Why use a super accurate cartridge protractor

Dear John, 'Too old'? What a pity. I think you could be a very good teacher. The persons who know what they are tolking about and have clear thoughts are usualy able to
express them clearly. On the other hand I think that skepticism has more to do with the social enviroment then knowledge.
We are glad to have you and Dertonarm as our members.

Kind regards,

Dertonarm

I hope you have an enjoyable holiday, and, of course I agree with you that everyone should choose their alignment according to their record collection - would that were always the case. And for your collection you have chosen correctly. We have never disagreed on that.

Now on to other matters, and perhaps I shall manage a holiday at some point, though some would say, though I'd disagree, that I treat all my life as a holiday.
Regards,
John

Hi John_Gordon -
Interesting you should mention offset angle. One of the strengths of the Phantom jig is angular alignment of the stylus/generator.
It's an old article I know, but it stuck in my mind because of it's relevance. Scroll down the link to "The Need For Precise Setup":-

http://www.positive-feedback.com/pfbackissues/0605/gordon.tonearm.6n5.html

The author's results were very thought provoking....

Protractors are great for aligning horizontal azimuth and effective length with any precision for a given SRA/VTA range. Vertical azimuth, SRA/VTA, and VTF are usually adjusted by ear. Although we can set AZ by eye, that doesn't necessarily equate to the best and usually takes final tuning by ear. In other words, the use of a protractor is only part of the alignment process. My 2 cents worth.

A note. MintLP Best Tractor is accurate to the 2nd digit of a millimeter. It is simply a more precisely printed loefgren A, arc protractor with the added benefit of parallax effect for sighting. Assuming one has the optics and eyesight to use it properly, it allows for alignment of the stylus, not just the cartridge body.

A note - as I am not yet off the computer.
A protractor with just a helping line saying "please rotate till this line points toward the pivot" (talking about eyesight and good target....) has certainly potential for increased accuracy.
The laser lines on the UNI-templates/UNI-Protractor are accurate to the 3rd digit of a millimeter.
The lines are the smallest possible in laser-engravement.
All templates are with 3mm deep true parallax.
The UNI-Protractor's templates allow for alignment of the stylus and cantilever - not just the cartridge body.
It does so for ANY effective length and ANY pivot tonearm to ANY tangential curve desired.
Add to this the fact that most owners of the UNI-Protractor - more than 70 by now - did already own one or more MINT and other protractors before purchasing the UNI-Protractor.
Before I did design the UNI-Protractor I did collect samples of all the other protractors on the market - past and present.
Those 70+ fellow Audiogoners who have worked with the UNI-Protractor already know exactly why they bought this comparatively high priced tool.
Because of it's precision, unique universality, build quality and - last not least - outstanding sonic results.
Cheers,
D.