Looks quite impressive! Great work, Dertonarm. |
@Dertonarm
I have the Clearaudio jig. It has 4 different setups including the standard IEC one. They contend that the 72mm is better for most LPs because they have a long lead out groove.
By the way, does your jig work with cartridges with very low bodies? Like a Grado Statement1? It is very tough to see the cantilever because of the square body hiding the cantilever from the front. |
I agree. For someone like me who is more interested in listening to music at the best sonics instead of spending hours fiddling around with loupes and what not, ease of use is very important. I'd rather set up the cartridge spot on once and get on with the music. |
"Joel had considered the idea of providing a Mint protractor with the tonearm, but we see examples above of individuals who cannot relate to this wonderful tool."
I certainly can relate to this tool. I also can relate to the fact that with the supplied 10x loupe, with my cartridge, it is not practical as I can't get a good view of the cantilever. So it doesn't matter how accurate Mint may be. Of course with another type of loupe, it might work beautifully.
If Dertoarm's allow for easy view and the alignment is precise, I think it will be a hit. Plus, I've been wanting to try out Lofgren. |
I am very happy that you can change the color of the reticule. Thanks. Great customer service. Looking forward to getting it. |
I did read the vinylengine article on the VPI jig. It was hard to take it to heart because the spindle to pivot for the 10.5i is completely wrong.
He says 262mm but in reality, it is 256mm. |
Isn't it true that the VPI jig that comes with the 10.5i arm is not based on Lofgren, Baerwarld, or Stevenson? I think I read somewhere that Harry used his ears along with some other method...
And how accurate can one align a stylus by eye and hand? |
Interesting. I'll take out the VIP jig again and check it out. Currently, my Grado Statement1 is set up with the Mint protractor. By the way, I emailed Yip about my question asking if he might have a better alternative than his 10x loupe and he refuses to get back to me. Kind of not what I expected as when I was in the process of purchase, he was quick to get back to me.
I noticed with the VPI jig that it is easy to fool your own eyes. Because of the white lines and the black jig, you can trick yourself depending on the position you take in front to view. The parallax effect, is it called? It is easier to check it from above but then again, you never can know if the cantilever is exactly perpendicular to the body front... I am starting to think that exact and precise is not in the cards for cartridge adjustment. The stylus might not even be exact to the cantilever, right? |
That is for sure. I am using the Mint protractor for my VPI 10.5i arm right now. The Mint is made with Baerwald IEC, I believe. |
@Thuchan,
I listen to mostly classical although I don't know if you can call artists like Xenakis "classical" but that is someone I am studying right now. I play jazz for a living!
Anyway, I can only be so lucky to have received it yet. Still waiting for my Uni-pro. My main concern is the ease of use which Mint did not provide and Yip shows poor customer service with. Also precision is very important. Looking forward to using it. |
Thuchan:
Looking forward to your more detailed impressions of the uni-pro. Just received my tracking # so I should have mine shortly. |
@John,
You state all good tonearmas have anti-skating. The VPI 12.7 and 10.5i does not. Are they bad tonearms from your experience? The 10.5i sounds really good to me. I did try the VPI after market anti-skating and it made the sound worse. So I went back to what Harry recommends which is to not use any anti-skating with the 10.5i arm. The music sounds much better this way to me.
Certainly sounds better than my Thorens table which has anti-skating. |
I enjoyed your review.
For me, I want to do a better job finding the center of the pivot on the 10.5i arm with the Uni-Pro. Perhaps the reticule can be of a different color? Since it is white, it is a bit tough to see against the silver of the 10.5i arm. This issue is not limited to Uni-Pro. Feickert and Clearaudio also has this issue. The center rod is too skinny for the center hole of the 10.5i arm pivot. At least the Uni-Pro provides a reticule. |
I spent an afternoon with the Uni-Pro.
The following is my own impression and opinion:
The Uni-Pro came packaged very very well. All parts were in protective pouches, etc. The PDF manual is excellent. Easy to read and follow.
I initially took a gander at my LPs and found most were not even IEC standard and the grooves ended well before. So I chose Lofgren IEC template to start.
The set up of the Uni-Pro is very simple and the build quality is top notch. I felt great to having this tool to use.
The set up using the Lofgren IEC template with the Uni-Pro was the easiest of all my jigs and protractors. The 10x loupe positioned perfectly and I was able to really see the cantilever in relation to the alignment lines. The parallax lines really help out to know that your head position is correct. So much easier than the Mint with the supplied 10x loupe which can roll easily and hit your cartridge. With the Uni-Pro loupe, it was a cinch to know for sure. It allowed for me to really see the cantilever of my Grado Statement1 which I was not able to do with Mint loupe.
