Fidelity Research FR64s Headshell dilemma

Dear Raul,

No one of us needs something different to Löfgren A/Baerwald or/and Löfgren B ( of course that the stupid Setevenson one is totally out of question if we are serious on the main subject and really cares about MUSIC.).

tracking distortion between 90mm. and 100mm ( 1cm. of LP surface recorded area. ) is 0.12%.
Maybe some of you can say: hey I can detect that tracking distortion level difference !. As I said maybe, I know I can’t do it.

According to your calculation sample:
https://www.vinylengine.com/tonearm_alignment_calculator_pro.php?arm1=Arm+1&l1=el&a1lv=245&a...

Maximum Tracking distortion between Löfgren A/Baerwald (0.6%) and Stevenson (0.73%) is 0.13%.
Average RMS distortion between Löfgren A/Baerwald (0.39%) and Stevenson (0.48%) is 0.09%.

So, are there any special, hidden "Stevenson" distortions, that you can detect?

You have to made your home work. The data you posted are average or the maximum not at a specific groove position as my examples between Löfgren A and B. I know I can’t detect 0.09% or 0.13% differences in tracking distortions. I can detect a little higher than those values.

So, make your job and you will answer that question.

In the other side is a lot more easy to know/detect the Stevenson distortions against any other kind of alignment due that over the 99% of the recorded LP surface always exist/has higher level of tracking distortions. You not only can measure but can listen if you have a good overall bullet proof evaluation/comparison process along high resolution room/system and experience on what to look for. If you have all those ( self training. ) you can do it but the more important is that you make your self example with mesurements about and compared vs Löfgren B. We can’t learn and understand it in other way. Well maybe be you don’t need to learn and already do it and if it’s the case then sorry for my kind of answer. So let me know about or:
please do the job and come back to share your findings and you will know that does not exist " hidden " distortions.

R.

Btw, this is what I posted here before:


"" Perhaps some of us can’t detect those distortions levels ( any ) but exist and are affecting the cartridge signal quality levels. We have to remember that in all the links room/system are developed several kind of distortions/noises/colorations and the like, this is that exist an accumulative distortions levels all over that chain. So if we can put at minimum the ones developed through the cartridge/tonearm alignment set up this means we are in the rigth " road ".

and I have to add that our mind/brain will be or stay more " calm " because we have lower distortion levels and more detectable MUSIC information that with higher distortions that " hidden " part of that MUSIC information or made it a little imprecise.

Seems to me that instead to coloborate/help or enrich the overall subject you are looking where I’m wrong or something like that: am I rigth/true to think that way?.

Now, I will try to understand your attitude behind your post. If you are not looking for where I’m wrong then could means that you use Stevenson alignment: do you?

Today I did some observations and decided that topmost exact what I can squeeze is ~ 0.5 mm for set up. Maybe some day Mitutoyo can do special caliper for the purpose? 

Dear @lbelchev : A tip for your calculations and with 245mm. on EL. At recorded LP surface 80mm. position the tracking distortion Löfgren B is 0.350% and Stevenson 0.735%. Difference: 0.385% higher on ST. At 90mm. is over 0.25%

If you know what to look for those differences levels are detectable and helps too that over all the recorded LP surface the ST tracking distortions are higher too.

Of course that each one of us can take any choice we want it. What we can do is limitless and only " stopped " by our each one common sense. Now, through the time to comes " things " could change and we can take different choices to the ones we choosed today Everything is in constant movement and we can't know for sure what to expect in the audio future especially with analog/LP.

R.

The thread turned to the monologue of one person pretending to know everything better than others, but apart from the numbers claimed to be audible distortion i want to remind that there any many other components in analog chain with higher distortion than distortion caused by cartridge alignment. And people live with it and can't detect it. 

Of course that person can head all the distortion in this world and it's a problem for him if someone can't hear it (included world famous cartridge/tonearm designers).

Modern tonearm designers comes up with new ideas and no one in the reviewers world can't detect that horrible distortion for some reason, but he knows why, the answer is "they are s.......d people". They are all have to grow up to the level of our own audiogon preacher who knows everything better. 

ViV Laboratory is another example, it's straight tonearm with underhang (not overhand). And yes, the cartridge/cantilever position is also straight in this tonearm. The don't give a F about Baerwald alignment and all reviews are positive.