Good cartridge for Audioquest PT6 arm ???

Generally Dreadhead, having the Cantilever Tube of the Tonearm level to the LP's Surface when the Cartridge is in the playing position is a good place to start with the PT-6, and generally any Tonearm.

To set overhand which is essential, You'll need some form of Cartridge Protractor, there are many from a cheap piece of paper, then up up to the Mobile Fidelity GeoDisc, (which is what), and then of course, one can go beyond, and things like the WallyTractor, are probably the best, But I think it's unnecesary to go to this extent with what you have.

Since there's no azimuth adjustment on the PT-6 Arm, (Tilt of the Headshell itself) this is one area you shouldn't have to concern yourself about.

Now onto Vertical Tracking Force, and Anti-Skating.

I've found that the provided Toneram adjustments on my own AQ Arm's Counterweightm and AntiSkate Control are pretty close, so first balance the Tonearm so that it's neutral (Balanced) in a level position hovering over the LP (Be careful here), Make careful adjustments clockwise/counter-clockwise on the Tonearm's Counterweight until this is achieved, then I return the Arm to its rest. Now carefully, without letting the counterweight turn on its shaft, set the circular slip dial at the front of the Tonearm to Zero. After this is done, then grab the rear of the Counterweight, and screw it in on its shaft to the desired Tracking Force Weight (ie: 1-1/2gms-2gms-etc)

It will be close, but I recommend at least getting an inexpensive Shure VTF Gauge.

Now to set the AntiSkate. Whatever your VTF force is, let's say 2 grams. set the little round Antiskate Knob to this same value. Provided nothing is broken on the arm, you'll be kind of close. If your vertical tracking Force is 1-1/2 grams, set the little Dial between 1, and 2. make sense?

A better method to achieve very close Antiskate Adjustment, will be with a Test Record which has an area with no grooves. The Hi-Fi News LP, or the Cardas Test/Demag LP is good for this. The final process is to test by ear, and a test LP can help in this regard also.

These adjustments should get you into some form of close Ballpark, and make the Arm usable without incurring damage to either Stylus, or LP.

As far as VTA, there's almost really no book you can look to for precise adjustment with any given Cartridge. This ultimately has to be done by ear.
Hope this helps, and if I missed spmething, please folks feel free to chime in. Mark

Mark, you are the best. Upon following your advice I believe my deck and cartridge are performing as they should. Your response should be archived for all the novice audiophiles like myself. What is the break-in period for a new cartridge such as this? I also noticed a slight speed variation at start up, is this normal for this deck? Dread

I recommend just paying someone to come over and do it! I paid one of the 'senior techs' at a local high-end shop, who specializes in phono stuff, about a hundred and ten bucks to drive to my place and install the new cartridge. For my money, I not only got the guy's expertise and time (took about 30-40 minutes plus his driving time) but the use of his expensive:
1) VTF gauge (he used a high-end one to precisely set this)
2) Protractor (believe it was wallytools)
3) Speed strobe disc

The above tools alone would have cost me hundreds of dollars more than I paid. While it's true that buying and learning to use the tools may have some long-term benefits, having TT set up on-location (after moving the rack to the best place in the room - something he also helped me to determine) brings both peace of mind and great sound from the get-go. Now my new TT is a vpi scoutmaster, but I believe that having bought the hw-19jr/pt-6/glider from the same dealer some 8 years ago and having it set up by the same people for free (as part of the package deal) is part of the reason I enjoyed the hw-19jr for so long. Even during transport, the VTF and cartridge alignment never went out of whack (verified this the night before selling the jr.).

Of course some will say that fiddling with the tt and learning to set it up is half the fun, but not for me. I managed to set up the scoutmaster on my own using the Glider from the jr. ( just to see how the glider sounded on this TT, while awaiting a new cartridge), but I don't fool myself into thinking that I did as good a job as someone more experienced who owns the best TT tools boot). I'd rather know I'm getting close to (or actually) the best sound possible from the hardware I already own - not to mention having my LPs treated more gently by a stylus pointing the right direction - and just enjoy it.
Sorry if this comes across as contrary to the spirit of do-it-yourself fun, but just thought I'd share my opinion on something that is certainly fun to mess around with a bit, but is often ( though certainly not always) best left to professionals.

Ted,I couldn't agree more. Every point you made is easily understood. I see you own a Scoutmaster, my HW-jr plus the new 103r cartridge cost me $675.00 total. I still use my old Tandberg separates, the pre-amp has a great MC, MM phono pre/amp built right in and with a 150 watts per channel the amp has more then enough punch to give me what I need. $600.00 with the rosewood side panels on eBay years ago. Combined together, the price of probably your cartridge alone. Point being, if I had the half the cash invested in my system that you do I wouldn't settle for less then what you suggest either. For now it's a modest system but all the fun is in the upgrades anyway. Dread

Granted. However, it's often said that a well set-up tt based system can often sound as good or better than one costing several times as much, so even at the total investment level you mentioned, ultra tweaking is not to be dismissed (not to say you were dismissing it). My first TT was a Rotel that cost only around $300 used with Signet cartridge, and my amp which included the phono stage was a modest $150 Onkyo 45 watt receiver. Speakers were $100 JBL's. Even at that level, I'm glad I had it professionally set up (wasn't very expensive, since I carried the TT in to the dealer myself). That was about 12 years ago. Think of this (you probably already have): any minimization of damage done to the LPs you currently own will appreciated down the road when the bug bites and you take the plunge on a used higher end cartridge and/or table (incl. heavier platters, etc). The grooves will have a less plowed-through sound. Now that I think of it, probably the single biggest upgrade you could make to your analog front end would be some kind of used LP cleaning machine. Comparing my scoutmaster to the hw-19jr I just had, and comparing that in turn to the old Rotel, I think the biggest differences in sound between them were noticeable when playing non-audiophile records that were less than clean. For example, the Police album 'Regatta de Blanc' (bought used in exc. condition for about 3 bucks) sounded really great on the Rotel! Even the subtle bubbling sound heard in the background in the track 'Walking on the Moon' lent the track the type of organic sound (euphonic or not) that is evident even on the lowliest turntables. Now I dig that same flimsy album out and play it on the scoutmaster, sinking the expensive Lyra into grooves that must be throughly plowed by now, and - possibly owing to optimal TT setup way back when - that disc still sounds better in many ways than the corresponding SACD.

Again, didn't want to come across as preachy. Indeed I'm really still not nearly as experienced with the tech aspects of analog as I should be, and my most recent upgrades have come, perhaps foolishly, at the expense of not being able to afford any speakers (!). Yet I still believe that a system's source (and helper components such as phono preamp) is much more important than any pair of speakers or any amp, since a great source (especially in the analog domain) playing a great recording will still have a seemless musicality that in many ways sounds better through $20 earbuds than a poorer source heard through $500 speakers or headphones.

Ted