Why use a super accurate cartridge protractor

Moonglum,

After the first 60 tries (yes you read that correctly) I was still unhappy with the final cart position which often ended up with an estimated 0.2mm offset from target in any given direction(!!!). I finally got the perfect result (and was only truly happy) after 70 tries...

Interesting to hear your take - I would imagine that +/-0.2mm is pretty good and that 0.5mm is more typical. I have played around trying to estimate how accurately I could set the offset angle, as I think that is the real unknown when it comes to talking about accuracy, and reckon +/-0.25 degree is the variation.

However, no protractor manufacturer, as far as I know, actually says either how accurately their protractor is made, or how accurate, precise and repeatable are the setups typically achieved with their device. In particular, regarding offset angle. So, is a Mint more accurate than a Denessen, a DB, a Wally tractor, a Feickert? How to measure this?

Löfgren just used euclidean geometry - as does did everybody before/after him in the past 2260+ years in the western hemisphere - be it in tonearm geometry or any other geometrical topic related to mechanics and 3-dimensonal space on earth.
He was however unquestioned the first to muse and care about giving phono playback an optimized geometric solid basis.
And every analog audiophile should be grateful for his attempt.
I for one certainly am.
Viewed in the light of fact that there is a wide diversity of stereo records since 1958 with groove cut area varying by a wide margin, his preferences and weightings aren't as universal applicable as they were in 1934/38.

Dear John, When I stated in some thread that I am hardly
able to see 1mm I got an reprimand from Dertonarm. My compliments for your eye and capabilty to handle fractions of an 1 mm. But if the spindle variations are > 1mm (I forget what Yip from Mint tractor told me) then what is the sense of aiming at 0,2 mm elsewere? Ie some tractors must be more precise then other.

Regards,

Dear Nikola, spindle diameter variations are usually between 7,00 to 7,25 mm - so we are talking derivations between spindle diameters of maximum 0.25 mm.
As long as one tries to be as precise as possible in as many parameters as possible, it is at least a suitable way to get close to a precise alignment.
If the inaccuracy however builds up and adds ever more with the number of parameters "not cared that much about", one may (not need to - by dump luck) get not an alignment, but a "guess" which may be way off.

Why use a super accurate protractor?
Simply because it helps to get the best (read: best sonic performance) out of your cartridge/tonearm.
Would you use an expensive high performance Porsche or Mercedes (Audi, Jaguar - extend at wish ...) with old worn tires suitable for a 1955 beetle?
Not using an as precise as possible alignment ( = super precise protractor ) is simply giving away possible sonic quality and putting the whole performance of one's audio set-up at risk (sonic wise).
It is as easy as that.
If one doesn't really care about sound and possible wear of his/her records - fine, no problem (at least not mine).
But then the question arise why spending hundreds and thousands of dollars for analog playback at all?
CD-players are cheap to get and don't need a protractor (at least not a super precise one ...).
Cheers,
D

Dertonarm,

Löfgren just used euclidean geometry.... He was however unquestioned the first to muse and care about giving phono playback an optimized geometric solid basis.

As you say DT, thankfully we can stick to Euclid and don't have to concern ourselves with Riemann. Re primacy, I believe it was Percy Wilson who published the first analysis of offset tonearm geometry and Loefgren accounted for the factor of decreasing radius as a contribution to distortion. As you say, "every analog audiophile should be grateful for his attempt."

I agree when you say

his preferences and weightings aren't as universal applicable as they were in 1934/38.

My point was simply that the weightings for skewing the tracking error equations
haven't changed. What has happened, as you are well aware, is that we can now easily change the input parameters to the same good old equations and find, as you have done, an alignment that is preferable, and then specify appropriate nulls. But these nulls are not related to the actual inner radius of the records, that is, there is no formula that I have seen published, where I can enter an actual inner and outer radius and come up with say, Uni IEC, or any other null based alignment.

John

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