I maintain an audio toolkit in my listening room with all of the various tools needed to maintain the system. The items that get used in maintenance of the analog rig are as follows:
1 set of "electronics" screwdrivers. These are high quality, small flat and phillips head screwdrivers designed for electronics work. They are non-magnetic and have caps on top of the handles that spin freely.
1 set of Bondhus balldrivers (allen keys with screwdriver handles). I keep one of each size required for the turntable.
1 pair of spring-loaded needle nose pliers. Again, electronics grade and non-magnetic. Very fine point and very handy for dealing with cartridge clips.
1 pair tweezers
1 bubble level (center bubble). I'm using the clearaudio branded level that came with my table. I did verify its calibration. Oddly the old level that I had was off a bit.
1 Magnifier - came with my tonearm. I should replace this with a jeweler's loupe.
1 small flashlight. I'm using one of the very bright LED flashlights.
1 set of shims for securing the platter when doing cartridge alignment. I cut up a couple of pieces of closed-cell packing foam for this application. Saved me many times from an oh-s*** moment.
1 pair of earplugs. I use these when setting azimuth via the 1KHz test tone method. 2 - 3V at the speaker terminals is LOUD.
1 Voltmeter - for azimuth adjustment and other tasks.
Items not specifically in the kit include:
Various protractors and alignment jigs.
Cardas Test LP
Littlite (gooseneck light) on the TT shelf
Zerostat
Carbon fiber brushes
Hannl RCM
Too many cleaning fluid concoctions to count
MoFi record brushes
MoFi sleeves
6mil outer sleeves
and surely a lot of other things I'm forgetting. This truly is a sickness.
