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Review of the SMARTractor and SMARTstylus

I mounted an AudioTechnica VM95ML on the Sota for it's new owner using these tools for the first time.

The Acoustical Systems SMARTractor: On taking the unit out of it's box you immediately get the feeling you are dealing with a fine precision instrument. Construction quality is through the roof. It is child's play to set it up. The only kink I ran into. It was very difficult to push the locator pin (points to the vertical axis of the horizontal bearing) through the beam. I had to tap it with a small hammer. The grub screw was backed way out. The nylon plunger used to prevent marring the stainless steel was a very tight fit. 
You set the alignment by removing the pillar's locating screw then twist the pillar lining the index mark with the line labeled  with the alignment you want. I chose Lofgren B. You the place it on the platter which you should lock in place, line up the locator pin with the horizontal bearing and lock the beam in place. The Syrinx made this easy as it has a perfect dimple right over the horizontal axis. Next you place the magnifier in it's bracket and line it up with the Lofgren B grid. The grid lines are super fine and close together. They literally light up on the mirrored surface. Super easy to see.
You line up the cross hair with the targeting grid on the mirror. This puts your sight line right down the cantilever and boy does it work! The magnifier makes it darn easy for old eyes to line things up perfectly. 

Now for the SMARTstylus. This is just a piece of plexy with four sets of grid lines, vertical, horizontal and SRA, and VTA. It comes with it's own hand held magnifier. It looks well made. It is also close to worthless with an offset arm that has a permanent finger lift. Both the offset and the finger lift keep you from getting it close enough and angled correctly to the cantilever. I will try it again with the Schroder which does not have a finger lift. 

In short, the SMARTractor is a brilliant, well thought out devise manufactured to the highest standard. It is handily the most accurate, easiest to use cartridge alignment tool I have ever used. Is it worth $700? I have to say that if you love vinyl and want to be sure your cartridge is dead on, Yes absolutely. On the other hand at this time I have to say that the SMARTstylus is a waste of money. The VM95ML? Darn! It punches way above it's price point. It is handily the best sounding under $200 cartridge I have ever used. It is neutral, tracks well and is very quiet. It is as quiet as my $2000 Charisma. If you are after a MM cartridge in this price range you can not go wrong. You can be perfectly comfortable buying it blind.  

Hope this helps people,
Mike

128x128mijostyn

Showing 6 responses by rauliruegas

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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
@boothroyd  resume what I posted in last statements:

"  I'll "set the cartridge for [my] preferred level of distortion "

and some way or the other is almost the same we do with our system because all those room/system trade-offs I'm talking about talks about developed distortion levels.

R.
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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
Dear @mijostyn : By coincidence I agree with you because for so many years I can't remember it is the one I use it.

Now, the times I switched to Löfgren A can I in true be aware of critical differences as could be at inner grooves?, I can't tell you for sure buyt my mind is ok with B, I think accustom to. Average distortion levels between both kind of alignments is almost the same.

Dover posted what posted because always reads my posts word by word looking how to hit me but almost never to contribute to the thread main subjects.
Just imagine whom is he when is happy with that truly unstable ( all over the LP surface ) tonearm. Such is life.

Alignment always is important but where we graded against TT speed short time stability/accurate or against tonearm dynamic stability or other critical issues. To every where we turn over the face we found out that we have to deal with trade-offs and as a fact our room/system whole quality level performance depends in specific how good we choosed each one of all those trade-offs over the room/system chain.

It's not only with the analog alternative but with digital too.

R.
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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
Dear @mijostyn : " most people do not know what P2S means. "

As a fact and even that in this forum some of us were discussing in deep the tonearm/cartridge whole alignment set up still today exist a misunderstood in some alignment issues. It's easy to have some kind of misunderstood about.

The alignment per sé is an " open " scenario to have even personal and dedicated alignment only for our tonearms.

The foundation for the alignment calculations are 3 parameters ( inputs to the Löfgren equations. ): tonearm effective length and most inner and outer groove distances.

So we can manipulate/change one or even those 3 parameters and we " discover " our personal alignment.
Everything depends on what could be our specific targets, where we want the tracking distortions " lives " and its levels in favor of lowering some way even if we can detect it the changes.

SAT tonearm designer is what he did it changing the most inner groove distance parameter and that's why the tonearm comes with a dedicated/special protractor because null points are not the Löfgren standard.
Changes in EL works too if the headshell slots permit to do it.

Then we can choose for different parameters and choose between Löfgren A or B, each one with its own in theory trade-offs.

"" By the way, Lofgren B is the way to go:-) ""

But choosing between Löfgren A or B it's only an illusion that works only in theory/c/paper.

Example: EL 300mm. overhang difference between both alignments is only 0.38mm ( longer the B alignment. ) and if EL is 256mm. that difference goes to 0..45mm. The offset angle is the same in both kind of alignments.

So we are playing with a P2S accuracy level of at least 0.38mm. to make the set up and with the same difference in the overhang. We have two points where we always are off.

So the best we can " wait " for is to be around the alignment and with higher distortions levels that what comes through calculations and this is the true " game " we are platying and discussing.

R.


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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
Dear @lewm  : It's not exactly that I'm monitoring your posts, in reality you as me are really active in multiple/different issue threads that by coincidence are important for both of us. I always try to read carefully what you posted before give an opinion about and this time you was " out og game " and I'm just saying why and not only for you but for other members that maybe do not know how null points are fixed.

Not many years ago M.Fremer in his analog planet forum made the same mistake/misunderstood and I fixed that wrong information.

I'm still in favor of accuracy on the cartridge/tonearm/TT alignment set up even that if we are not so anal accurated is really dificult to be aware of it. Inaccuracies most be to large for we can detect it. 

The use of protractors impedes to lost null points.

"   Probably no one of us would ever make such a large error in P2S so as to completely lose one or both null points ..."

Exactly, no one. Stevenson alignment did it because on purpose he made that the inner null point been exactly at the most inner groove distance and that's why when a tonearm spec says that tracking error at inner groove is zero this means is using ST kind of alignment.

Accuracy in this important issue gives us calm/peace in our mind and this fact is important for us. Remember that  almost all in analog is full of trade-offs and alignments is a good example of it.

R.


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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
Dear @cleeds : I think that any kind of option we take trying to make that kind of critical set up at the end always will be non-accurated due to the waves/irregularities in all the LP surface where VTA and VTF are in constant change and we can't avoid those changes.

Now, the other issue is that exist 120g. to 200g LPs and we want to listen MUSIC and not end trying the VTA/VTF on each LP be " accurated ".

If we want to listen MUSIC the best we can do is to set up on an average way/trade-oof and enjoy what we listen to because trying to be anal in that kind of set up makes no sense to me.

R.
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rauliruegas
12,836 posts
 
Dear  @lewm  : ""  MC, If you make an error locating the pivot point while setting P2S distance, it is quite possible to end up with only one null point on the playing surface of a typical LP, or none at all. Plus it could exacerbate tracking angle errors that occur at every other point on the LP surface. ""

You are not only been extremely dramatical but " out of game ", you are wrong and your statement about the null points is totally false.

. Look, say that you need 250mm as P2S distance and you are using Löfgren A so you make the set up and with out knowing your P2S distance is off by 2mm ( + ) ( seems a " normal error " we could have. ). Now:

the null points for 250 are: 66mm and 120.89mm  and guess what: are the same for 252mm and for 300mm too because null points are determined by the most inner/outer groove distance and not because P2S or EL. This is true for Löfgren B or other kind of alignment.

We have to take in count that inner and outer most groove distances are 2 of the 3 inputs to make the alignment calculations, the other is EL.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
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