Tranfiguration Orpheus description

Mark, I'd set it up as follows:

Tonearm dead level (parallel) to the platter for now. No sense trying to dial in the SRA until the suspension is broken in after at least 150 hours.

VTF 2.0 to 2.2g gms. It'll help limber up the suspension quicker and won't damage anything if you have an accurate scale. The Trannies have a push-pull suspension arrangement - which I presume means there's rubber on BOTH sides of the coil, not just the back -- I'm not exactly sure, but there's clearly more "squishing" to be done to break them in;--) After 100 hours, reduce it to 1.9, and leave it untill after 200 hrs, then readjust for max output: the name of the game IMO, when trying to find the best place in the VTF range, has to do with optimizing the position of the coil in the flux field. So there's no point getting too anal about it until the cart has around 200 hrs on it. After that, I listen to a 1000 Hz pure tone and go up or down (from the middle 1.9 in this case) until I think I'm getting max output (probably could use a meter for accuracy, but I'm lazy ;--)

Only minimum anti-skate for now, 1 gm or less. I wouldn't
use any horizontal silicon damping either, unless using a heavy tonearm. The O has low(ish) compliance, especially when new!

Loading should be good (for now) at 50 ohms. Theoretical optimum is 62.5 ohms. I've been working with Andrew (Aoliviero) who has a Triplanar, and just bought an O which he's running at 50 for now also, because the presets on his CAT preamp are at 50 and 100. It's better (easier to hear IMO) to start on the low side and add load, than to start high and reduce.
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Nsgarsh,as usual,very thoughtful tips.Thanks!!BTW,by the time I get to my friend,he will have about 50 hrs on the cartridge.I like your recommendation of tracking a bit heavier,to break in suspension.Makes sense.I'll tell him.
I notice that Transfiguration claims only a 30 hr break-in!Based on my own experience,with two Trannies,the fifty hr limit got one really close.Yet,nothing surprises me,in this hobby.
As to load....We have five settings on the front-plate of our Phono/pre....30/47/60/100/600 ohms.My pal,though deeply into the hobby,will not go beyond what's available here.I do admit, he gets really great sound,already,so I'm not going to be able to "sell" him on making any internal changes,for varying impedence matching.Those five selectors will have to do,as far as he is concerned.
I'll do a tune-up,re-install,for him,next Friday.It's funny,as that is the day the electrician is coming over to my place,to replace my circuit breaker box,damaged in my lightning strike.Instead of setting up(after my long lay-off,due to my amp being worked on)my own system,I am SO CURIOUS as to just how good this Orpheus is,that I promised him I'd come to him,right after the electrician is done(early P.M.).
I hope to post a thread,here,next week,reporting the findings,but PLEASE remember it's only opinion of a select few hobbyists.Nothing more!

Thanks for your input,as well as Bc3!

Mark

Mark, if your friend has a 60 ohm load preset on his phono preamp (Manley?) that should be ideal since it's only 2 ohms from the optimum (62.5) I'd start at 47 just for comparison purposes, but I think he'll be happiest (after break-in etc.) with 60.

Nobody I know who has experience w/ MC carts has ever found one to settle in before 100 hours min. regardless of the published numbers. Tranny V/W owners I know agree their carts took about 125 hours befor they stopped changing, although I acknowledge the first big bump is at about 50 or 60 hours. I don't know why the manufacturers are so sloppy about this. It's the same with their published load recommendations, except for van den Hul, who actually does give optimum load values for most of his carts.

Are you really going to leave while your electrician is working on your house? Is he a relative?
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Nsgarsh,the electrician will be DONE,before I leave.I do want to get to my pal as early as possible.
The pre/phono is a fully maxxed out,and totally rebuilt(by Great Northern Sound)Audio Research SP-15.All new Black Gate caps/Siemens CCa's in phonostage.A KILLER unit!!!A total rebuild,over stock unit.
A question,for you,and if Bc3 is still lurking.....My friend tells me that the distributer recommendeds a tracking force at the 2 gram limit,as best.I never liked my Tranny beyond the highish 1.8's(1.82-1.87,for me).My friend has my exact arm/table.BTW,the distributer,also,has a 2.2.Just coincidence.
What tracking force do you use.Just curious,as obviously set-ups vary,but the recommendation of "not lower than 1.95" doesn't ring right,to me!
Best!
Mark

Mark, my thinking about VTF is somewhat similar to my experiences with SRA: that it's difficult to find any two of the same model cartridge, that are identical in either of those characteristics.

You can physically see zero SRA, if you have the patience and tools, so no problem there. But with VTF, there is no practical way to "see" the coil's position with respect to the magnetic flux field. However, its (the coil's) optimum position can be inferred by measuring the cartridge's output for a given test tone at slightly different VTF settings.

I do it using the VU meter on my tape deck, which is not refined enough a tool to find the actual highest output point. So what I do is look for the VTF settings just above and just below the (assumed) optimum that yields the same meter setting.

So for the Tranny for instance, we assume the optimum VTF would be (theoretically) 1.9 gm, halfway between 1.8 and 2.0 gm, according to the manufacturer. So let's say you take a meter reading of a 1 kHz tone (Cardas record) at VTF 1.8 gm, and you adjust the meter to give a readable number like 0 VU. Then you increase the VTF ABOVE the optimum to where you again get 0 VU. Let's say that turns out to be 2.1 gm. The average (between 1.8 and 2.1) would be 1.95 gm. And at 1.95 gm, the meter should read slightly higher than 0 VU.

Even using this crude method, I determined my Tranny W had the most output at around 2.0 gm (with slightly less output just above or below) That was just after break-in, and I'm going to do it again just to see if anything's changed -- it certainly wouldn't surprise me to find it now requires a little less VTF.

Of course VTF also affects tracking, but I've always held that if a cartridge isn't tracking properly anywhere within its specified VTF range, something's not right with the setup or with the cartridge itself.
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