Cartridge set-up
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: And the rest
Forum Name: Audio System Set-Up
Forum Description: Discussions about getting the best from your system (Digital section now moved)
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2997
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 4:04am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Cartridge set-up
Posted By: LO-FI GUY
Subject: Cartridge set-up
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2016 at 4:07pm
| Probably should buy a 'protractor' to set-up stylus and cartridge, so where is the best place to buy one? |
Replies:
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2016 at 6:07pm
|
Hello Peter, welcome to this forum. It all depends on how accurate you need it to be or how much you are prepared to pay (from free up to £££s). A good place to start is to print your own & I recommend Conrad Hoffmans' arc protractor (it's a free programme). Arc protractors have the benefit that they set all the critical factors at once - alignment, overhang and offset angle. http://www.conradhoffman.com/chsw.htm - http://www.conradhoffman.com/chsw.htm You need to know the measurement from the centre of the pivot point on the arm to the centre of the spindle which holds the record (if you can't find this, I or someone on here can probably help you if you provide the name of your turntable/arm). Input this measurement into the blank cell as in the image below and for starters, choose IEC and Lofgren A (or Stevenson A if you listen to a lot of classical music or LPs with narrow run-out grooves). The most important thing is to ensure it prints exactly to scale so you may need to adjust the correction factors X-Y and print a few times. To cut out the centre hole you can use a pin and make lots of close spaced tiny holes so it pushes out along the perforated line.  If this all seems too complicated then another good place to start is to buy the HiFi News test LP - it helps set up the turntable and has a series of printed 2 point protractors. I don't find this as accurate as an arc protractor but it is easier to use. There are also various other print-yourself free protractors available on the Vinyl Engine forum or others to buy on ebay Good luck & feel free to ask for help with whatever you choose.
------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 12:26pm
|
I'm tempted to have a stab at using the arc protractor myself. If you can tell me the pivot to spindle distance of my ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX table (it has a an 8.6CC Evolution carbon tonearm that has an effective arm length of 218.5mm) it'll save me getting my ruler out :) ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Posted By: LO-FI GUY
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 12:44pm
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PaulH, hopefully forum member Drewan77 can answer your question regarding 'cartridge set-up' as I too am a novice and have not yet set-up my cartridge using an arc protractor. I still need to find out the distance between my spindle and tone arm pivot point. I have looked at several videos on YouTube regarding cartridge set-up but would like to find some literature on the subject to read and refer to. I'm all for the learning process and you could say 'I'm on the steep part of my learning curve.' Good luck and as I said ask Drewan77. |
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 4:44pm
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Paul: I had a look at the specs Henley publish and the 8.6CC Evolution carbon tonearm has a pivot-spindle measurement of 200mm (218.5mm - 18.5mm overhang) ------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 4:50pm
|
Thank you. Very good of you to take the time to look it up. If I'd known the calculation was that straightforward (effective length minus overhang) I'd have worked it out for myself :) ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Posted By: LO-FI GUY
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 4:54pm
| Drewan77, after emailing Fatmangolf regarding a loaner phono amp he told me my Technics 1200 had a spindle to pivot point of 215mm, but I am after numbers for the point or points to use with the Hi-Fi News Test LP protractor. |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 5:59pm
|
If you use the Technics stylus overhang gauge (part no: SFK0135-01) you will be able to set your cartridge to the exact required position without all the faff of using a protractor. These are very cheap and available from places like Juno Records: http://www.juno.co.uk/search/?q%5Ball%5D%5B%5D=overhang+gauge&hide_forthcoming=0 (£2.50) ------------- That none should be able to park up and enjoy the view without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:09pm
Thanks Andrew. I inputted the 200mm dimension and selected IEC, as you suggest and printed out the protractor. Interestingly, it quotes an effective length and overhang that are different from the official spec. For reference it gives Eff length: 219.040 compared to 218.5mm spec Overhang: 19.040 compared to 18.5mm Should this concern me? ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Drewan77 wrote:Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:31pm
|
Peter, You mentioned by PM that your SL1200 was from 1973, ie Mark 1. The vinyl Engine database shows the following. Mk1 1972-79, Mk2 1979+ Tonearm: universal Effective length: 220mm (mk1), 230mm (mk2) Overhang: 14mm (mk1), 15mm (mk2) I have sent you the null points for both versions. ------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:41pm
