I own both the Smartractor and the Feikert and have used a few others. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. The Feikert and Smartractor are universal and offer choices on alignment scheme you want to use, but, both require precisely finding the pivot point of the arm. The Smartractor has an optical grid to make that easier to do if your arm does not actually display that point. The lines on the Feikert are easier to see (clear, high contrast, not a mirrored surface), but, the Smartractor mirrored surface allows for more precise alignment because you can readily see when your eye is precisely aligned with the line along which the cantilever should follow (you move your head until only one line appears), A mirrored surface is also helpful when your stylus is not easy to see because of its location deep under the body of the cartridge. The Smartractor also has three different sizes for the turntable spindle so there is no slop and attendant inaccuracy. The Smartractor comes with a magnifier that sits in a slot for that purpose and it makes it much easier to see what one is doing than going it without such an aid. But, the magnifier is something you can find on line, so that is somewhat of a trivial advantage. In terms of ease and speed of alignment, the Smartractor is hard to beat. Once you have located and aligned the arm on the protractor with the center of the pivot, you only have to align the cartridge at a single point on the protractor surface. The only thing I would add to the Smartractor kit would be a rubber wedge or some other means of absolutely holding the platter still.
Something like the mint is easy to use and very precise, but, it is custom made and meant to provide only one alignment choice, and only for a very specific pivot to spindle distance. If that distance is not measured accurately, the mint will not work.
Something like the mint is easy to use and very precise, but, it is custom made and meant to provide only one alignment choice, and only for a very specific pivot to spindle distance. If that distance is not measured accurately, the mint will not work.
