WallySkater and Reference.

I finally spilled the cash and bought a WallySkater and WallyReference. Many will remember in the not to distant past I thought that the WallySkater was an overpriced Rube Goldberg device. I'd like to amend that opinion and add a new one on the reference. 

I am one of the first to get the new updated Wallyskater. The old unit required adjusting thread lengths is a difficult fashion and endangered cartridges. So, Wallytools came up with a dual mini crane mechanism which works great and is way easier to use than the old method. Adjusting either thread length requires only a twist of a little knob, one knob for each thread. 

The WallySkater is very nicely made. All the parts fit together perfectly. Most people are going to take it apart when they are done as it is easier to store broken down and I wonder if any play will develop over time but there could be considerable play and it would still be accurate, just a bit sloppy. 

It works as advertised giving you repeatable readings responding immediately to a slight twist of the Schroder's magnetic anti skate control. Set to 10% of the VTF the cantilever does not deviate at all when gently let down on the record. The tonearm drifts slowly to the inside on a blank record. For anal retentives it is very reassuring. Is it worth the money? It is the only device I know of that is accurate. The one I made turned out not to be. If you are the only game in town then why not charge for it?  The WallySkater will also give you an idea of the state of your horizontal bearing. A little tap on the side will get the tonearm doing a pendulum act and a health arm will slowly decrease the amplitude of the swings until it comes to rest. A bad arm will take a few swings then stick. 

The WallyReference  is a group of jigs to adjust your tonearm's azimuth and VTA. This assume that the cartridge is accurately made and in my experience the more expensive ones are. Along with the jigs you get a little rule to measure cartridge height and a set of shims so that the jigs match that height perfectly. You put the stylus down on a record and place the rule right up next to the cartridge and measure to the top of the cartridge. Then you screw the jig to the head shell with the right shims and adjust the arm so that the jig sits flat on the surface of the record. I used a 150 Gram record. My arm is designed so that azimuth does not change with altitude. After adjustment your head shell is perfectly parallel to the plane of the record in all directions. Again, the jigs are very nicely made and there are no wear points.  The should last forever. 

I think that for people who run around setting up other peoples arms these tools are a must along with a good protractor like the WallyTractor or the SmarTractor. A usb microscope would be nice in addition to evaluate the condition of the stylus and to make sure the cartridge was constructed accurately.  As for the rest of us, they are very nice tools to have in your box. They are very reassuring for us anal retentives and in the context of other HiFi items not all that expensive. 

I finally got the nuts to ask my wife for the down payment on a pair of Atma-Sphere MA-2's. I have a few bruises but I'm still alive:-)