The Uni-Pro also comes with nice extras like LED light which came in handy, ruler to measure P2S distance, and other goodies. Even gloves for the super obsessive! Great, as I am a bit of that.
I will try Daniel's VPI 10.5i template next and then try the Baerwarld IEC as well. To note, I did not like the sound of Lofgren IEC and reset my cartridge to VPI's own jig which has a sweeter timbre and less harshness on grand pianos. So it makes me realize Harry at VPI knows what he's doing although some here seems to consider his methods suspect.
Finally, I am not a tone arm physicist or anything like that. I am just musician and also a recording engineer who work with my ears daily musically since I was 2 years old.
Is Uni-Pro worth the 700 bucks? That would be up to the individual and their wallet. For me, it was a great purchase as it makes setting up my cartridge so much easier with no fuss. So a yes for me but I am in NYC where a nice evening out with your date can cost a grand... |
I agree that accuracy is very important and should not be sacrificed by ease of use.
I'll set up using Uni-Pro's Baerwarld IEC and then recheck with my Mint protractor which is also Baerwald IEC and see if they are spot on or any differences. |
@John,
Yes, Harry says in the manual that with every tonearm he's heard, it sounded better without anti-skate and heavier VTF.
The twisting of the cable is a bit "hit and miss". I tried it with a test record and whichever way I twisted it, it increased distortion on the same channel (left). With my oscilloscope and headphones, I confirmed it was the best without any twist in the arm cable. Without a twist, the arm and cartridge (Grado Statement1) tracked perfectly.
Grado recommended 1.7g vtf with the Statement1. I went with 1.8g but in the end, to my ears, 1.9g sounded the best so that is where it is now. Also some damping fluid for the pivot.
Thanks for you response. |
@Ct0517
Yes, I find my VPI 10.5i arm to be best without a twist in the cable as well. |
@04rdking
It's okay if you don't understand it.
The Uni-Pro allows me to try out different alignments. I just didn't like the Lofgren IEC compared to the VPI. I will try the Baerwald IEC and the VPI specific alignment later this week. Perhaps I'll find one of them preferable to the VPI alignment.
Oh, I also want to add that the Uni-Pro is much more precise than the VPI jig. The VPI jig has a certain amount of play between the jig and the metal piece that moves to contact the pivot base. The parralax effect can throw you off on the vpi jig as well. |
@John,
I might install the VPI after market Anti-skate weights again just to re-confirm what I heard the first time.
The thing is if the anti-skate force differs from the beginning to the end of an LP, how can a constant weight compensation like the VPI weight on a string work correctly on the entire LP? It can't, I would think. |
I think Daniel added the ruler as a "estimate" tool and not for a precise measurement. If you look at the positioning arm, it does not go to the spindle so it can't give P2S measurement without a complete re-design.
I believe if you are very careful, you can get a very precise measurement of P2S with the ruler supplied, though. Use some CD cases to lift the ruler so it is completely parallel to the platter. Look at the ruler directly from above as well. |
Finally had time to try Dertonarm's VPI template. It is very close the VPI jig. The stylus hit the stylus mark on the template exactly. I saw it was canted slightly with the stylus end of the cantilever closer to the spindle. I made the adjustment and am listening now. The cartridge is the Grado Statement1 on a VPI 10.5i arm. The LP is John McLaughlin's Extrapolation.
Compared to the VPI, the music sounds more open and the individual instrument's are more clear in the stereo mix.
I don't have any idea what Daniel's VPI template is based on but it sure sounds good. This is the setup I will be using with my VPI table. Thanks, Daniel. The only wish I have is to have an easier way to find the exact center of the pivot. I found the regular pin easier to "see" the center of the pivot than the reticule.
Overall, I am quite happy with the Uni-Pro. The led light is very useful and the setup makes it very easy to see the cantilever. |
I tried the Uni-Pro on my Thorens TD-316. I love this simple table and is my 1st table I bought as a kid. Got it new in the mid 80's.
I chose the Baerwarld IEC for this table which comes with the TP-21 arm. I used Benz Micro MC20E2 cartridge.
I had to level the spring suspension a bit after placing the Uni-Pro on the platter. No big deal. The cartridge had to be scooted all the way to the front of the headshell in order for the stylus to hit the point precisely. The Uni-Pro makes sighting the cantilever a simple procedure.
Listening to some Keith Jarrett LPs and I have to say, this modest table does hold quite well against my main table which costs much much more. It's been running just like new for close to 30 years with just a belt swap. Including several home moves! Too bad Thorens ain't what it used to be. |
Dertonarm,
Any news about the reticule with black markings for silver arms? Looking forward to it. |
