VPI hw19jr Audioquest PT-8 arm G-ring 1042 cart

Markd51- Thanks for all your insight into this table. You gave me plenty to work on today. Fortunately my hands and eyes still work relatively well and your instruction was very clear. It is a simple table at heart and I should be able to master it in time. A few spins so far have produced a very nice sound, good dynamics and a pretty dark, noise free background. I am thinking about the Mintlp protractor, it gets such rave reviews and there is no better feeling than knowing your cartridge is properly dialed in.
Thanks again, Zen

I primarily used the Goldring 1042 cart with the Technics, it came highly recommended by Kevin at KAB and did not disappoint. At almost $400- it was a little more than I wanted to spend initially, but it was so nice with that table/arm that when it was damaged with under 100 hours on it I called Kevin and bought another one. The new table comes with a brand new 1042 so comparisons will be pretty easy. It took about 20 hours for the original cart to find its groove and took me the same to get it dialed in geometrically. I am going to have to pick up an alignment tool (Mint?) and spend some time getting this into it's ideal position. I really loved the Technics so the VPI is going to have to show me something. I will report what I find.

The VPI table was delivered yesterday. Upon first setting up when setting the deck into the chassis the top of the pulley/motor was hitting the bottom of the triangular nameplate that screws over it. I temporarily put cardboard shims on top of the rubber dampers in the corners of the chassis, this raised the deck up enough so the plate wasn't hitting the motor. What am I missing here? Also, while setting the arm into the slot and dropping it as low as it would go I tightened the set screw approx. where it had been previously (saw the marks from screw on shaft) balanced the arm, then added about 1.75 grams. When lowering the cueing arm onto a record the cart/arm bottoms out prior to landing on the record. Only after removing the cushioned arm rest was I able to play a record, by lowering it manually. Also the rubber drive belt was slipping a bit- does anyone know where I can get a spare? Other than that everything looks great.. A lot more set up than my previous KAB 1210 m5g. I'll get into comparisons after I get this dialed in a bit.

One problem solved, the cueing lever is held in place by an allen set screw that is very tiny. I managed to find a proper wrench and loosen/drop it a few ticks and it seems ok. This table was shipped with the arm in place and the platter mounted, not the way I was taught to ship a table, so perhaps things got disjointed. I also am going to need a protractor to dial it in. So far it sounds dynamic with the Mani-2's, better than the KAB 1210 and the Alon's. I will go back to the Alon;s for a comparison with the Technics after I get this table all Set and report my findings.