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Catch 22 in turntable setup

Hey everyone,

I am just getting into vinyl - I have been given a Marantz 2270 receiver and I purchased a Technics 1210 mk2 table. The plan is to use this for casual home listening. I just received my new Grado black cartridge as well and I am having some issues with initial setup.

The information I have gathered from several places seem to contradict themselves. I used the Technics printable protractor from Vinylengine.com to mount the cartridge to the headshell. The technics manual says that the VTA should be set according to the cartridge height (Grado black = 17.5mm I believe), which puts the arm at a 2.5mm VTA. The instructions with the Grado say to make sure of a 90 degree angle between the cart and the record. When using the settings mentioned, I cannot seem to achieve this angle - the cart is aimed slightly upward.

Can anyone offer some input on where I may have gone wrong?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks.
d40winker

Showing 1 response by slowhead

slowhead
40 posts
 
The tt/cart manuals gives you a good place to start. I believe (don't quote me) you spindle to mounting distance is 215mm. You can print out a free custom arc template on-line. You may find that easier for cartridge mounting. Is the vinyl engine template a universal style ? It will get you close.
When a record is playing, start with your tonearm level with the record, then adjust by sound. It should be close to level in the end. Buy a tiny/light bubble level to check your azimuth. You can set it on your headshell at rest to see if your headshell is level. All bayonet headshells are not perfectly level.
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