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Cart not parallel after Mint LP alignment?

Howdy,

So after reading about 1000 paragraphs on how good the Mint LP Tractor is - I purchased one and had a marathon session yesterday with my new SL-1210 M5G, AT440MLa and Zupreme headshell...

After all was said and done - the alignment itself took 90 hard minutes - I am finding the cartridge sitting about 5-7 degrees "right" of center. The actual cantilever and stylus are about as dead on as I wanna go with it for now.

Now a comment and a question....

Question: Is this non-parallel result in the headshell normal? It's making me think I may have a bent cantilever or something.

Comment: I have run 10-12 sides thru the rig so far and I must say - I have not yet heard the "revelation" that others have described when comparing their alignments to other protractors or even the white Technics alignment gauge. The rig sounds good...but...what I am missing here.

I must temper the above by saying I have changed phono stages frequently in the last month as well...I was getting nicely familiar with a Bellari VP-130 and then moved that for a Cambridge which lasted less than a week and I now have a Moon LP3 with maybe 25 hours on it...Even my AT440MLa might have 40-50 hours on it as well....

I am thinking that a whole bunch of stuff might need to "burn" in before the system starts to really reveal itself.

But I am very concerned with the stylus/cantilever on the cart...even with all the moves the Mint required...I expected the cartridge to sit straight in the headshell...perhaps expecting too much?

Appreciate any feedback.

Cheers!

VP
vocalpoint
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Why the MintLP seems to us better when it is not?, IMHO because when we use it what we do we do with more accuracy,

I don't think that anyone who uses a Mint LP protractor has every claimed it to do anything more than this. This is pretty much what I replied to Hesson11 back on 4/22.

Assuming a protractor is properly drawn, an arc is an arc is an arc. The Mint is simply made to more precise tolerances. That's it. Nothing more.

Can someone do just as well with any other protractor? Absolutely. Those of us who chose to use the Mint do so because it is easier to be precise, and to repeat that precision such as it is.
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rauliruegas
13,106 posts
 
Dear friends: Now you have the Löfgren A/B and Stevenson Calculators. If any one else is interested on Baerwald please email me and I will give you.

Maybe it is time to build our own protractors and choose with " geometry " works/match our each one priorities and you don't have to pay 100.00+ for it: free stuff!

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Please take Raul's advice if all you are going to do is come back and tell the vast majority of us we must be daft, or can't hear, or have no experience, etc, etc!
srwooten's avatar
srwooten
694 posts
 
Raul, I know you have vast experience with TT and carts. Have you used a Mint protractor?
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rauliruegas
13,106 posts
 
Dear Srwooten: I use it in three different tonearms in friend's systems, not in my system.

Btw, IMHO there is no black magic or moon rocket " secret " in tonearm/cartridge accurate set up like some people think.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.
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