Mint LP a no go – now what?

It's very interesting, Mac. I had mine set up with the Mint and was happy with it, but when I got one of Diana Krall's albums, I was getting distortion on the last two songs on one side. I then decided to try the VPI jig to see whether it would make any difference. I actually did notice less distortion even though it had obviously more to do with the recording than the cart set-up since it was only on one side. To the point, the zenith (I think it's the right term) was spot on, but the overhang differed by about half a millimeter from the set-up with the Mint.

I've had some time to try out different tools and to my ears, VIP jig for the 10.5i arm sounds quite good. But it is bettered by Dertonarm's Uni-Pro using his template for the 10.5i arm. I did not like Baerwald at all which is what my Mint is based on.

Jazzgene,
Can you say more about what you liked better after the setup with the Uni-Pro? Is it the pricey protractor I've seen some discussions about on A-gon? After realigning my Delos with the VPI jig, I'm inclined to say I might be liking the VPI jig over the Mint as well, but the differences are perhaps less pronounced than one might expect. Thanks.

You can read my review of the Uni-pro in another thread. As for the sound, the thing I noticed right away with the VPI jig was that grand pianos came more alive and smooth to my ears. As a disclaimer, I am a professional musician and have also mastered and engineered some award winning jazz albums. I've been listening critically to serious music since I was 2 years old. So I trust my ears more than anything else.

The Mint which is based on Baerwald gave an edgier and grainier overall sound to much of the music I listen to. The Uni-pro using his template made specific to the 10.5i arm gave my lps a sound that reminded me of some of my sessions that were mastered onto analog tape when I was a kid. Not sure what Daniel base his template for the 10.5i to but it sounds great.

Finally, his uni-pro is so easy to use and I can see very easily the cantilever of my Grado Statement1 cartridge which was an impossibility with the Mint and the 10x loupe. And of course, as you know, with the VPI jig, accuracy is a bit wanting.

Just my 2 cents.

I haven't read this whole thread and probably won't, but Johnbrown you might try the Stevenson alignment with your SAEC. That works best with my Dynavector DV505 and many of the vintage Japanese tonearms were designed with Stevenson in mind. There is a free Stevenson protractor on Vinyl Engine. They are not easy to find these days.

Do you guys think it's possible to adopt Baerwald with a vintage tonearm designed with a headshell offset angle for Stevenson? When I tried that, the cartridge had to be twisted inward in the headshell, so the cartridge and headshell were not aligned in the longitudinal axis (viewed from above). Therefore the cantilever is not aligned with the vertical motion of the pivot (in a Dynavector, where the two pivot points are separated.) This sounded awful and did not sound good until I re-aligned using Stevenson, which when done resulted in the correct longitudinal alignment of cartridge and headshell.

Thom, You have customers who can look at a Triplanar and think that the bearing pivot is at the center of the VTA dial? And these guys were smart enough to make enough money to afford a Triplanar. What a country!