Ace Space Tonearm Setup... How?

[Simon_LDT]

I've been setting up various Notts arms for decades now, with all manner of cartridges and never had the slightest trouble..

Maybe it's my cart (although I assumed it was near ''normal/standard'' size)?

All I know is that I don't think it's possible to mount the 9'' spacearm at 222mm. My old Rega RB300 was mounted at 222mm and I'm sure it's a slightly longer arm than the spacearm.

My cart is as far forward as it will mount in the headshell and to align to the Notts grid the pivot to spindle is 207mm. The pivot to spindle really doesn't matter though as long as the cart aligns to the grid (or protractor arc) as it then sets itself.

I can only assume the Notts 222mm is for the later 10'' arm?

When I read various threads online about the ace spacearm it seems I'm not the only one with this problem. Many others seem to mount at 210mm, but like I said earlier it doesn't matter as long as the cart/stylus traces the arc and/or alignment grid of choice.

[hifi_dave]

Nothing out of the ordinary with an Adikt - isn't it an Audio Technica ?

The way I do it on any Notts turntable, is to loosely fit the cartridge midway along the slots on the headshell. I then place the arm on the protractor and rotate the arm base around until the stylus fits on the spot and the headshell is square to the protractor. Takes all of a couple of minutes to do and then tighten all the bolts.

No drama, no problem.

[EJR]

Hi Simon,

This document:

http://www.edsstuff.org/docs/notting...manual_faq.pdf

lists, on page 2:

Set up Specs

Distance from Tone arm center to spindle:

Interspace and RB-250 222 mm
Ace Space Arm 210 mm
Anna Arm (10") 222 mm
Anna Arm (12") 294 mm

On page 10:

Pivot to Stylus:

Anna Arm 12” = 294mm (11 37/64 in.)
Anna Arm 10” = 222mm (8 ¼ in.)
Spacearm = 210mm (8 17/64 in.)
Interspace Arm = 210mm (8 17/64 in.)

Very inconsistent and confusing. This contradicts the document which I received from NA and forwarded to you. What length does your tonearm measure?

Eddie

[forsell]

Been messing about all day with this arm and can't seem to get it set right. I've attached my Linn Adikt cart to the headshell and placed it as far forward as it will go. If I then move the arm mount pod on my Ace Spacedeck to make the pivot > Spindle 210mm, I can't then seem to get enough overhang for a Baerwald alignment. I've currently got the pivot > Spindle at around 207mm, which is getting me in the ballpark but I just cannot get the stylus to follow the protractor and be accurate in all spots. It's near but out by a fraction in places. I've had the platter off/on so many times moving the arm pod around.

Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated because I'm going crazy here.

What arc protractors are NA users using for alignment?

No reliable information from you if it a 9 inch or 10 inch Ace Space we talk about hence no one can provide reliable feedback as you can see... 210 mm spindle to arm pivot distance seems to be correct for older 9 inchers (as stored in Vinyl Engine data base) but newer/current production Ace Space are 10 inch & 12 inch with 222 mm spindle to arm pivot distance for the 10 inch version. To make the NA arm story even more confusing: going by data NA provides their 10 inchers can NOT be "true" 10 inch arms, because the spindle to arm pivot distance for true 10 inchers as with my Helius arms is around 236 mm and effective length is 253-255 mm (Orion & Cyalene). 10 inch is exactly 254 mm so Helius are true 10 inchers but NAs 10 inchers are rather true 9,5 inch arms fitting somewhere between 9 inch and true 10 inch arms -the "10 inch" designation being only poor marketing gag, unnecessarily confusing folks out there...

[Simon_LDT]

It's the 9'' I have, so the 210mm seems accurate to me.

BTW, have had my arm set-up for weeks now and very happy with it. I do think though that the NA info out there is pretty poor/basic and in some instances not available. For example, they don't explain at all how the anti-skating works/how to set it. Now that I've lived with it for a while and have had some great help from the folks replying here, it's simple to understand. They are easy tables to set-up in general but it would be nice to have better info out there to help with initial set-up.

[hifi_dave]

If you buy a Notts, then the retailer is obliged to set it up, as I do with every turntable I sell.

For those who by s/hand, look at post 22 for overhang tips.

[forsell]

Nothing out of the ordinary with an Adikt - isn't it an Audio Technica ?

Goldring made to linn's spec.