+100 re:WAM Engineering ("Wallytools"). J. R. Boisclair is one of the most knowledgable engineers in the country, maybe in the world, when it comes to optimizing the performance of cartridges and tonearms. His site & online channels are packed with tutorials, reference information, research results, etc. Buying a full set of Wallytools isn't cheap, but it's a one-time investment and in my own first-hand experience, JR's microscopic analysis service & toolset made a more dramatic improvement in my vinyl reproduction than did upgrading to cables that cost far more -- and I experienced consistent results with MM & MC cartridges ranging from $700 to $2800. Before making a decision based on well-intentioned, often well-informed, but outsider-looking-in advice from fellow members, you owe it to yourself to at least browse through WAM's online resources (and Michael Fremer's excellent WAM overviews in Stereophile). In my opinion, NO ONE who is serious about vinyl reproduction should try to fool themselves into thinking that they can accurately and precisely align a commercially manufactured cartridge without WAM on their side. Even the best "standard" protractors only get you partway there.
Feel Silly Asking This Question Alignment Parameters
I feel silly asking this question, but here it goes. Most of the arms I have owned over the years have came with proprietary protractors, and certain ones like the SME are really just overhang gauges. For other ones I have bought custom generated arc protractors for the specific arm. I will probably do so again with this Origin Live arm. However in the mean time i decided to set up using their provided protractor.
When I went to install a cartridge on the table, I found I was not wild about using their protractor, so I decided to generate a Conrad H arc protractor till I made an order for an Accutrak one. What I found odd is that Lofgren A had the longest overhang at 16.8 mm and Lofgren B at 16.3mm. The Origin Live shows 17.5 mm. Is the Rega type alignment that much different than Lofgren or Stevenson? I also noticed with the OL alignment that cartridge offset in the headshell was noticeably greater.
What is also noticeable is the sonics of each alignment is different. To be honest, I like the overall sound of the OL alignment, but I also have this nagging feeling that it does not track as well.
I always felt at this stage of my audio journey I knew how to align a cartridge. I have been doing it since I was in my 20's! Now I have a large degree of uncertainty of which alignment to choose, and what the implications are if i choose wrong. This arm is a long term keeper for me, so its a matter of wanting to get this set up optimized.
Any insights you might pass along is greatly appreciated. Do have a good chuckle at my expense as it seems that I get into these moments of self doubt, and trying to find the way out of the forest of audio can be quite comical.