Uni-Protractor Set tonearm alignment

I wonder what number I am. 007 would be good :-)

I am interested in how the Uni tractor's " Phantom" specific jig works.
The Graham alignment jig gives better results than the Mint when you use a magnifying glass.

I am more excited to see if the Exclusive EA-03/10 designers alignment sounds better than standard Stevenson

Curio

I have both the MintLP for the Phantom and use the magnifying glass and the designers Graham geomtry sounds better IMO.

I believe the MintLP tractor for the Phantom uses Baerwald geometry. Bob Graham does not. That would be the primray reason why the Graham alignment gauge (when used correctly) would not match the MintLP.

I too thought that the Graham jig was flawed, but guess what. I actually spent some more time and effort in using Grahams's geometry and it does indeed sound better and more musical to my ears.

that in the long run is what matters. That is why the Uni Tractor appeals to myself, as hopefully there will be another level of accuracy, but with the geometry of the tomearm designer.

Try it for yourself and let us know your results.

cheers

Very true Syntax and I thank you for getting me back to this train of thought.

I was getting OK but not brilliant results with the Phantom / dyna XV-1 in the last qtr of the LP using MintLP Baer version. I thought my Dyna XV-1 was almost worn out due to mistracking on some LP's.

I then read one of your comments an another thread when you indicated that the Graham alignment was not B,L or S but his own geometry and you are not hearing the magic until you align it correctly.

I re-thought my approach to aligning the Phantom and spend some time getting it right (or as right you can with Bob's tractor) and my XV-1 has never sounded better. It breezes through the last 3rd without any tracking problems.

People aserting that the MintLP tractor or similar B geometry is the best out there is flawed and fundamentally incorrect depending on the tonearm and its design geometry.



thank you

Dear Raul

I use a $2 Ortofon tractor with my AS-309 and I get zero inner groove tracking issues.

I also now use the free Graham alignment jig instead of the Mint LP version. I get better sound from the so-called imprecise Graham jig. Did I waste my $$ on the MintLP - not really - part of the hifi hobby I am afraid.

You seem to be inferring that Dert is a "false prophet" in bringing out yet another "Universal" alignment tool. I guess you are adding Yip from MintLP and well as Feikert?.
You also infer that anyone spending $$ on these type of devices are "ignorant"

Some may say I followed a "false prophet" in wasting some of my $$ on some MM cartridges.

Guess what, this is all part of out enjoyment of this hobby and we all live and learn.

I would say everyone who has spent there hard earned $695 on Dert's alignment tool has gone in with their eyes open and probably a deal of skepticism.

Frankly Dert has left his credibility wide open if the tool is not as good or better as what is out there now - but good on him for putting his $$ where his mouth is.

I for one will quite openly tell how this tool works in my system - good bad or indifferent.

So Raul, how about you be a gentlemen and play nice for a change and wait for some of the folks who have paid real $$ before you call folks "false prophets"

have a nice musical day

Dert

IMO Raul's green eyed monster and old habits returned just after you indicated your tonearm will go into production June 2011 :>)

I am looking forward to see if you have designed a better mousetrap.

cheers

Jazzene

yes, that is part correct. see Harry's quote below. Bottom line, Harry is the tonearm designer and I agree with my 12.6 & 7, his alignment overall sounded better that B or L.

This is probably no different approach to the designers of the FR tonearm, Ortofon, SME, rega, Pioneer/Exclusive, SAEC etc etc - they all did not like B, L or S for probably very good engineering and musical reasons - Something Raul aka " Charlie Sheen - Winning " fails to even try to acknowledge or understand.

If you go by science, bumble bees can't fly, tell them that when a hive is chasing you. Seriously, I don't use either of those curves, I did it by ear on my system, not by math on a computer. If you go by distortion you would never use tubes, only solid state. I began using the Mitch Cotter system and tweaked it from there.

This is not a condemnation of eithet system, it's just that I know what they sound like (doing this since 1958) and like my system better. That does not say you shouldn't make the guage, it may sound better for you so I would do it.

They said the same thing on Vinyl Asylum and the German guy ran the number and said the distortion is higher, then he listened to the arm and said I understand why he uses it.

Just my take on audio, yours may be different and there is absolutley nothing wrong with getting the lowest distortion possible.

HW

Excellent work T-Bone, you are not just an expert on all that is good with vintage Japanese hifi.

