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Time to choose: Baerwald, Lofgren, Stevenson ?

I’ve managed Dr.Feickert Analog Protractor for a decent price (build quality is superb, such a great tool).

Time to play with Baerwald, Lofgren, Stevenson alignments on my Luxman PD444.
Need advice from experienced used of the following arms:
Lustre GST 801
Victor UA-7045
Luxman TA-1
Reed 3P "12
Schick "12

Baerwald, Lofgren, Stevenson ? What do you like the most for these arms?
Manufacturers recommend Baerwald mostly. 

Dedicated "7 inch vinyl playback deserve Stevenson alternative, maybe?
Since it's a smaller format than normal "12 or "10 inch vinyl, it's like playin the last track's according to position of grooves on '7 inch (45 rpm) singles. RCA invented this format, i wonder which alignment did they used for radio broadcast studios.   

Thanks

128x128chakster

Showing 3 responses by cleeds

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cleeds
5,720 posts
 
sampsa55
If the cartridge is aligned as designed by manufacturer, then the cartridge is straight in the headshell.
Oh no, that's not at all necessarily the case. As others have pointed out, there's often a slight misalignment of the cantilever within the cartridge itself. Proper cartridge alignment aligns the cantilever to the record, and not the cartridge to the headshell. This is where mirrored alignment gauges - such as the WallyTracktor - really excel.
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cleeds
5,720 posts
 
downunder
Tangetial tracking is what most audiophiles should be aspiring to right?
Not necessarily. Tangential trackers introduce their own set of problems including higher friction and noisy fiddly air pumps, depending on the arm, of course. Other so-called tangential trackers rely on a servo to maintain tangency, so there is periodic deviation from tangency as the servo "hunts" to correct it. Some audiophiles consider most linear trackers to be a cure worse than the disease.
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cleeds
5,720 posts
 
fleib

Chakster mentioned Feickert in OP. Great device based on the Dennison Soundtractor, gets excellent results as long as it's used properly.

Both of those protractors are flawed because they assume the cantilever is perfectly aligned within the cartridge, which is quite often not the case. That's why I prefer a mirrored protractor that actually aligns the cantilever.
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