The Stanton will hum on a metal headshell (and sometimes others). If you get Hum with an 881 you're supposed to break the ground tag on one of the pins or just disconnect that lead, though I don't remember which one it is. You should be able to see it.
Actually was this:
www.analogmagik.com
The actual change in angle is very small. I'm not even sure if my calculations were correct, but I think that raising my arm by 1mm results in a change in angle of ~0.25°. Fremer even mentions that in his "big" article about SRA (how little the angle changes with regards to arm height), and it kind of throws water on the idea that the arm height should be changed when switching from 180g records to 200g or standard 140(?)g. If playing records was that nitpicky where I had to change the height with every single record, I'd go straight back to digital and never return.
Huh. I had that with my Nagaoka. I thought the headshell was bad. Or rather, two headshells, as I had a lot of hum on both. What I ended up doing was mounting the cart with plastic screws, and also insulating the top of the cart with a layer of clear packing tape. Dead silent!
I don't remember how you break the ground strap on the Stanton or if it's permanent. It removes the body of the cart from the ground scheme...or something. But yes plastic screws and shims to disconnect the cart physically from the shell should work, though I don't recall the Pioneer table having a metal head shell so... could be something else?
Yeah, it's confusing. But to what does VTA refer? Is that a manufacturer specification for the cartridge that we are referring to? I think part of the fallacy is that the designed VTA of a stylus/cantilever assembly doesn't carry through to manufacturing tolerances, and we get styli/cantilevers that aren't exactly what they should be. That is what Fremer was referring to--not so much VTA, but with how far off some of the cartridges were in terms of tolerances. Look at how bad my "unnamed" cartridge was--unacceptable build quality for my $700-ish dollars.
Speaking of anti-skate, that's next on my list. It's been oddly more important to get right on this low-low-mass arm than in heavier arms. I guess that makes sense?
Indeed it could be anything. But at least the process of elimination (removing the headshell grounding) by insulating could help track down the problem.
Very insightful.
I feel it's one of the most important settings--balancing the pressure between both groove walls ensures even wear of the stylus, and that the stylus traces properly by being properly "centered."
I called it "dumb luck." 🤣
I don't disagree that you need it, its just that it varies so much across a record that I don't know that I agree that there's a 'correct' number for it, beyond a sort of average.
I have a couple of headshells where I've just scavenged leads to make a full set, and they're all the wrong colors...or multiples of the same color, and I set up carts on them going by just knowing the pin-out. It's a good thing I don't have OCD as that would drive me NUTS if I did.
Indeed, it's a dynamic force that changes with diameter as well as speed--45 RPM should need a separate setting than 33⅓, I would think. An ancient turntable I had (my first "real" one I guess) had separate scales for conical and elliptical styli, so there's that too, I guess?
I've never once even thought about changing VTA for thicker records. Life is far too short to live like that.Actually was this:
AnalogMagik All in One Cartridge Alignment Software
Turntable Setup Cartridge Alignment Software, Speed, Wow & Flutter, VTA, VTF, SRA, Loading, Gain, Anti-Skating, Vibration, Resonance
Looks quite clever in its execution. I just can't swallow the price. Then again, if it takes away my frustration, maybe it's worth it? I don't know. I'm just getting to a point where I'm dreading setting up the next cartridge.
The actual change in angle is very small. I'm not even sure if my calculations were correct, but I think that raising my arm by 1mm results in a change in angle of ~0.25°. Fremer even mentions that in his "big" article about SRA (how little the angle changes with regards to arm height), and it kind of throws water on the idea that the arm height should be changed when switching from 180g records to 200g or standard 140(?)g. If playing records was that nitpicky where I had to change the height with every single record, I'd go straight back to digital and never return.
BTW, one thing I would like to get is some sort of microscope so I can see the actual tip of the stylus to determine if it is worn, installed crooked, etc. No idea what I would even look for, and it would probably be beyond my budget for a good one I'm thinking...
Life is way too short for that crap...
I hate to admit it (as I love cartridges), but I get close with a Feickert and a mirror, then just listen. My ears aren't great any more, and neither are my eyes. Hands are even worse. So excessive fiddling of the sort I used to do is wasted on my senses and just makes me sad for lost skills...
I get all into it for an evening then quickly lose interest and settle in to listen. I'm not somebody who constantly fusses over it every day. The only time I did that was with some annoying carts that I couldn't figure out- and turns out some of those had internal issues that were never going to be cured by alignment. My Zyx was like that. I learned a lot about alignment trying to figure that cart's alignment out as it was sibilant no matter what I did, and it turned out to be defective. Trying to fight the VPI unipivot it was on really turned me off from listening to records at all for a bit.