Not sure I fully understand the maths, however you look to have proved that from your assumptions, Dert's numbers do provide a better mousetrap technically.

I am sure Dert will say how close you are.

BTW, might be a stupid question, but how do you accurately change/measure the offset for the headshell of any given alignment?

Looks like our resident expert has someone else to argue with - you :-)

Syntax, I agree with Geoch and Raul.

I do not see the point with your posting.

Anyone with very little skill can position a stylus onto a point, so this kind of misalignment would be rare.
Nobody cares about the dennesen tractor misalignmnet vs correct alignment, unless you are doing a vaild comparison against the Uni Tractor.

After all, this is what the thread is about.

Is this you John Gordon from the now defunct Odyssey Tonearms?

http://odysseytonearms.blogspot.com/

Nice reviews Jazz, Halcro & Genesis. I received mine on Thursday. I said I would be honest and open, so here it is.

Halcro, I especially liked your photo's and you gave me the rather obvious position in hindsight to place the led light on the inside of the tonearm.

First up, the packing, quality and german engineering excellence of the package is there for anyone to see. First class. You actually feel that you are purchasing something of class.

Issues for me first.

Giving out a bendy small ruler for P2S measurement is a bit of a joke IMO, regardless of .5mm accuracy. You will be more than .5mm out on the P2S measurement given the inadequacy of the ruler.
Given the entry price, a better tool should have been provided in the package like with the cheaper direct competitor, the Fiekert. It has an excellent P2S measurement device as part of the alignment tool.
This may be my oversight, however when looking initially at the photo's and given that the alignment devices in competition are Fiekert I thought the positioning arm was also the P2S measure.

Given P2S is measure is such a critical part of any alignment tool, that one was not provided is poor IMO.

back to the review

the instructions in the manual are very detailed and straight forward - excellent

This device will take you longer than the Mint or Feikert, however you IMO get much better precision than the Feikert.
The Feikert is poor with its generally fat lines painted onto steel compared to the Uni-tractor.
The Mint has always been a poor cousin to the Wally tractor and the uni tractor with its lazer etching is a lot better than the Mint's lines under the mirror approach.

It was easier to align the stylus point onto the exact lazer dot on the uni template compared to either Mint or Feikert. That is the beauty about the lazer etching.
I, like the others struggled a little bit with the two etched lines on either side of the middle line, in how they curve slightly due to the magnification. like anything, after a bit of practice it got easier.

Once that was done, you were complete. two points vs one point. Frankly, with the Mint. If you aligned the initial null point perfectly, I always found the 2nd one lined up as well. So the Uni-tractor having only one meassure point is no big deal, you just need to concentrate on getting it correct up front.

The Azimuth tool was cook and very good to use next to the tonearm to see how level the tonearm was.

- non standard uni-templates.

I guess a lot of people are interested in the specific aligment templates. to quote Daniel

the EA-3 template is based on the EA-3's geometry, but a bit
"optimized" by myself - so kind of "my brew".
- same for Graham and Ortofon - very slight corrections, but better
distortion figures than manufacturer's specs.

I used the Exclusive EA-3/10 alignment template to compare with the Stevenson alignment from Mint. Yes, I know, not really a fair comparison. The Stevenson vs Stevenson will come later.

I buy mostly modern LP's but many have music right to the inside label. I much prefer Stevenson/VPI type alignment than L or B. Mainly due to the fact that the inner 3rd of any LP(which is getting smaller and smaller with each revolution)to my ears has the most obvious distortion compared to the rest of the LP. Overall the slight increase in brightness on the 1st 3rd is more than compensated with the better sound of the last 3rd with Stevenson. Right, my listening bias are out of the way.

The EA-3 alignment was more relaxed in the first 3rd vs Stevenson and as good ads B or L from memory. It was better sounding than either B or L in the last 3rd to my ears. Not quite as good as Stevenson, but overall something I can live with. I'll go back to Stevenson in a couple of weeks.

My Mint tractors will be soon for sale on audiogon. The Feikert I am afraid cannot be sold ATM as detailed above. I believe the adequate P2S tool should be part of the Uni-Tractor price given its importance for correct alignment, not offered as it seems to be next week as an additional extra. I would be interested if anyone else shares my view on this or I am out of line.

Overrall a 1st class product is the Uni-tractor and oozes quality.