2. analog
  3. 162529-4841

Wally Wally Wally

Anyone else get the latest Wally tools? Likes or dislikes? Not asking for opinion on purchase of said items, only your experiences; both, good and bad.


I just went wild Wally Tool crazy and ordered everything. Long story short, I will be accumulating at least two more turntables in the next 6 months, and wanted to have another set of eyes to spot check my current methods of installing and measuring cartridges performance; ears, SME protractor, test records, Fozgometer, Schon Schablonne (German protractor), and glass protractor by Avid. 
It’s a means to an end as I want quick, verifiable, and repeatable measurements due to the amount of tonearm and cartridges swapping that will be occurring. It’s a means to an end which supports my listening studio.


I have, like many others, used my ears and standard measurement tools over many years and it’s pretty cut and dry. I figured what the heck, why not indulge in tools that support the hobby, and can be used to help others while also giving me some peace of mind.

audioquest4life
sancho22
106 posts
 
How is the service shipping vs the old company?
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,243 posts
 
1+ lewm, 
SRA can be tough due to stylus shape even with a usb microscope. The best compromise with the Gyger S and other styli like it such as Soundsmiths OCL is to set the oncoming face of the stylus to 90 degrees.
That will put the contact patch somewhere between 91 to 93 degrees which is the best you can hope for. Azimuth is best set by the mirror method. The Fozgometer is a bad joke. First of all the output of the individual channels is never equal and the goal is the get the stylus perpendicular to the groove not the coil orientation. Whatever is lost in channel separation is more than made up for in better tracking and record wear. The trickiest is setting overhang. It also depends on your eye and judgement. Having used the SmarTractor I can highly recommend it as it gives your eye the best shot at getting it right. It is superior to either the Feickert or Wally protractors and it is much better made than either. It also costs a lot more. As for Antiskating this is best done with a digital VTF gauge. The problem is that digital VTF gauges will not work in the horizonal plane. You need a devise to convert horizontal force to vertical force. I will post a picture of such a device on my system page tomorrow.
Pardon the crude appearance. It is just a prototype.
solypsa's avatar
solypsa
462 posts
 
I use the UNI-Pro/P2S tools and an Ortofon scale. Could I get the job done with less? Probably. But its a real treat using well built tools. In the end of the day your ears ( should ) be the best tool you have; but getting a precise 'rough-in' is important for me.

I have been following a thread on wbf where JR has been posting and showing some macro closeups. Its funnny how anxious folks get when they see a stylus glued to a cantilever up close and personal :)
Post removed 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,243 posts
 
The picture of the "Gizmo" I use to measure anti skate force is up on my system page if anyone cares to look at it. It allows you to use your VTF gauge to measure anti skate force.

@solypsa, on my system page is a picture of a boron cantilever sans stylus. I would think that would make you a lot more anxious!
More to discover