What about Uni Din?


I finally broke down and purchased a Smart Tractor. The owner of that company created another cartridge alignment he calls Uni Din. He makes a very reasonable argument for favoring the inside third of records particularly those cut down close to the label. This is at the expense of the outer grooves. But the outer grooves are traveling three times faster thus a given tracking error has 1/3rd the significance in terms of distortion. 
Has anyone here tried this alignment? If so how did you like it? I will certainly give it a spin as reorienting the cartridge in a Schroder arm is as easy as it gets. 
128x128mijostyn
Dear @syntax : I know you are not a stupid audiophile or an audio rookie.

Any gentleman as you ( including me. ) can’t really be aware of real/true differences in between different kind of alignments but with Steveson one and we can’t do it because the distortion level changes in between groove after groove are really tiny to detect it and the sound is continuous and you can’t detect those changes even at the first null point or even at the inner null point.

So what are you talking about on that alignment or any otehr than Stevenson?, in Stevenson there is a chance you can do it because is a extreme kind of alignment where Stevenson in porpose puts the inner null point exactly at the inner most groove on IEC standard.

Now and just an example if you take the alignment that you are talking about and with the same tonearm and cartridge change it for Löfgren A or B with out changing the tonearm EL the differences if any that you could listen will be thank’s to the differences in the accuracy of each alingment changes you do but not because the alignment it self.

Do you think that when you change between two alignments where you need to change the P2S distance and the cartridge overhang and off-set angle the accuracy on those two alignments were perfect?.
You are rigth, can’t be perfect and exactly same " perfection " on both different alignments.

So if we can’t be aware of differences between alignments other than with Stevenson why are we " figthing " and discussing in to many threads over the internet audio forums?, easy: to have our mind in calm.

So we choose what we think is the best alignment compromise for our needs and that’s all.

There is no way, no matters what, that our alignments ( any ) can be do it with Zero error: NO WAY.

Differences we are hearing in the best cases are because that kind of errors when we made it the alignments and where those errors can’t be avoided and only we can put at minimum but does not exist two similar different alignments ( that we did it. ) with errors at minimum in exactly same way.

Unfortunatelly the alignment is not a " virtual " one kind. So what you are interpreting in your alignment is only a true " illusion " and nothing more. Even using the same kind of alignment we choosed if we made 2-3 alignment set-up ( meaning unmount and mount again the cartridge and the tonearm too. ) at different " times " at each time you can be sure that you will listen " differences " even if you know that can’t been differences because is the same kind of alignment.

R.
@mijostyn,  Having looked at lots of stylus profiles under a microscope at various magnifications I think it would be exceedingly hard to confirm zenith angle to say 10 minutes.  I'll side with Raul that even with the best tools setting the same cartridge up three times is likely to end up with three different alignments.  At the scales we are talking about here the possibility for measurement error is large and even seemingly small errors can be consequential.  

dave

Dave you are absolutely right. Under magnification ( I use a medical microscope with special lighting) The best you can do is confirm zenith relative to the cantilever then you have to get the cantilever parallel to the protractor lines all by eye. So, there are multiple sources or error some, such as the cantilever alignment to the coils are unseen. All you can do is hope to get close. I should have said, "dead on as far as I can see."
Then next question is does it really matter? I use Lofgren B because it results in the lowest average distortion over most of the record. The reality is you can be a little off one way or the other and very few people if any would know it. So why even bother? I'll tell you why. It makes me feel better and my psyche will think things sound better. Perhaps I will limit record wear.
I for got to mention that the way you do this micro a microscope is under high magnification you orient the stylus so that the long axis is perfectly horizontal. Then you back off to low magnification and the cantilever should be perfectly vertical. I have an eyepiece with a grid so I do not have to guess were 90 degrees is. Regular microscopes are not the best tool for this job.