Fidelity Research FR64s Headshell dilemma

Dear friends: The whole cartridge/tonearm alignment subject is really important to understand it to stop that after market items follows taking advantage of our low level knowledge and I say that because that's exactly the history of after market protractors and " developed " better " kind of alignments " when in reality that does not gives true advantages.

SAT comes with its own kind of alignment, VPI the same, already looks SAEC, all japanese tonearms, uni-din and many more.

All that diversity only makes to us things more complecated when we don't understand in precise way the whole subject and we can look at the thread list in this forum and we will found out " hundred " of threads asking on that alignment subject and looking for the best.

In reality does not exist the best, in any kind of alignment exist compromises. 
No one of us needs something different to Löfgren A/Baerwald or/and Löfgren B ( of course that the stupid Setevenson one is totally out of question if we are serious on the main subject and really cares about MUSIC. ). All the other alignments can't gives us a true advantage that we can detect.

Please read this where I show what is happening with tracking distortion levels inside Lófgren alignment. I took LP grooves information away of null points because as a nearer we are of null point is totally and extremelly imposible to detect any differences between recorded information in the grooves. This is only and example with a tonearm with EL 254mm.:

tracking distortion between 90mm. and 100mm ( 1cm. of LP surface recorded area. ) is 0.12%.
Maybe some of you can say: hey I can detect that tracking distortion level difference !. As I said maybe, I know I can't do it.

Now, that level of distortion is at 90mm-100mm but when playing an LP the cartridge rides the grooves with continuty: one after the next and so on.

The difference in tracking distortion level between 90mm and 91mm. is 0.008% that's the difference between: 0.553% and 0.545%.

Now, whom of you can detect 0.008% tracking distortion levels differences?. Obviously NO ONE CAN.

It's not only that the differences are so low but that the MUSIC we are listening are pércieved by us in a continue way what makes impossible to detect those kind of tracking distortion levels.

So why we oftencan post something like this: that the SAT alignment sounds better that in the same tonearm we align it with Löfgren one or uni-din or Cotter or VPI/Cotter or Clearaudio are better alignments when in reality are not.

And exist other issue when we are trying to make evaluations/comparisons between those kind of cartridge/tonearm alignments:

each time we change from one alignment to other at least we need to change the cartridge position and after that we need to res-set all cartridge/tonearm parameters: VTA/SRA, VTF, Azymuth, AS and the like and is imposible that with the new cartridge alignment the tiny stylus tip parameters will coincide with the precise and exactly same accuracy that before the change to the new alignment.

That's why I say that Löfgren A/Baerwald or/and Löfgren B is all what we need no maters what.

Don't you think? or exist something that I'm not seeing because ceratinly I can be wrong but today this is my take and invite you to think about and post your thoughts on the overall subject.

So wich protractor need we? I think that MINTLP is more than enough and with the need it accuracy for a tonearm, if we own more than one tonearm then we need additional MINTLP protractors: each for each tonearm. Why sped more money for any other protractor? makes no sense to me. Of course that we can use the self tonearm protractor if is totally accurated ( at least at the MINTLP level. ) and no Stevenson there.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

So, there is no better cartridge/alignment geometry but we always listen differences when we make changes and those differences are present because the inaccuracies between the cartridge overall set up parameters at each alignment changes. Does not exist exactly the same accuracy level at each time we do all those.

Example between LÖfgren A and B in that same tonearm at 130mm recorded LP surface position:

0.210% vs 0.274% on tracking distortion with a difference: 0.064%. You just can't detect it.

R.

Dear Raul,

No one of us needs something different to Löfgren A/Baerwald or/and Löfgren B ( of course that the stupid Setevenson one is totally out of question if we are serious on the main subject and really cares about MUSIC.).

tracking distortion between 90mm. and 100mm ( 1cm. of LP surface recorded area. ) is 0.12%.
Maybe some of you can say: hey I can detect that tracking distortion level difference !. As I said maybe, I know I can’t do it.

According to your calculation sample:
https://www.vinylengine.com/tonearm_alignment_calculator_pro.php?arm1=Arm+1&l1=el&a1lv=245&a...

Maximum Tracking distortion between Löfgren A/Baerwald (0.6%) and Stevenson (0.73%) is 0.13%.
Average RMS distortion between Löfgren A/Baerwald (0.39%) and Stevenson (0.48%) is 0.09%.

So, are there any special, hidden "Stevenson" distortions, that you can detect?

You have to made your home work. The data you posted are average or the maximum not at a specific groove position as my examples between Löfgren A and B. I know I can’t detect 0.09% or 0.13% differences in tracking distortions. I can detect a little higher than those values.

So, make your job and you will answer that question.

In the other side is a lot more easy to know/detect the Stevenson distortions against any other kind of alignment due that over the 99% of the recorded LP surface always exist/has higher level of tracking distortions. You not only can measure but can listen if you have a good overall bullet proof evaluation/comparison process along high resolution room/system and experience on what to look for. If you have all those ( self training. ) you can do it but the more important is that you make your self example with mesurements about and compared vs Löfgren B. We can’t learn and understand it in other way. Well maybe be you don’t need to learn and already do it and if it’s the case then sorry for my kind of answer. So let me know about or:
please do the job and come back to share your findings and you will know that does not exist " hidden " distortions.

R.

Btw, this is what I posted here before:


"" Perhaps some of us can’t detect those distortions levels ( any ) but exist and are affecting the cartridge signal quality levels. We have to remember that in all the links room/system are developed several kind of distortions/noises/colorations and the like, this is that exist an accumulative distortions levels all over that chain. So if we can put at minimum the ones developed through the cartridge/tonearm alignment set up this means we are in the rigth " road ".

and I have to add that our mind/brain will be or stay more " calm " because we have lower distortion levels and more detectable MUSIC information that with higher distortions that " hidden " part of that MUSIC information or made it a little imprecise.

Seems to me that instead to coloborate/help or enrich the overall subject you are looking where I’m wrong or something like that: am I rigth/true to think that way?.

Now, I will try to understand your attitude behind your post. If you are not looking for where I’m wrong then could means that you use Stevenson alignment: do you?

Today I did some observations and decided that topmost exact what I can squeeze is ~ 0.5 mm for set up. Maybe some day Mitutoyo can do special caliper for the purpose?