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Cart not parallel after Mint LP alignment?

Howdy,

So after reading about 1000 paragraphs on how good the Mint LP Tractor is - I purchased one and had a marathon session yesterday with my new SL-1210 M5G, AT440MLa and Zupreme headshell...

After all was said and done - the alignment itself took 90 hard minutes - I am finding the cartridge sitting about 5-7 degrees "right" of center. The actual cantilever and stylus are about as dead on as I wanna go with it for now.

Now a comment and a question....

Question: Is this non-parallel result in the headshell normal? It's making me think I may have a bent cantilever or something.

Comment: I have run 10-12 sides thru the rig so far and I must say - I have not yet heard the "revelation" that others have described when comparing their alignments to other protractors or even the white Technics alignment gauge. The rig sounds good...but...what I am missing here.

I must temper the above by saying I have changed phono stages frequently in the last month as well...I was getting nicely familiar with a Bellari VP-130 and then moved that for a Cambridge which lasted less than a week and I now have a Moon LP3 with maybe 25 hours on it...Even my AT440MLa might have 40-50 hours on it as well....

I am thinking that a whole bunch of stuff might need to "burn" in before the system starts to really reveal itself.

But I am very concerned with the stylus/cantilever on the cart...even with all the moves the Mint required...I expected the cartridge to sit straight in the headshell...perhaps expecting too much?

Appreciate any feedback.

Cheers!

VP
vocalpoint
lewm
12,433 posts
 
By the way, I agree with Tvad's very first post: If the cantilever is indeed bent a bit then that accounts for the "problem" you note, which is not per se a problem in fact.
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macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
I love the MintLP tractor, and have bought one for every tonearm I have owned, and they do make a difference. That said, the difference is really based on how close you came to getting the geometry correct on your initial set up.

With my current rig, I found that the I had VERY little adjustment to do at all when I got the MintLP. When I set the cartridge down on the mirror the first time, it was about dead on from setting it up with the VPI jig that came with the turntable.
vocalpoint OP
10 posts
 
Thanks guys - for all the responses.

As far as I can see with my eye - the cantilever is straight - however - without a precise measurement - and I must admit - my eyes were ready to pop out - how can I be absolutely sure? I will assume a precision product like the AT440MLa does in fact ship with a straight cantilever.

But - with the Zupreme and the lame screw set included with the AT...nothing like those tiny round nuts to drive me crazy - I probably didn't have the cart perfectly parallel to begin with and as the movement back and forth continues with the Mint - it ends up being "off".

If it's normal - I can live with it for now. The AT is fine piece but I am also considering an upgrade to the 2M Bronze shortly...with it's threaded body...I believe it will be much easier to get a tighter grip on the headshell and ultimately finer more precise movements against the Mint.

For you folks using the nuts/screws method...is it better to use the round nut or a hex that will "grab" against the cart body and provide a tighter "tighten".

For the record - my Mint - is specifically designed for this table. This was my first use of it and I am sure subsequent runs should be more precise.

Appreciate anything else that you can add.

Cheers!

VP
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