Looks like this thread has gone silent but I'll bring up one point that has not been raised. I use a Koetsu cartridge where the stylus tip is BURIED under the cartridge body. For this reason - I didn't order the Mint. The only way I can align the cartridge is to see the stylus tip fall into a divot (light at a very steep angle, using magnification). I'm not sure if the Feickert has this (most likely not) but a divot can be properly created even in metal.
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there is no divot, but there is a circle at the proper cross . I did replace the pointer at the end of the beam with a laser pointer. with the protractor the feikert adjust+pro and my ears i am confident that i get very accurate cart alignment.as with most things, the more you use something the easier it gets. |
If you are only going to have one turntable and never own another one the Mint is the way to go, it is very accurate, but it is made for your specific combo of table and arm, so if you ever change one or the other you must get a new one made. I have a Mint that I bought and used for a year or so. It gets things aligned very well, but it take a while to get things correct. It takes me, by far, the longest to align a cartridge with the Mint that any other I have ever used. Meaning it takes a long time to get it set up just perfect. It's not difficult just time consuming. Eventually I bought a Feickert protractor to try. Surprisingly it took me less than 10 minutes to align my cart, so quick that I really didn't believe that it could be accurate. Pulled out my Mint and it was spot on. So plus one for the Feickert. Fast forward a few years later and I bought a new tonearm and turntable, used the Feickert to setup the cart and found it just as easy and fast, have changed carts a few times and it was always quick and easy to get it properly aligned. Two months ago I decided to get another Mint (better to have more than one way to verify the carts alignment, I'm thinking) made for my table and arm. After I got the Mint I put it on my table and put the cart down on it that was aligned 4 months prior with the Feickert and the cart was perfectly aligned on the Mint protractor. Didn't have to tough or adjust a thing. So at this point I would say to just buy the Feickert and use it correctly and you will be just as good as if you had bought the Mint (or any other protractor). YMMV. |
mohawk, I've used a Dennesen for years. It predates the Feickert and works on the same principles but is not as versatile. It has been out of production for years and was offered in both metal (which I have) and plastic versions (lower cost). It does have a "divot" to precisely locate the stylus tip. Used examples do appear from time to time. https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0SO8zY5DoJZi_4AMztXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEycmVrcm81BGN... While I've never used a Feickert I expect it has the same limitation as my Dennesen. They really only work with arms which provide some means of identifying the precise pivot point for the arm. That can be a bearing set screw, damping fluid well, etc. If you are simply trying to estimate location of the pivot point, whether by eye or by measuring, I don't believe you can have the necessary accuracy for something as precise as the stylus alignment. |
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