Dr Feickert Adjust+ to help set-up a Cartridge

I thought my experience with Dr Feickert Adjust + software might be of interest to some people.

 

I have a Clearaudio turntable with a Clearaudio Unify unipivot tonearm. The Unify tonearm performs well but I personally find it a pain to set-up.

 

For a number of years I have used Dr. Feickert’s protractor and have been very impressed with it. Because of this I was willing to pay the 249 Euro’s for the Adjust+ software/test record - particularly as I was becoming very frustrated with the Unify arm.

 

The main reason for buying Adjust+ was to set-up the azimuth of the cartridge. However, as detailed below I have also found it very useful for “tweaking” the speed of my turntable. It also allows the resonance of the tonearm/cartridge combination to be determined which I found interesting.

 

Ahead of using the Adjust+ software I set-up the tonearm VTA and the cartridge tracking force. The overhang and offset of the cartridge were set-up using the Dr. Feickert protractor.

 

I have the Adjust+ software loaded on a Dell Netbook and use a USB Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card to connect my phono pre-amp to the Dell Netbook (i.e. the leads from the cartridge/tonearm plug into the phono amp as normal but the phono amp then connects into the Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card rather than my pre-amp). An Adjust+ USB “license” dongle has to be inserted into the laptop before the Adjust+ software can be used.

 

The Adjust+ software is provided with a small spirit level – I upgraded to the enhanced version. This is used to set the cartridge at various azimuth settings. In the case of the Clearaudio Unify tonearm an allen screw on the bottom of the arm wand is used to loosen the headshell so it can be twisted anti-clockwise or clockwise. The Adjust+ user manual, which can be downloaded from the Dr Feickert Web site, provides detailed information on how to take measurements:

 

http://www.adjustplus.de/Download/Usermanual.pdf

 

I adjusted the cartridge at various azimuth settings ranging from - 2° to +2°. A test record is provided with Adjust+ and track two on side A is played. At the end of the track you just need to indicate to the Adjust+ software what Azimuth setting was used (i.e. 2° for instance). The track is played each time a different azimuth setting is used. After this process has been repeated for all the azimuth settings graphs are produced that allow the phase and cross talk for the left and right hand channels to be seen. From these graphs it is possible to see what azimuth setting should be used (i.e. the intercept points on the graphs). Dr Feickert states that the phase and cross talk are both important and explains how to interpret the graph plots. In fact it is stated that using a multimeter alone can lead to errors as this does not take account of the phase.

 

It is very important to have a reference point when undertaking the azimuth measurements – to ensure that you know what relative azimuth setting is being used. In the case of the Unify tonearm I first put the small spirit level on the back of the arm (i.e. above where it pivots) to ensure it was level. I then placed the spirit level on the headshell and adjusted the azimuth to the required value. I repeated this process for all the measurements I made. It took me around half an hour to complete the azimuth measurements.

 

I found the graphs fairly easy to interpret – the notes in the user manual explain what to look for when examining the graphs. In the end I was able to achieve channel separation and channel balance figures which were per the cartridge technical data. In the case of the Unify unipivot tonearm I do not think I would have managed this without the Adjust+ software.

 

I also used the Adjust+ software to “tweak” the speed of my turntable motor – although I had previously used a strobe the Adjust+ software did seem to allow me to achieve greater accuracy. However, I have no other way of measuring the speed to confirm that this is really the case. The speed was not out by much and after adjustment the strobe still showed the speed as being correct.

 

The Adjust+ software also allows the resonant frequency of the tonearm/cartridge combination to be measured. Test tracks are played and at the end of the test the Adjust+ software provides the resonance figure.

 

Ahead of buying my cartridge I had used a simple calculation to calculate the resonance:

 

Resonant Frequency = 1000/[6.28*√(M*C)]. Where M is the mass of the arm and cartridge and C is the compliance of the cartridge

 

This simple calculation indicated that the resonant frequency should be 11 Hz.

 

The Adjust+ software indicated that the resonance was actually 12 Hz. Although I would have preferred it to be a little lower I was reasonably happy. The various posts I have read indicate that the resonance should ideally lie between 9 and11 Hz - although a lot of people seem to indicate that a value between 8 Hz and 12 Hz should be okay.

 

All in all I have been very impressed with the Adjust+ software. Without it I would have had to replace the Unify tonearm as it was proving so troublesome. I feel the software has allowed me to maximise the investment in my turntable, tonearm and cartridge. Although Adjust+ is not cheap by any means I no longer have that “niggling feeling” that the tonearm/cartridge is not set-up correctly. Furthermore, it has saved my sanity – the frustration level was very high until I got the software.

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

Excellent article Paul!

Also showing that the RIAA/IEC (DIN) additional EQ - otherwise known as a rumble filter - could after-all be quite useful in reducing the resonance you mentioned in the 8-12Hz region.