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Cart not parallel after Mint LP alignment?

Howdy,

So after reading about 1000 paragraphs on how good the Mint LP Tractor is - I purchased one and had a marathon session yesterday with my new SL-1210 M5G, AT440MLa and Zupreme headshell...

After all was said and done - the alignment itself took 90 hard minutes - I am finding the cartridge sitting about 5-7 degrees "right" of center. The actual cantilever and stylus are about as dead on as I wanna go with it for now.

Now a comment and a question....

Question: Is this non-parallel result in the headshell normal? It's making me think I may have a bent cantilever or something.

Comment: I have run 10-12 sides thru the rig so far and I must say - I have not yet heard the "revelation" that others have described when comparing their alignments to other protractors or even the white Technics alignment gauge. The rig sounds good...but...what I am missing here.

I must temper the above by saying I have changed phono stages frequently in the last month as well...I was getting nicely familiar with a Bellari VP-130 and then moved that for a Cambridge which lasted less than a week and I now have a Moon LP3 with maybe 25 hours on it...Even my AT440MLa might have 40-50 hours on it as well....

I am thinking that a whole bunch of stuff might need to "burn" in before the system starts to really reveal itself.

But I am very concerned with the stylus/cantilever on the cart...even with all the moves the Mint required...I expected the cartridge to sit straight in the headshell...perhaps expecting too much?

Appreciate any feedback.

Cheers!

VP
vocalpoint

Showing 9 responses by tvad

tvad
9,467 posts
 
It's normal. The MintLP is all about getting the cantilever correct. Disregard the relationship of the cartridge body to the headshell.

When I set up my SL1200 w/Zupreme headshell, the cantilever was parallel but the cartridge in relation to the headshell was not parallel.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
When I owned my analog rig, the MintLP produced the most profound improvement of any tool in the box.

For me, the MintLP BestTractor was worth every penny and more.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Just as a point of clarification, I was not commenting in my initial post about a bent cantilever.

The cartridge I set up with the MintLP on my Technics SL1200 with Zupreme headshell had a straight cantilever. That is to say the cantilever was parallel with the sides of the cartridge body.

However, after setting up the cart with the MintLP, the cartridge body was not parallel with the headshell.

The primary method employed by the MintLP is to set up cartridge by aligning the cantilever parallel with markings on the MintLP's mirrored surface. This is in contrast to a few cartridge set up templates I have used that guide the installer to adjust the cartridge's angle using the sides of the cartridge body as the reference (rather than the cantilever).
tvad
9,467 posts
 
04-18-10: Vocalpoint
As far as I can see with my eye - the cantilever is straight - however - without a precise measurement - and I must admit - my eyes were ready to pop out - how can I be absolutely sure?
As long as you've set up the cart according to the MintLP instructions, and as long as the centilever is not significantly bent, i.e. you can see the bend clearly in relation to the sides of the cart (assuming they themselves are parallel), then it doesn't matter.

Is your cart set up correctly according to the MintLP...the stylus hits both null points and the cantilever is parallel and centered between the MintLP's mirrored hash lines? If any of these are off, then the cart is not yet dialed in.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I am thinking if the cantilever position is perfect and is 100% parallel to the body - then the body should line up perfectly.
VP
Vocalpoint (Threads | Answers)
Line up perfectly to what?
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Lewm, I don't know if Yip uses geometry different than the Technics tonearm, but he required the model of my table the arm to generate the protractor.

In any case, whatever geometry he chose made no difference to me. The protractor worked exceptionally well in my system and the improvement in sound was not subtle.

As I mentioned, the cartridge body was not parallel to the Zupreme headshell.

I'm simply offering my observation without attempting to answer why things were as they were. I really have no interest in dissecting the reasons why because the results were so good.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
04-18-10: Vocalpoint
When the cantilever is exactly set between the nullpoints - the straight front of the cart body should be parallel to the straight front on the headshell.
That's an erroneous assumption, IMO.

And that exactly how it is for me - right up until I have to set the cantilever to the null points.
It's been a while since I set up my cart with the MintLP, but as I recall, the instructions call for setting both null points first, and then setting the cantilever to parallel. Small adjustments may be required afterward, but the process is one of increasing refinement in the adjustment until both null points are hit by the stylus and the cantilever is parallel and centered between the protractor's hash marks.

The cart body is 100% straight when I set the initial "effective length". Everything looks straight - until that cantilever lineup phase...then the cart must be tilted "toe-out" to the right.
Correct. As I mentioned, whether the cart ends up parallel to the headshell is of no importance.

I assume when he designs his tractors...he is using the standard Technics headshell to scribe those lines into the glass.
This is an erroneous assumption, IMO. I'm certain if you email Yip he will verify that he does not scribe the mirror's hash lines according to the headshell.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Good luck, VP.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I found after setting up my cart on the Technics tonearm with the MintLP that the sound was clear and free of distortion. The difference was not subtle.

Sometimes people complain of "brightness" with turntables, when in fact what they're complaining about is distortion, especially in the upper mids and highs.

The MintLP eliminated this distortion.

That was the difference I observed. Some might consider it subtle. It wasn't like the first orgasm by any means.
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