Cartridge Opinions - Sorry

@joysjane 
Ha! Yes, that's what I asked for. Thanks for bringing it up.

It's cool, if people are exchanging other info or just having a gold old fashioned pee pee contest, I don't mind. I was able to extract some useful info.

Please carry on.

I wound up getting a Hana ML and a Feickert protractor so I can do my own setups = freedom to experiment with other cartridges as the opportunities come up.

I only have about 5 hours on the cartridge but I'm happy with it. This is my first microline & the one thing I've noticed  is how quiet it is. Surface noise seems dramatically reduced. I'm not sure if this is because of the microline or if my previous 30 year cartridges had worn styli and dried out suspensions that accentuated noise?

Thanks for all the replies.

@rauliruegas 
One thing I realized is that I needed to be able to do my own setups - hence the purchase of the protractor.

After that purchase my budget was reduced and so were my options. 

I spoke with a couple distributors who both recommended the Hana ML. One was out of stock and he still recommended it instead of trying to sell me something he had in stock. Maybe they make more margin on the Hana's, I don't know. Being able to buy a cartridge with a USA warranty also made me feel better. 

Anyhow, I'm not disappointed with the cartridge. The only thing I don't like about it is the shape of the body - it's difficult to gauge where the cantilever is without getting your face down to its level.

I'm sure this won't be my last cartridge.

Forgive me if I haven't read every word of every comment posted on my thread  (please point it out if I've missed something), it has gotten pathetically long as people continue their pissing contests .

I understand the challenge to accurately mount a mechanical transducer where it needs to be perfectly aligned in 3 dimensions: pitch, yaw & roll to put it in common terms. My tonearm, the Linn Ittok, doesn't provide for adjustments in roll (azimuth). I know that this can be measured with a test record and a scope. If azimuth adjustments need to be made, I can get shim stock. 

My question is how can one accurately measure yaw (twist) and pitch (VTA)? I have a USB scope but trying to accurately measure the angle of a stylus to a record surface, or the angle of a cantilever to a record groove using a cheap optical instrument while coping with parallax seems silly. Buying software that magically simplifies this seems more so (again, correct me if I'm wrong).

On the other hand, I'm sure some do it by ear which IMO shouldn't be dismissed. The best musicians I know tune by ear and they understand that no acoustic instrument can be "perfectly tuned" but they know what works 90% of the time.

Please help me make sense of this. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies!

Now I have more to fret over, I mean think about.

Some interesting information being exchanged here.

So let’s talk about adjustability - or if someone could point me to some comprehensive threads about the subject, that would be great.

When I bought my last cartridge in the late 80’s, I trusted me dealer to install it then I messed with the VTA until I got the best sound. My dealer is long gone but I just bought a Feickert setup protractor. I want to check my current setup and also experiment with my very old cartridge, a Madrigal Carnegie One while inspecting my Audioquest B200L under a microscope.

Is the Ittok very adjustable? Are there any parts of setup that people typically get wrong or I should watch up for when using the Feickert with my Linn? I’m pretty detail minded and competent with intricate work, I make acoustic guitars (from scratch, not kits) as a hobby.

Thanks

Thanks for the additional replies, especially to those who stayed on topic.

How about rebuild/serviceability?

Any brands or construction types that are more easily serviced?

@daveyf I’m the last guy who’s going to defend Linn and their superior opinions.

So what adjustments does the Ittok lack besides azimuth? Besides overhang, VTA, twist/yaw, and anti-skate what is there? 

Oops, I just re-read your post and you said "limited adjustability". Using the Feickert protractor the cartridge seems to be right on within a fraction of a mm. It's hard to gauge the tangential alignment though.

Thanks