Best tutorial for cartridge setup


I had to move my turntable take my tonearms off and now I need to do the setup of arm and cartridges. The friend who helped me is currently unavailable, and in any case, it is a skill I need to develop for myself.

I am looking at videos, but they conflict in terms of order of operations, e.g. some set tracking first, others say you should never do that.

Is there some authoritative source?

saulh

Hi Saul,

This is not rocket science.

#1 mount cartridge in it's approximate location.

#2 Set tracking force in middle of range specified by the manufacturer.

#3 Set overhang with whatever gauge you like.

#4 Set tracking force exactly where you want it and dial in antiskating 

#5 Set Vertical tracking angle and azimuth. Without fancy tools just adjust them so that the cartridge mounting surface is coplanar with the surface of a 150 gram record. This will get you very close with most well made modern cartridges.

This is a very detailed setup video put out by Ortofon, I think you might find it helpful.

 

Fremer’s video is a good resource. IMHO you must set the Vertical Tracking Force (VTF) first.  This only needs to be “close” but as you go about the other initial adjustments you do not want a cartridge that tracks at 2 grams bearing 6 grams of weight as you adjust other steps in the alignment. Get a reasonable number on the VTF and then do other setup steps returning to the VTF for an additional adjustment as appropriate.