", then as you look further back, one can so easily see how the Cantilever either skews to the right, or left.

And to add even more, about how Doug, and everybody else is talking about here, there's that reflected image of the Grid Lines, on this Second Surface Mirror, akin to the cheapie TB Mirror Protractor. (No, this isn't a Telescope Mirror, which would have a first surface Mirror, with refelctive coating on a polished-figured surface)

This is one very important key-feature to making this Protractor really outstanding, that just a slight shift with your head, or eye, you can easily see you are not properly aligned with the protractor, to see proper zenith with Yip's design. As I said before, this man is very clever, and I applaud his craftsmanship, and design.

The eye is a quite sensitive instrument. I know of men who build, and can test world class Optics with Laser Interferometer, but the eye can be in many cases, the final criterion, surpassing even the worlds most delicate instruments.

Smartly, I configured another Turntable (Denon) to the exact same S-P Distance, and I'll be checking this one as well. Since nobody wanted my like new Benz Ruby 3 in my classified here, out it comes to go on the Denon.
As they "really" say, you only live once. Don't believe the "James Bond Movies". Mark
Viper, I too found my Zenith Angle off.
I'm certainly no expert on Cartridges, but I take it that Zenith Angle is a very important adjustment.
Probably not so, with a Conical Stylus, but who's running one of these, unless maybe you're running a Denon DL-103R?

For these Micro Line Stylus', like my ZYX, I take it that this is very important to get right.

Don't feel like you got cheated, or wasted money, know that you were one of the very few "lucky" folks, who had at least thier overhang correct. You still found error, and this is a testamnent of how good this Portractor is (a compliment in diguise actually).

Pleae let us know what sonic differences you hear, if any. Mark
This thread has been a godsend in a way, let's not get thin skinned folks, and make people afraid to post with thoughts of insinuated sarcasm. I didn't see any in my eyes, and that's the truth, and I agree with Yip, if you ran through your Alignment in 15 minutes, you might have done a inadequate job.

With all the nigerian scam artisty scares, one would probably think Yip, 1/2 way around the world would be somebody to be apprehensive of. In truth, Yip emailed me all along, asked quite a few questions, even did research by himself about whether my AQ PT arm was indeed set at 211mm, as he must've read threads-posts to the contrary, or other research, which led him to think that I was actually set at 210mm. I assured him I wasn't, and only then did he proceed. He showed an individual interest to make sure I would get what I was paying for, and would be a happy customer in the end, which I am.

This man evidently wants to keep a good name for himself, and provide us folks with a really exceptional Protractor, which will hopefully exceed all others.

I would like to see this thread remain alive, not die, and then poor Yip take the brunt of some dissention, or in-house fighting arguments.

I just mentioned in another thread on A-Karma, about how Cartridge alignment is either one of two things, it is either right, or it is wrong. Should you decide with a lesser means of aligning you Cartridge, one essentially is playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Mark