Trouble setting up my 1210MK2 / AT120E

[florian]

Hey!

Just bought a new AT120E cartridge for my Technics 1210 MK2 that I now wanted to setup properly. Easier said than done! Almost everything went fine but I have big trouble aligning the stylus the right way. I’ve the feeling that the provided overhang adjustment tool from Technics does not really do a great job and now I’m wondering what a potential alternative could be.

I've already downloaded the Technics Arc Protractor from http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml but no matter what I do I can’t align the needle with the arc – Am I just too stupid or is there something else wrong? My Technics is not customized in any way (default arm, …) so the tool should basically work, or?

Any help would be really appreciated!

Florian

[DSJR]

I'm certainly not as anal as some for setting these things up. IMO, the most important place is the inner null point, as the increased vinyl speed at the beginning of a record gives less potential for distortion, despite tracking errors being greatest here.

The optimum inner null point can be either 60mm (old) or 65mm (new) point from record centre. Rega still use the 60mm point IIRC and Linn and SME use 65mm I think. For my SL1500's, I use the Linn 65mm inner point with no audible issues.

My AT120E is currently in the Garrard AP76. The C2 headshell has no overhang adjustment at all, so I just made sure the cartridge was square and true as possible, set it up with the "wedge" for VTA and to track at 1.4g with equivalent setting on the bias lever and it sounds sublime with excellent tracking at side end (I have a torture track which defeats many older MC types). Great value cartridge this one, in a surprisingly "nice" sounding deck once the "Garrard Glue" was removed and cleaned away :)

[Marco]

Hi Florian,

The alignment tool should be pretty accurate, but remember that it is set to align with Stevenson, as is the Technics arm, not Baerwald.

If the protractor you're trying to use is set for Baerwald, you won't be able to align your cartridge. If you download a Stevenson alignment protractor, all should be well! :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

As above - the AT120E doesn't have a fine-line tip with correspondingly fussy setup, so don't worry if it isn't "quite" right to start with. Proper protractors are readily available for not much dosh.

[RobbieGong]

Hey!

Just bought a new AT120E cartridge for my Technics 1210 MK2 that I now wanted to setup properly. Easier said than done! Almost everything went fine but I have big trouble aligning the stylus the right way. I’ve the feeling that the provided overhang adjustment tool from Technics does not really do a great job and now I’m wondering what a potential alternative could be.

I've already downloaded the Technics Arc Protractor from http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml but no matter what I do I can’t align the needle with the arc – Am I just too stupid or is there something else wrong? My Technics is not customized in any way (default arm, …) so the tool should basically work, or?

Any help would be really appreciated!

Florian

Make sure that the line across the top (A to A) measures 140 mm as stated on the printed protractor. I made this mistake once as not all printers will print it to the right size, I think you have to select something or the other in the print option. Myself and two staff in a hifi outlet could not get my Techie arm / needle to follow arc no matter how we tried. About an hour later after almost giving up the will to live we realised what the problem was :mental:. I have the printed Baerwald and it is great !

[blake]

Hi Florian,

The alignment tool should be pretty accurate, but remember that it is set to align with Stevenson, as is the Technics arm, not Baerwald.

If the protractor you're trying to use is set for Baerwald, you won't be able to align your cartridge. If you download a Stevenson alignment protractor, all should be well! :)

Marco.

The Technics alignment is proprietary. It is neither Stevenson nor Baerwald. Null points are closer to Stevenson but they are different.

As such, Stevenson is probably the easier alignment to achieve if you are moving away from using the Technics overhang tool but many Technics users have happily aligned using Baerwald.

Whether it will be possible (Baerwald) will depend on the cartridge as the overhang will be greater (and the cartridge will be angled slightly in and not perfectly square in the headshell); with some cartridges there is not enough room in the Technics headshell to get the cartridge far enough to achieve Baerwald alignment. Some users that have been unable to do it with the Technics headshell have gone to other headshells (such as the Jelco) which have lengthier slots to allow the cartridge to shift forward and achieve proper Baerwald alignment.

[Marco]

Hi Blake,


The Technics alignment is proprietary. It is neither Stevenson nor Baerwald. Null points are closer to Stevenson but they are different.

As such, Stevenson is probably the easier alignment to achieve if you are moving away from using the Technics overhang tool....


Indeed. I was simply stating that, as most people I know seem to prefer Baerwald, and view this as somehow the 'de-facto' choice, they may run into difficulties in some applications, as indeed appears to be the case with the OP.

In my experience, Japanese tonearms generally align more accurately with Stevenson, as was the case with the stock Technics arm, Jelco SA-750, and my new Ortofon RS-212D, certainly with the cartridges I've used - and particularly with the SPU, which being fitted into a fixed position inside its headshell, offers no overhang adjustment whatsoever.

Like you say, however, nothing is written in stone :)

Marco.

[florian]

Thanks a lot for your very friendly and also immediately helpful replies! Seems to be a great community :)

I did indeed use a Baerwald arc protractor, which probably explains the difficulties. Just printed a Stevenson one, double-checked it for its accuracy and will give it a try this evening. Let's see!

[Marco]

Nice one. Let us know how you get on :)

Marco.

[RobbieGong]

Thanks a lot for your very friendly and also immediately helpful replies! Seems to be a great community :)

I did indeed use a Baerwald arc protractor, which probably explains the difficulties. Just printed a Stevenson one, double-checked it for its accuracy and will give it a try this evening. Let's see!

Hi Florian, could you kindly attach link to the printed Stevenson you're using. I've always used the printed Baerwald to good effect, that said I have noticed that sometimes playback is slightly less great near end of a side so another option would be great to try. Cheers - Rob :)

[florian]

I've printed this one but not yet tried: http://www.vinylengine.com/ve_downloads/index.php?stevenson_protractor.pdf

It's not an arc but has just two alignment points...

[RobbieGong]

Nice one Florian, very much appreciated. I've never used the Stevenson but will give it try, any probs I'm in no doubt a good few of the guys will be happy to advise re: how to use it properly - Thanks again. :)

[florian]

Thanks for the help - Stevenson worked great! It's time to focus again on listening to great music :)

[Marco]

Excellent news, Florian. I thought that would work well! :)

Marco.