Cartridge Alignment

[Angsty]

So uh. Anyone else here crazy enough to poke at that VinylEngine calculator until they have their own NEW ALIGNMENT SCHEME?? I couldn't be bothered to do the math, but my understanding is that the main two methods don't take into account that the stylus obviously doesn't get any thinner as it moves towards the center of the record, so you want the amount of distortion to roughly decrease by like half as you move from the edge to the label. At the same time, most records, especially these days, don't cut all the way to the label, and if they do it should be a quiet song, so you can have it race off as you get REALLY close to the label. Basically just poked at the calculator until I thought it fit and I don't know if it's much of a breakthrough but I like the results I've been getting. Yellow line in the image below.

View attachment 169813

No, but I have thought many times about picking up the Tracking Wizard template for my turntable from Ebay to get a similar result.

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[Phaneronic]

No, but I have thought many times about picking up the Tracking Wizard template for my turntable from Ebay to get a similar result.

Huh, I didn't even know that was a thing. I just took one of the "Stupid Protractor" PDFs off VinylEngine and edited it in Photoshop with my own inner and outer null points. That's useful though, thanks.

 

[HiFi Guy]

So uh. Anyone else here crazy enough to poke at that VinylEngine calculator until they have their own NEW ALIGNMENT SCHEME?? I couldn't be bothered to do the math, but my understanding is that the main two methods don't take into account that the stylus obviously doesn't get any thinner as it moves towards the center of the record, so you want the amount of distortion to roughly decrease by like half as you move from the edge to the label. At the same time, most records, especially these days, don't cut all the way to the label, and if they do it should be a quiet song, so you can have it race off as you get REALLY close to the label. Basically just poked at the calculator until I thought it fit and I don't know if it's much of a breakthrough but I like the results I've been getting. Yellow line in the image below.

View attachment 169813

Cool to do this, but I’d think you’d be better served by Lofgren B (Baerwald) as the distortion is even lower.

 

[Phaneronic]

Cool to do this, but I’d think you’d be better served by Lofgren B (Baerwald) as the distortion is even lower.

Probably, and for similar as they are there's probably little audible difference, but I had to re-calibrate my arm anyways, so i thought I'd try it.

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

What are some signs of stylus degradation? I'm going on about 500 hours on my Ortofon Blue and feel I'm beginning to hear a lack of clarity on some instruments, with them sounding fuzzy in spots (hi-hats, acoustic guitars). Vocals seem to come through fine for the most part. I re-calibrated my arm and saw a bit of improvement, but still feels omnipresent.

Admittedly, I used some stylus cleaning fluid toward the beginning of its life, now knowing this isn't recommended so I stopped that. I usually play new records without cleaning them, but wash anything I buy that's used before playing.

 

[Joe Mac]

What are some signs of stylus degradation? I'm going on about 500 hours on my Ortofon Blue and feel I'm beginning to hear a lack of clarity on some instruments, with them sounding fuzzy in spots (hi-hats, acoustic guitars). Vocals seem to come through fine for the most part. I re-calibrated my arm and saw a bit of improvement, but still feels omnipresent.

Admittedly, I used some stylus cleaning fluid toward the beginning of its life, now knowing this isn't recommended so I stopped that. I usually play new records without cleaning them, but wash anything I buy that's used before playing.

With that one I noticed it losing a bit of clarity and going a bit sibilant with high pitched voices and piano tracks. Started to happen around 800-1000 hours for me. I think it’s estimated 500-1000 hours so although you’re in the early part of that you might be in the range for replacement.

 

[TrainFan73]

What are some signs of stylus degradation? I'm going on about 500 hours on my Ortofon Blue and feel I'm beginning to hear a lack of clarity on some instruments, with them sounding fuzzy in spots (hi-hats, acoustic guitars). Vocals seem to come through fine for the most part. I re-calibrated my arm and saw a bit of improvement, but still feels omnipresent.

Admittedly, I used some stylus cleaning fluid toward the beginning of its life, now knowing this isn't recommended so I stopped that. I usually play new records without cleaning them, but wash anything I buy that's used before playing.

You should clean the new records too. But if it is lost clarity on records that were clear before, it may be early degradation. Like @Joe Mac sibilance is a big indicator to me. In fact, I have a Muddy Waters 45 that I play if I even think I'm starting to degrade as it will for sure let me know. (Third Man Mannish Boy, BTW - great test record, really lets you know if everything is dialed in because if not it is painful.)

 

[Angsty]

What are some signs of stylus degradation? I'm going on about 500 hours on my Ortofon Blue and feel I'm beginning to hear a lack of clarity on some instruments, with them sounding fuzzy in spots (hi-hats, acoustic guitars).

Ortofon says “Stylus lifetime: with proper care we find that up to 1000 hours is possible without degradation of performance.”

So, you are at least on the back half of the lifespan of the stylus. You could get the replacement stylus to do an A-B comparison, knowing that you are already on the path to eventual replacement.

Stylus 2M Blue

A genuine replacement part for Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge

www.ortofon.com

 

[isslewis]

Sounds like you need to check for level and adjust the Anti-Skate On A Turntable.

 

[kvetcha]

What are some signs of stylus degradation? I'm going on about 500 hours on my Ortofon Blue and feel I'm beginning to hear a lack of clarity on some instruments, with them sounding fuzzy in spots (hi-hats, acoustic guitars). Vocals seem to come through fine for the most part. I re-calibrated my arm and saw a bit of improvement, but still feels omnipresent.

Admittedly, I used some stylus cleaning fluid toward the beginning of its life, now knowing this isn't recommended so I stopped that. I usually play new records without cleaning them, but wash anything I buy that's used before playing.

I would try some Blu-Tac just to make sure your stylus isn’t gunked.

 

[Jbraswell]

I would try some Blu-Tac just to make sure your stylus isn’t gunked.

Great idea. I've been down this road before but it was a thread wrapped around the tip. Caused all kinds of degraded sound.