Tool kit for cartridge setup

And/or read the FAQ's articles at Vinyl Asylum. It's a less organized presentation, but there's a wider and possibly deeper knowledge base.

Tools:
Turntable
Tonearm
Cartridge
Phono cable (if not included with tonearm)
Phono Stage
Bubble level
Cartridge screws (nuts/bolts/washers for unthreaded cartridges)
Tiny screwdriver (for mounting screws)
Small hemostat/needle nose (for cartridge clips, be CAREFUL)
Wooden toothpick (for spreading/compressing cartridge clips)
VTF scale, preferably a decent digital one
Alignment protractor (many choices, often tonearm-dependent)
Strong, moveable/pointable light source
Magnifying glass or loupe
The ability to see small objects
Some familiar LP's (but not your mint condition copies)
A calm, patient and methodical state of mind
No caffeine
No kids/pets/significant others distracting you

Optional:
Test record (I don't bother, but they can help a newbie make sure he's covered all the bases)
Probably some stuff I forgot

Jeff,

I also agree with Larry on the scale recommendation. Best bang/buck ratio out there, and as accurate as you'll ever need. If you want to spend more, you can buy the same scale from Acoustic Sounds for $90 more. ;-)

BTW, you will hear few differences adjusting VTA/SRA with a Denon 103R, so don't go crazy over that particular parameter. The Helikon's elliptical stylus will be more sensitive, so save your arm height fine-tuning for that cartridge.

One of the few areas where Nsgarch and I disagree is the (fairly minor) point of "where to start" with VTA/SRA. Armtube level is easy, no doubt, but it's arbitrary. VTA and SRA are both cartridge/record relationships, so the starting point should be expressed in cartridge/record terms. This gets you thinking about the right thing and lets you take advantage of knowledge gained by previous users of the same cartridge.

Most cartridges perform best when level. A Shelter, however, likes to be slightly tail down while VdH recommends a nose down attitude for his cartridges. I don't know about a Helikon, so the optimal approach is to ask other owners of that cartridge.

The rest of Nsgarch's method is spot-on.

Dan,

Sorry if I misunderstood. I thought you were saying Nsgarch recommended starting with the tonearm level. That would be fairly random IMO.

If his starting point is a 1.5 (or so) degree SRA, then I would concur. That method was first published by Jon Risch in the VA FAQ's, in 1999, and I've recommended that article many times. It's a more accurate way of achieving a reasonable starting point than the method I recommended, though of course it's also more time-consuming.

Since we have to fine tune by ear anyway, I stopped using visual SRA adjustment several years ago. But for a first timer it is probably very valuable - especially because it gets you thinking about the right things.

Dan,

It's a peculiarity of my arm. Every cartridge has been that way: multiple ZYX's, two Shelters, a Koetsu and a Denon. The 4 or 5 other arms we used at Cello's had their armtubes fairly level when using the same ZYX's.

Whether it's just my particular TriPlanar or all of them I don't know. Maybe we can compare when you get your rig. (Soon!)

Hmmm, the dealer who sold me this demo TriPlanar was smart enough to ship it with silicone still in the damping trough. (Yuck! What a mess.) Maybe he adjusted VTA at the headshell, with pliers!

Love that Trio. If you only own one C&W record...

Thanks again for the adaptors. Let's A/B with Nick's and post a review!