Conrad Hoffman designed this protractor to adjust correctly against any pivot to spindle measurement and the different inputs/alignments will compute a slightly different set of results. There is no 'perfect' alignment, all are a slight compromise. If you want to change to Lofgren B & DIN then 218.5 & 18.5 will appear as you would expect. ------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:44pm
|
Gotcha. Does that just mean that ProJect used Lofgren B to calculate their spec figures? ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:52pm
The differences are tiny but all results will be 'correct' against the chosen parameters (as long as it is printed exactly to scale & the offset angle is aligned to the cantilever). ------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 6:58pm
------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 8:34pm
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Well, I am relieved I got my SL1210 mark2's original P2S right at 215mm but apologise for not realising the mark 1 was 200mm. Andrew is right. There is a delight in aligning your cartridge (probably not the 1st or 2nd time) and enjoying the sound that results from it being just right. Or near enough! I've printed CH arc protractors on several decks and arms (so less experience than many here) and found them easy to use with consistently good results. I even worked out how to paste one accurately onto a duff LP that a screwed onto the base of my Clearaudio protractor. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 1:53pm
Yes, I appreciate that it's all about finding a "preferred compromise". I printed out a template (it printed exactly to size) and haven't had time to look at this in detail, but on first attempt I was interested to see that, while the stylus didn't follow the printed arc (it drifted out by a few mm) it did appear to arrive safely at each null point. That may have been because I hadn't lined it up accurately enough with the pivot but, assuming that I do get that alignment correct, do I need the stylus to line up with all points on the arc or with just one or both of the null points? ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Posted By: Drewan77
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 2:40pm
You mention lining up with the pivot but with an arc protractor this isn't necessary. Once you hit the arc at all points, the overhang is set automatically & you didn't have to rely on eyesight to the pivot point. I apologise if I am repeating something you already know but the correct procedure is to move the protractor under the stylus at the outer edge of the arc , then the cartridge in the headshell near the inner edge (spindle) of the arc. i.e... 1. 'Rough-in' the cartridge in the headshell slots & move the protractor until the stylus lines up with it near the outer edge. 2. Then make sure the platter/protractor doesn't move & swing the arm near the spindle. See how much the stylus deviates from the arc & move the cartridge slightly by about half that amount. 3. Now swing the arm back to the outside, rotate the protractor until the stylus hits the arc as in 1. & keep repeating 1. & 2. until it hits the line exactly. This may require several repeats until 'perfect' & also check again after twisting for offset at the null points in case the stylus has drifted from the arc. I use the mirrored 'Mr Yip - Mint' arc protractor with a line much thinner than the printed one & hitting the arc exactly pays dividends. Very high magnification (~20x or 30x) & strong, evenly distributed light helps greatly. Alignment will be absolutely correct when the stylus completely follows the arc AND lines up at the two null points as well. As Graham mentioned, a lot of 'faffing'  but very rewarding when you listen to the result  ------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 9:45pm
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I find one of these (. http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/6x-linen-tester-magnifier-a82aw - Maplin linen tester ) very helpful and also use a torch pointed across the platter ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Paul H
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2016 at 6:59am
|
Andrew, that's a fabulous post and very enlightening. The wonderful thing about the internet is that it's full of people telling you what to use, but very little actual explaination of how. I had assumed that the correct method was to roughly align the protractor with the pivot (there's a line drawn on Hoffman's protractor that points to the pivot, so I assumed that was its purpose) and then carry out the adjustments you mention. So thank you for taking the time to spell it out. ------------- ProJect 1Xpression Carbon UKX w/ Ortofon 2M Black; Arcam Alpha 7 CD player; Graham Slee Revelation M pre; Denon PMA 355UK amp; Epos K1 speakers; Blue Jeans LC-1 interconnects. Room: 2.9m x 3.1m. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2016 at 9:03am
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Although it won't noticeably affect the accuracy of your overhang setting I find it easier to put an old/spare LP on the platter first then the paper arc protractor on top of that. I use small pieces of blu-tac to stop the platter rotating during alignment and a coin or similar small weight to anchor the arc protractor once it is at the right angle (Andrew's description for this is spot on IMO). Then I know the paper won't move whilst the cartridge is being wriggled and lowered onto it repeatedly. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |