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Analog setup - do it your self or hire a pro?

Hello,

I happily got back into vinyl about 3 years ago. I bought a little Rega P1 and a NAD PP1 and I was ready to rock and roll. When I got the P1, I had trouble adjusting the weight on the cartridge, and getting the anti skate right, so I found a local HiFi shop that specializes in vinyl, and paid him a visit. He made the proper adjustments in my Rega, and I could tell he is a thoughtful, very experienced, analog pro.

Over the past 4 years, my Rega got upgraded with a Dynavector 10x5 and a glass platter. Then, the Rega went away and and a JA Michell came my way. In fact, I bought the JA Michell from this very shop. I asked the man at the shop to take my Dynavector 10x5 off the Rega, and install it on my new JA Michell. 6 months later, the Dynavector was replaced with a Lyra Delos. Also bought from my local shop and expertly installed on my JA Michell by the shop owner.

The NAD phono pre also went the wayside for a series of phono preamps, ending just last week with a Whest .30R

So, now for my question...

This series of upgrades has led me to start questioning my reliance on an expert to set up my rig. Perhaps I should be doing this myself! I don't have any experience with it, and I don't have any of the tools, and the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me. But I am good with my hands and have an eye for details.

What do you think? Is it better to drive my turntable to my local expert, or to learn this myself? What are the benefits of doing this in my home, versus leaving this tedious work to the professionals?

thanks!
Mark
marktomaras
hesson11
237 posts
 
Nobody will care about your setup as much as you do. I think you should learn to do it yourself. While it takes time, patience and some stick-to-it-iveness, you're rewarded by pride of accomplishment and the knowledge that it was done right.

Check out the article linked to below. It's about the best I've seen. Also do a bunch of googling to back up that information. Then just do it.

http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm

-Bob
swanny76109
382 posts
 
Agree with all who suggest learning it on your own too. It's very rewarding, especially if you are even slightly OCD. It will bring that out, for sure. Bob's advice above is excellent--that article along with the Fremer DVD forms the basis of my setup routine. ALso check out AnalogPlanet. Fremer is devoting a lot of good space to reviews and set up advice there. I'd say that is for when you are more advanced in your experience. I think when you do it yourself you really understand how your system works, and you do need to make ongoing adjustments with analog. It simply demands more tweaking and ongoing maintenance as a physical medium. Normal wear and tear, changes in humidity, climate, oiling the bearing, checking damping fluid, etc. all make an impact that you need to stay on top of. I also would think your adjustments at home, keeping the TT in it's normal place, would be more accurate than moving it to a shop for setup and adjustments. And would avoid the chance of mishap along the way. I'd rather take my chances with a stylus than with everything else. Good luck and enjoy the ride either way.
dconsmack
43 posts
 
If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.
david12
1,454 posts
 
The other consideration I did'nt mention, is what if you have several cartridges you swap between? I have only ever had 2 at a time, I know many of you have many more, but if you like switching for a change of scene...sound, do you really want to keep taking the deck back and forth to the dealer, to change the cartridge?

The imponderable for me, is how different it would be, if it was done professionally? I don't claim to be a vinyl guru, so I am not sure how much better it would sound. The answer of course, is it depends on the professional. Some or many, may be no better than me.
catama
81 posts
 
No tech will take the time to really tune your system. I paid techs because I did not think I could do it. WRONG! Got Michael Fremer's turntable setup DVD and have been doing it myself since with much better results. In fact, I downloaded a setup protractor for my Thorens TD125MKII after I had paid a tech to set up the cartridge. When I checked his settings I realized that he had not adjusted the azimuth or set the overhang correctly. Learn to do it yourself. You won't regret it.
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