SoundSmith EZ Mount Cartridge Screws

Nobody uses them?

Rosedanny; a relatively simple way to determine which weight of screw to use can be found at VinylEngine.com...

Resonance Calculator

You need to know the effective mass of the tonearm and the weight and compliance of the cartridge in order to use the chart. Simply combine the weight of the screws with the cartridge weight and compare with the compliance of the cartridge. You can select the screw weight(s) that are within the recommended range of cartridge resonances.

If you don't have access to the values needed to use the chart you can find tonearm effective mass, cartridge wieght, and compliance in the VinylEngine.com databases...

Tonearm Database
Tonearm Database

Otherwise, just experiment and listen. Start with the lighter screws and work your way up.

Have fun,
Tom

Oops. The second database link title should have been "Cartridge Database". It's mislabeled but gets you to the right place. TK

Thanks for the thorough explanation, TK! The databases are excellent resources, and will help me zero in on the best weights for my arm/cart combo. Plus, I've got a new website to frequent and learn from--I didn't know about Vinylengine.

Danny

I just installed the brass ones last night. Not a whole lot of listening time but the music seems more focused and the bass seems tighter. This amonunted to a 5g increase in weight for me. According to the charts above that puts me around 9 hz resonance. I might try lighter to see what happens.

Also, I would like to know what, if any, negative consequences, there are to using them.

Nothing negative; that's unless you mess up and don't adjust VTF after installing a high compliance cartridge or one with a fragile suspension using the heavy brass (6.2g) or stainless (5.8g) screws. That extra weight/force might damage the suspension. Maybe.

I've been using EZ-Mount screws to control resonance (low effective mass tonearm with a lightweight cartridge) and they work great.

Regards,
Tom

Tketcham - I'm using it on my JMW due to its low mass also. Even though I'm using a Dynavector cart that VPI suggests I'm having a bit of sibilance issues I'm trying to dial out. It seems to be helping. Once I dial my alignment in with my Mint protractor I'm hoping it will be a thing of the past.