Feickert analogue protractor....Owners impressions

Smoffatt,thanks for the concern....As you know I have been "down" for a LONG time,and am just beginning to get back to a workable system.

Due to a "could care less dealer",and circumstances surrounding "one particular" component(that affected others)I had problems which could "easily" have been avoided if the guy "knew something or cared" about the products he sold(I was too conditioned,by ten years of setting "it" up "one" way,to realize the problem).I am still "fuming" about this,because it could SO easily have been avoided,but I'll not ever go beyond that,or ever get more specific...let him(the dealer,NOT the mfgr) make his living(THE PRICK)....Oh well! -:)

Fortunately,I have pushed my set-up to a far better configuration(through perseverence,and being motivated by the LP collection I've ben able to amass over the years,which "kept me going"....I was down almost a year...and I mean DOWN!!)but am only just beginning to approach the hobby again.

I've had alot of time to "think through" logical improvements I might employ,and went for it!Much of the "on paper but makes sense" stuff I learned from fellow hobbyists,here.

My pre/phonostage is on it's way to me,with a V-Teflon cap upgrade,and some other very nice tid-bits,done by Great Northern Sound.I'll have it Thursday or Friday.

I spent the last few days setting up the new Phantom,which seems to be more sensitive than the previous fine series I.It has some nice touches,like a magnetically locking cue bar(on the down position)which makes sense to me.The fit and finish seems better,and the bearing threading is finer.I know all about the Titanium wand,and new wiring,but we'll see about that!

The tolerences of the appearance,and some ergonomic aspects of the new arm look better than the previous one,especially the magnaglide feature,which seems more sensitive than I remember.Even the IC-70 looks refined,but Bob Graham is a serious designer(and a very nice person)so I'm not surprised!It really is a gorgeous instrument!

The Phantom II sets up very well,and I made some adjustments to the supplied jig,which gives me the confidence to feel it is very accurate(all one needs in stylus to pivot/cantilever alignment/stylus tip/cartridge overhang "IS" there,with the Graham stuff....I can't understand why some question this,but I'm NOT complaining at all....whew).

I am quite familiar with how Grahams set-up,but I think the Wally would "still" be the icing on the cake!!....My friend will lend me one eventually(if I still care)but where I am at now,I really don't care much....Just being honest.

I'm gonna find out what I need to know this Saturday,when I FINALLY get everything up and running again,if I've done my job though,because(guys like Doug know this)the LP's I use for set up tell me everything I need to know!!

I have LOVED reading everything about all the particular system characteristics/approaches ALL of the fellows on this site have done(even when I was questioning some input)over the last year,and THIS has kept me enthused!

I guess I am quite eccentric(my wife concurs),because though I have been without my hobby,the beautiful system approaches of some...like Dan Ed's "gorgeous" hand made horns,and Downunder's upgrade path,Doug's technical wizardry/confidence,and the seemingly over the top,but I love it, stuff from giuys like Thomas H and Raul,Albert P.,and Jfox(the multi component crowd)keep me enthused.Even the "retro crowd" approach(Garrard,EMT,Ortofon etc)is too much fun to not assume is going to be a great listen.

BUT it was "Atmosphere's" good advice and concern that got me back on track,because I was clueless as to dagnosing my problem,until I thought about his input....Anybody in "HIS" marketplace would do very well dealing with such a good designer,who cares about his industry,beyond dollars and cents!

My LP collecting has kept pace though,and the only reason for "this" post,is my "hopefulness of pending joy"('cause I know this is a bit much,and wonder why anyone could really care) of being where I think I should be,by this week-end!!

Even my friends have been going through the upgrade path,so my only canned music has been in my new Subaru -:)

I've been saving a nice Barolo for the occassion of hearing sound,in my room...Due to the length of the wait,the wine has either aged out,or will be great!

I KNOW I am a bit over the top,but I also privately get real satisfaction from reading about the attitudes and deliberate approaches of some very interesting systems,
owned by the majority of hobbyists here on Audiogon!

Fingers crossed.

Good job on the comparo Shane - thanks for the writeup.

Palasr - I know exactly what you're saying about the Wally and in that knowing find a little care avoids any issue. Overall, ime, the groove on the Wally gives a clear assurance of proper setup.

Speedy - your enthusiasm is catchy - I'll enjoy hearing more about your new Phantom with the O!

Is WAM Engineering (Wally Tools) still in business?

For those that recommend the Wally Tractor, I paid Wally for a Wally Unviversal Tractor and a Wally Skater several months ago and never received them...
Now, I can't get Wally to answer my emails or phone calls...

Anyone else have the same experince with WAM Engineering (Wally)?

So Graham Engineering refined the Phantom and the target plate on the jig....
Sirspeedy I bet your ready to explode with excitement now that your system is back on line.

My experience was similar to Downunders use of the original Phantom jig, I also got it very close to spot on.

However the Mint proved my sight line using the jig was off.
Somewhere above in this thread I did mention the lack of a reference point mark/ cross hair for the stylus on the target plate of the Phantom jig.

Anyway it doesn't matter now, I'm in pig heaven.

Since I received my MintLP last week, I'll add my 2 cents to this discussion of the MintLP.
I was previously using Thom Makris' protractor (which is based on the same arc system as the MintLP). It turns out that, because of the much finer line of the MintLP, I discovered that I was slightly off at the null point, whereas it seemed right on the line with Thom's; likely because the line of his protractor is slightly larger than on the MintLP.
I don't have any experience with the Wally, but from my experience, comparing the MintLP with the Rega or other paper protractors (I've used a few if those in the past) is perhaps misleading, because the lines are quite a bit thicker than the MintLP.

On the point of the 10x loupe: it's very hard to use, specially if you don't have much clearance for the stylus (yes, with the Dynavector it must be quite easier, but with my Zyx Airy 3, it's tricky), but it's actually possible. It took me quite a long time to finally "see" the stylus/cantilever when doing the alignment, but it was so much more precise than the 5x magnifying glass. A bit nerve-racking too, because you have to get the loupe very close to the cartridge body...

And, yes it sounded better after all that work...
Cheers.