BaerWald vs VPI setup protractors

I started with the Turntable Basics then moved to Conrad arc printout.  An noticible improvement.  I then ordered my custom Mint Protractor from Yip and the precision it provided exceeded the carefully prepared paper templates. The result of the precision was audible.  Now a SmarTractor is my instrument of choice and my vinyl reproduction is in a league I did not know could be achieved by just being more precise with cartridge setup.  Free thin paper has many desirable assets but it is not precise enough to maximize what your system is capable of delivering IMHO.

In my experience, the Turntable Basic protractor is fatally flawed in that it does not permit the user to precisely locate and align the spindle with the pivot point of the tonearm. You've got to aim it by eye at the pivot, which is usually several inches beyond the edge of the protractor surface. Yes, it can be modified by the user to allow for closer approximation, but that's still a big problem with the original design. And to say it will "work" for any cartridge and tonearm is really to say it will approximately work, because there are minute differences for which it cannot account. Take a look at the UNItractor or the SMARTractor from Acoustic Sounds, and you will appreciate what those tiny tonearm to tonearm variables might be. Or even the Feickert. This is why Mint protractors are made one by one for each tonearm.

Sure, a SMARTractor costing $600 will make HTA a bit easier to set than the $20 turntablebasiscs device.  But if you simply mount the turntablebasics on a piece of card stock and extend the line to just about touch the base of your tonearm, you will have achieved what the SMARTractor does.  If you think these sort of devices (whose geometry is fundamentally the same) cannot be absolutely as accurate as an arc protractor made for a specific arm, you don't understand the geometry of these devices.

Audiophile insecurity and smart promotion drives many hobbyists to the most expensive devices when the simple one will do the job.

Hey, it's your money.  Spend it as you wish.  

I have had the VPI, Yip, Dr. Feickert, and Smartractor. I like the Smartractor the most for its accuracy, and quickness to setup a cartridge. 

Melm, You and cleeds certainly are a judgmental pair. But also, your reading comprehension is not up to snuff. Where did I say that a SMARTractor cannot be as good as an arc protractor? The answer is: nowhere did I say or write that.

What I did say/write is that the SMARTractor is in a whole other league from the Turntable Basics, because the Smartie allows the user to locate the pivot in relation to the spindle very precisely. Whereas, you yourself have described the way in which one must add on to the TB in order to get even close to accurate location of P2S. And by the way also, the Smartie and the Feickert can be used for tonearm set-up, because they both permit precise measurement of P2S. The TB is useless in that process. I hate to drag poor Albert Einstein into this silly discussion, but he is reputed to have said that the solution to any problem should be as simple as possible, but not simpler. The TB is an example of a too simple solution. I admit, you cannot beat the price, but even for only $20, one would be better off downloading one of those free arc protractors designed for one’s particular tonearm.

In case you don’t know it, the SMARTractor was developed from the UNItractor. (I actually think the Smartie is easier to use than the UNI, and I wish I had waited for its introduction before buying the UNI.) Then I went on to say/write, for those who would rather not spend the big bucks for the Smartie or Feickert, that one can download a correct arc protractor for free using a program available on the internet. I have no beef with arc protractors. I was praising the Mint, in fact.

Now, you are free to disagree with my opinions, but please get my opinions right before you dump on them.

Helomech, In my one experience of trying to print a protractor, the problem was not in the file but in my computer and printer.  I had to make sure to set the ratio to 1:1 using the printer's controls.  I can't recall how I did it.  The default ratio between the file and the copy put out by the printer was greater than 1:1, I believe. (Copy slightly smaller than original.)