2. analog
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Cartridge alignment, WallyTractor, SmartTractor, oscilloscope and Analogmaigk.

I am building my new system in my second home in the US which I use only when I go to the US to work, and I will not have the benefit of having my partner and analog guru with me when I set up my table there. 

To be clear she much rather have a new cartridge, tonearm, table or phono amp than nice jewelry, shoes or dresses, and 2 of the best hifi stores in the area are always asking for her opinion and sometimes to set up tables. 
Until now, all I had to do was to put my record on the table of her choice, and enjoy the music. 

 During our dinner with her, we were discussing,  what should I be doing and what tools to bring with me. I am an a mathematician  and work with electrical engineers so I understand numbers so I like the idea of an oscilloscope and Analogmagik and I have done quite a few setups with the WallyTractor before I met her, but she swears by the SmartTractor and claims that the SmartTractor is more accurate, simpler and flexible.

My question then is, what is your opinion on the 2 protractors?
Please do  not add another different one, I am not going to buy another one. :) 

In her opinion the  UNI  alignment is superior to the new record in the Wally, and since pivot to spindle is never identical, the SmartTractor does a better job as it actually takes into account for those imperfections/discrepancies in the spindle to pivot distances, while the Wally does not. 

If I am going to face the firing squad, I want to have some good different concepts.

I apologize for my English, until a few months ago I never discussed Hifi in English. 


128x128astolfor

Showing 6 responses by astolfor

astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 
@mijostyn, you are right. In our house we have 4 tables with 2-3 arms each... please don't make fun :) so we have different alignments. 
In my house in the USA I only have one table, and 2 tonearms. 
And I am thinking of UniDin in one arm and Lofgren A or B in the other.

My question about the protractors is more about how the 2 go about implementing the null points. 

It is my understanding, that the Wally derives the null points based on the assumption that the spindle to pivot distance in the turntable is perfectly matched to theirs, while the SmartTractor derives the null point based on the actual  spindle to pivot measurement.
Is my understanding correct? 
If so isn't Wally's assumption a big one?
If the spindle to pivot is off by 1mm then would it not be the case that the tangential traces in the Wally are off?

I love the Wally, so I am trying to understand and not say one product is better than the other.


astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 

@millercarbon I do not dismiss advice... I will not use paper because we own already the 2 protractors, and my printer does not print very thin lines which I know I need, but not because I want to ignore advice :)  

At home we like to keep things simple, specially on our hobbies. What is the point to stress about something it is supposed to bring pleasure.  

Thank you for the advise on the isolation very much, to be completely frank I keep forgetting that my house in the US is built out of wood sticks and plaster. The first time I tried to hang a picture, the nail disappeared 🙄! and now that my audio rack is about 350Kg,  when I walk the subwoofer cone wants to go for a walk and leave the enclosure behind so I am hoping your suggestions help. 

I also will have put some bars between the soil and the floor for support, like lifting a car, with the hope that will help. 

 

astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 

@larryi  I am glad you confirmed my theory and the effective lengths.

I do not believe the dynamic SRA is that difficult to do, a decent microscope with a good camera/depth of filed, take 10 pictures and average the angles. the big trick is to have the microscope/camera plane perfectly at 90 degrees from the horizontal plane, which it is not that difficult to do either.

Where I see more of the Wally service value is in analyzing how well aligned is the stone, is this called cantilever, with the stylus(?) 

astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 

@millercarbon agreed there too :) The way we do it is to do the averaging mostly to always start from a repeatable and consistent place, then modify to what we like, and usually we have 2 settings one for thin records and one for thicker ones, but most of the time we leave it alone, but on some days with some records it is worth the effort.

@larryi indeed...but on the other hand, when you get it really close to right then it is worth the sweat, blood and $.

Another issue with dynamic SRA is that it yields different results from record to record so that too is an approximation. We have found that AnalogMagik does a consistent good job for SRA, their results come very close to dynamic SRA. AnalogMagik’s SRA is always very close to what I like, same with VTF. Not so much with azimuth.

One more week until I get back to the USA and start playing with the new toys.

I will have 2 rack-of-silence with 5 and 4 shelfs, a Pathos heritage, a PS20 and the Acoustic Signature Typhoon, a second REL s/510 and the pods and podiums, that @millercarbon recommended, to set up.

 

astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 

@chakster I have a few osciloscopes, I work with electonics, the SmartTractor and and Wally, plus AnalogMagik.

We used to have the Feicker too but it is now gone..

astolfor's avatar
astolfor OP
317 posts
 

I need a magnifying glass for sure, and that is the kind of difficulty I have with the Wally, I have tried almost every magnifying glasses type there is and when it comes to setting the azimuth that is when I struggle. 

Specially with cartridges like Koetsus and others that the stylus is almost buried in the cartridge. 

With overhang I use an USB microscope.

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