DBP-10 Protractor Instructions......

Dear Hifimaniac: +++++ " protractor made specifically for this arm. " +++++

IMHO there is no protractor " made specifically for this arm ". What exist are different geometry cartridge/tonearm set up: Stevenson, Löfgren, Baerwald, Pisha, etc with different standard values: DIN or IEC and even you can choose your owns.

If you want you can kage your own protractor or two or three " different " protractors and test in your rig and decide which one of those geometry cartridge/tonearm set up works best for you.

The Mint is only one of multiple geometry set up options that could works in your rig and maybe not the best one.
All those geometry options has its own trade offs, there is no perfect geometry in a pivot tonearm where distortions all over the LP playing surface be at minimum.

Over the net there are Stevenson, Baerwald or Löfgreen Calculators where you can choose whatever you want and make your own protractor with the Calculator values. Even on Vinyl Engine you can get free different geometry protractors.

You don't need to be Von Braun to work about.

regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Hifimaniac
I gave that some serious thought, even got in touch with Yip who is a great guy, but my system is constantly evolving and the thought of having to possibly buy a new protractor for over 100 bucks every time my system changes is not the direction I wanted to go.
For under $50 the DBP-10 is just what I was looking for and with the time and patience it requires it should be the only protractor I'm ever gonna need.

IMHO there is no protractor " made specifically for this arm ". What exist are different geometry cartridge/tonearm set up: Stevenson, Löfgren, Baerwald, Pisha, etc with different standard values: DIN or IEC and even you can choose your owns.

Yes to the second sentence, no to the first.

Yip does make each of his protractors for a specific tonearm, based on the Baerwald algorithm. So if you order a protractor for the JMW-9, it will be "made specifically for this arm," based on the Baerwald values.

I spoke with Mike at VPI and read the Vinyl Engine article on the geometry of VPI tonearms, and the lesson to take is that VPI designed its jig for the smallest tracking error in the last third of the record. Baerwald-based protractors minimize the tracking error across the entire record, on the other hand. Which evil you deem lesser should dictate the type of protractor you should be using to align your cartridge. That said, Mike actually highly recommended the Mint for those who listen to a lot of jazz and newer records, such as Blue Notes reissues, but recommended VPI jig for older records (78?)where the tracking error in the last 3rd of the record is big enough to apparently ignore the the first 2/3.

I am not familiar with the DBP-10, but Art Dudley's article in the June issue of Stereophile made me never want to use it. It sounds like you have to have a PhD in engineering to figure out how it actually works. Sure the Mint is useless once you change your tonearm, but 1) most don't do it often enough to worry about it; 2) you can always sell your Mint here and recover most of the money. I did just that when I upgraded from the Scout to the Classic. It is simple and straightforward to use right out of the box, and doesn't require an advanced technical degree to operate it.

I think you need to reread Art Dudley's article. Art states in that article that the DPP-10 “is still my favorite protractor”, and has been for a number of years. No where in the article does it say that it is overly difficult to use.

As I previously stated, it is certainly not an intuitive system. However, after reading the instructions, and after you've worked with it just once, it becomes rather simple to use. Don't let the fact that it is not easy to use dissuade you from using a very accurate and versatile alignment device.

As far as the Mint Protractor is concerned, I have used that one too. It is very nice, and fairly simple to use, but at the same time it is indeed limited to one table and arm, which for most of us makes it of limited value. (I say most of us, because as audiophiles, we do tend to swap out turntables, tone arms and cartridges on a fairly regular basis.)

Hi Kurt,
It's perhaps the convoluted way that Dudley described the process he went through to align the cartridge on the Schick tonearm that made me totally discouraged from ever using the DBP-10. I got completely lost in the steps and different calculations; when I read "software," I said to myself, "You've got to be kidding me."

As far as system swaps, I can only speak for myself, but the Classic I'm still waiting for might very well be my last table for a long, long time considering the cost of a good analog setup. Once you get up in that turntable and cartridge price range, my guess would be that not many can afford to swap on a "fairly regular basis." I know I can't. Peace.