Graham tonearm tweaking

I hated the 3 Jet games that I took my son to last year.Fans urinating in the garbage cans of the men's room.Fans "CONSTANTLY" getting up,in the middle of the action,for beer.I now stay home in my warm PJ's instead of freezing my ass off.I love the team,but was not wild about the fans either.

I did not take DOUG's comments as argumentative.He seems to be quite knowledgeable and was voicing an opinion.He also seems to be quite an engaging fellow,with a sense of humor.

Raul,also voices his opinions,and has knowledge of much in this hobby,as well.I could never understand why some are so mean spirited towards him.So what if someone doesn't agree with a comment!I don't agree with everything I read here,but everyone has their own perspective.In the case of Raul,I get the impression that he really LOVES to stay on top of these threads and gets into trouble sometimes because of innocent enthusiasm.

I have a problem keeping my own inner feelings to myself,regarding the "MANY" ego driven,selfish,full of "CRAP" types that I have met over the years.The problem belongs to me only,and I should,will, just "SHUT UP" from now on.I am nobody to judge anyone's motives,as long as they don't intrude upon me!!

Vac man,could you,please list the cartridges that you have previously owned.Thanks.This will be very useful to me as I am currently recommending the UNIV. to a VERY sceptical,and suspicious of "THE LATEST BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCT" friend.

He has been around the block too many times to get too excited about the numerous breakthroughs this hobby spews out regularly.I myself believe this cartridge to,probably,be the real deal!!

Previous high-end cartridges either owned or heard on my system include Shelter 901, Lyra Helikon and Koetsu Urushi (older version with the alnico magnet). Each of these cartridges was excellent and had its own sonic benefits and shortcomings. None put everything together like the ZYX UNIverse. It is the real deal. If you're in the NYC area and would like to listen to it, let me know. I live in Westchester County.

Dear Doug: ***** " . Short version: close your eyes and you'll see live musicians in your listening room. " *****

This is the only way ( close your eyes ) that you can " see " that and that is the wrong way to evaluate any audio item: do you stay with your eyes closed when you are in a live concert or in a jazz night club ?
When you close your eyes you can imagine anything but for you or anyone is almost imposible to do a serious evaluation of an audio item or audio system hearing with " close eyes ".

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Sirspeedy I would never have known about the critical nature of the damping fluid without your comments and I thank you. And Doug your comments, especially those dated 2-15-05 are very helpful. I now have my pre-owned Graham 2.2 on the table with the Airy 2x on the arm. Setup was confidence inspiring. Graham’s method of setting cartridge alignment and overhang, as well as pivot to spindle distance are so well thought out and user friendly. I now have no doubts that I’ve got it right. However azimuth is a mystery to me, and I don’t want to play a record until this is adjusted. Having never owned a unipivot, I have no idea how to know when this adjustment is right. If it’s only a visual check then I’m in trouble since I will never be able to see if the stylus is vertical. I just bought a test record and will read the instructions looking for an azimuth test. Regarding unipivot arms, I had been told they were wobbly and that I might not like that characteristic. I don’t but am not sure if mine is ok since it’s pre-owned. If I knew mine was acting normal I’d feel better.

Now about the damping fluid, how do you manage to get a pinhead amount into or out of the well? This stuff is so thick getting such a small amount to come out of syringe is close to impossible. I put in what I think is a little less than the manual calls for (0.75 cc) but when I check the fluid level with the cap it looks like there might be too much. However the manual’s description doesn’t quite jive with what I see. It says “check the fluid level on the small post with the triangular piece on it. The fluid should completely cover this triangular part, but not go much higher up”. My post does not have a triangular piece; it has a square post that comes out of the cap and at the end of that is a round post about 4 mm long with a point on the end. Right now the fluid covers the 4 mm of round post and goes up onto the square part for about 2 mm. I think there might be too much fluid in the well for a starting level. I realize the level will be adjusted by ear but it seems this process would be aided by starting at some predetermined level. Sirspeedy may have covered that and I’ll review his writings in a minute.

I just went up to check the fluid level as to be sure my memory of where it is on the post was accurate. While doing so it occurred to me one way to remove small amounts of fluid is to take the cap off and let the small drips that come off the post fall into another container, not back into the bearing well.

I’m certainly anxious to try my new arm and cartridge but the azimuth adjustment leaves me a little uncertain. I’m off to check out the test record.