SME IV Tonearm and Warped Records

@cleeds All cartridges should have their tops parallel to the record’s surface and all of those angles you speak of will be correct if the manufacturer didn’t muck something up during assembly. If the cartridge is out of spec, get a new one. Simple as that.

SRA should be correct if top of the cartridge is parallel to the record. If not, get a new cartridge.

This is direct information from speaking to engineers at Ortofon and Audio Technica.

Some do, some don't . Some carts are better tilted up a tad .

I agree...cartridges should provide the proper angle when the top is parallel ... Few cartridges I’ve seen conform to this...Also, the stylus tends to settle trough time. For this and many other adjustments, I’m always futzing around with setup. The joys of vinyl.  As to this particular problem.....I'd get a different cartridge....at least get this one checked out - might be damaged.

I stick to real companies who have been in business manufacturing cartridges for a long time (i.e. Audio Technica, Ortofon, Nagaoka, etc.) and have never had any problems whatsoever. If a problem is suspected, then it should be checked by the manufacturer and all of the good companies are willing to do that no questions asked.

I question the ability of an end user to measure anything cartridge related properly. Audiophile ninjas armed with junk Chinese $12.99 USB microscopes make me laugh. Many times I've seen people take 10 measurements and get 10 wildly different SRAs. 

You guys honestly think that you can accurately measure stylus and cantilever geometries? Maybe a few, sure. Cartridge manufacturers use hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of dollars worth of sensitive calibrated tools. And they have technicians with decades worth of experience assembling and testing each cartridge.

All these stories of angles not matching up, or styluses mounted improperly are 99.9999999 end user error. 

The only thing that anyone can and should be measuring is that the top of the cartridge or the tonearm wand is parallel to the record's surface, the rest should be left and assumed that the experienced manufacturer got right.

If in the extreme rare instance there is a defect, the good companies will take care of you. If they don't, buy from better companies. And stay away from used cartridges. 

invictus005

All cartridges should have their tops parallel to the record’s surface and all of those angles you speak of will be correct if the manufacturer didn’t muck something up during assembly. If the cartridge is out of spec, get a new one. Simple as that.

It’s not even remotely that simple, which is why tools like the WallyTractor and Fozgometer exist. Your oversimplification also completely ignores tangency, which is a critical aspect of proper phono cartridge alignment.

It’s fine to subscribe to the "close enough" school of turntable setup, but just silly to insist it’s sufficient for all, and even sillier to dismiss Fremer’s approach as "ridiculous."

You guys honestly think that you can accurately measure stylus and cantilever geometries?

Certainly, and many think it’s worth the effort. You can also use test records to measure the result.