Tranfiguration Orpheus description

Hi Andrew,

Glad to hear the Tranny is working well for you!

I have also had good results using Neal's method for SRA and agree that it usually ends up that the bearing end of the arm is abit higher than level. Nice to know we're getting similar results.

As for azimuth. I could see where this would be very difficult using the mirror approach. Mostly due to not being able to get the right magnification in right place, much like Tim posted about. I did experience the setting of azimuth by ear when Thom, Doug and Paul were up. It was such a tiny amount of adjustment that Thom was making so not really far from having the headshell level. It seems that a really good mono recording makes this method easier. Alas, that is something I don't have in my stash. Seems like several folks tried the Wally tool a year or so ago and came to the conclusion that the "ear" method was just as good. YMMV.

Best,

Dan

Andrew,

Cello and I each own a 25% share in a Wally Analog Shop. It works, and using it taught me two things (which Dan has already mentioned):

1. extremely small adjustments matter and,

2. I can set azimuth about as well by ear as by measuring (and with far less fuss).

4yanx also owned a share of our Wally at one time. He sold it after making the same discovery. Wanna buy my share? ;-)

As Tim said, cartridges are rarely if ever so flawless that stylus, cantilever, coils, suspension and magnets all align perfectly. It just doesn't happen in real manufacturing.

I set the stylus close to vertical to prevent vinyl damage or uneven wear. I don't find magnification helpful for this either. After that, fine adjustments to minimize crosstalk yield the best sound.

A good mono record works, but so does a good stereo one if there are well recorded instruments or vocalists in the center. Getting images tightly focused with maximum air is the goal.

Doug

doug, I forgot you and Larry were in that group.

Andrew, it's not that the headshell has to be level. The important thing is that the headshell is in the same plane as the record/platter surface. Of course, this is assuming the stylus is at least close to perpendicular at this point. Just a place to start. If you go this route it won't matter what the bubble on the headshell says. If you try to level the platter and then level the headshell it comes down to how closely you can read the bubble. Kind of nit-picky, but it is simpler. Use the little block that came with the Triplanar to level the headshell with the platter surface.

The amount of change that I saw Thom make were in the very fine tweaky range. He used an Allen key and watched the amount of movement with the end of the key to judge how much movement he go. We're talking just nudging things on the threads.

The teeny tiny changes needed to get azimuth right are a reality. I use the cheaper version of Wally's Analog Shop - bought it a few years ago before the price leaped up. Took me several hours of patient patience to move my SME's adjustable headshell just so. We're talking a movement distance of less than or equal to the thickness of a line on a ruler, less than the thickness of a line drawn with a thin-tip ballpoint pen. You cannot breath out while you do this!

The reason I give priority to the Wally instead of my ears is assurance of repeatability from one day to the next, and being able to get the crosstalk lower. Do your best with your ears, then measure with the Wally. My ears got me inside 4dB, Wally got me under 1dB. An expensive cure for audiophilia nervosa but I'm happy to have the device.

Tim