Doug, as you said Sat, you know that you can use the body of a Universe to start because you have looked at the stylus on a few samples and have concluded that the stylus does end up close to a starting SRA/VTA when you level the body.
I do agree with Doug that going to the effort to measure stylus angle with a microscope and some software is un-necessary. I also think a good 10x or 20x jeweler's loupe is sufficient along with good lighting.
I don't find Nsgarch's method that useful myself. This method assumes that the stylus is symmetrical, but almost none really are. There is usually an edge or facet that is the reference line and this would necessarily result in casting a non-symmetric image on the mirror. This method would never work on a stylus like the Replicant, but I would submit that few visual methods, if any, will work with the type of profile the the Replicant has.
We ended up leveling the body of the A90 because the stylus is shaped the way it is, and we had no other choice. I still want to know what reference point to use on that Replicant stylus to find the 90 degree angle referenced in the Ortophon directions and by Fremer. There is supposed to be some tiny, trailing edge facet that is the actual surface to consider, and maybe that does require a microscope to see. I would still not give up the step of actually looking at the stylus for most cartridges. I don't think I will count on a cart builder to set that angle with the body any more than I would expect the AZ to be perfect. I simply put the A90 in a category (almost by itself :-)) where usual methods may not apply.
All of my comments assume that the tonearm in use has the capability to make easy VTA adjustments.
I do agree with Doug that going to the effort to measure stylus angle with a microscope and some software is un-necessary. I also think a good 10x or 20x jeweler's loupe is sufficient along with good lighting.
I don't find Nsgarch's method that useful myself. This method assumes that the stylus is symmetrical, but almost none really are. There is usually an edge or facet that is the reference line and this would necessarily result in casting a non-symmetric image on the mirror. This method would never work on a stylus like the Replicant, but I would submit that few visual methods, if any, will work with the type of profile the the Replicant has.
We ended up leveling the body of the A90 because the stylus is shaped the way it is, and we had no other choice. I still want to know what reference point to use on that Replicant stylus to find the 90 degree angle referenced in the Ortophon directions and by Fremer. There is supposed to be some tiny, trailing edge facet that is the actual surface to consider, and maybe that does require a microscope to see. I would still not give up the step of actually looking at the stylus for most cartridges. I don't think I will count on a cart builder to set that angle with the body any more than I would expect the AZ to be perfect. I simply put the A90 in a category (almost by itself :-)) where usual methods may not apply.
All of my comments assume that the tonearm in use has the capability to make easy VTA adjustments.