Fitting Nima tonearm

[Mikeandvan]

Just got my TT back from NAS, they fitted the Nima collar into the armboard for me, this Nima feels flimsy as hell! Anyway, I don't have a alignment gauge for the Nima, how do I fit it correctly? Or do I just use a rega one? Must be somewhere you can download these, I wanna hear my new tonearm asap!

[struth]

Set ups on you tube I think

[Bigbird]

Rega one will be fine as its the same geometry. One thing i found helped the nima lots was the tiger paw skale counterweight. It brought improvements to the sound quality but also having the weight closer to the pivot helped to make it feel sturdier. Its a very fine arm. Add a yannis tome cable to the party over the stock one and its a force to be reckoned with. I loved mine


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[bosa]

Roksan supply a setup template for setting the overhang and the specs/setup guide are on their website. It is easy to set up but my shaky hands make handling the ‘wobbly’ arm fun!

[Mikeandvan]

Wonder how the tonearm headshell with its slanted cart setting affects alignment?

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[Mikeandvan]

Rega one will be fine as its the same geometry. One thing i found helped the nima lots was the tiger paw skale counterweight. It brought improvements to the sound quality but also having the weight closer to the pivot helped to make it feel sturdier. Its a very fine arm. Add a yannis tome cable to the party over the stock one and its a force to be reckoned with. I loved mine


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Got a Yannis on the way! (coppercord, £60).

[scotty38]

Wonder how the tonearm headshell with its slanted cart setting affects alignment?

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Same as if the headshell itself was offset, one or the other....

[Chris]

I had never seen a Nima headshell before this thread. I don´t remember reading any criticism for using acrylic in such a vital position whereas using it for a sub-chassis received no end of hoots in its day and in general most seem to think acrylic is a no-no, cold and steriñle sounding when compared to more generally used ( and supposedly) expensive and difficult to machine materials.
Makes you think.
While very grateful to many forum comments which have helped me no end over the years, I tend to switch off when it comes to trying to understand justification for things via amateur engineering classes. I reckon the most truly useful suggestion in hi-fi is "go ahead, suck it and see" - you never know.

[Mikeandvan]

The lovely people at Monitor audio sent me a free protractor for the Nima. How the hell do I use it?

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[walpurgis]

Here: https://manualzz.com/doc/13623715/roksan-protractor-tool-manual

[Mikeandvan]

Here: https://manualzz.com/doc/13623715/roksan-protractor-tool-manual

Perfect! Thank you.

[Mikeandvan]

Puzzled by the Nima, the tonearm doesn't appear to actually rest on anything!

[struth]

think it has an integral locking mech

[Mikeandvan]

Fuck me, this tonearm is shite.

[hifi_dave]

Having fitted a few on LP12s for customers, I agree. It sounds OK but is so flimsy and wobbly.

[Mikeandvan]

Having fitted a few on LP12s for customers, I agree. It sounds OK but is so flimsy and wobbly.

Great! At what point do I have this grub screw at? As it acts as a pivot right?
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[Mikeandvan]

Yes that’s the pivot - but why are you adjusting that?

It acts as a locking mechanism when moving the tonearm, so I had to unscrew it, just wasn't sure how far. But now I realise that its role is as a pivot all is clear!

[Mikeandvan]

Oh, does it, how weird - I’ve not encountered that idea before (the locking mechanism I mean).

Yes when fully screwed down it keeps the tonearm rigid, useful for fitting carts too.

[Truckletheuncivil]

I had a Nima arm and as far as I remember you rocked the arm yoke down to unlock it. The screw in the centre wasn't a locking device but set the height of the arm on the pivot. Did it come with instructions?

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[Mikeandvan]

Its buggered now, fucking hate this tonearm.

[Mikeandvan]

Wires all twisted around the pillar. Can this be fixed? Doesn't look like it can be accessed.
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[Barry]

Can the bearing hub not be counter rotated to 'unwind' the wires?

[Mikeandvan]

Can the bearing hub not be counter rotated to 'unwind' the wires?

Nah, tried that, hard to know which way the wires go, heard some straining on the wires too, I've buggered it for sure.

[Spectral Morn]

Nah, tried that, hard to know which way the wires go, heard some straining on the wires too, I've buggered it for sure.

Contact Roksan, and get their help. https://www.roksan.com/

https://www.roksan.com/en/support/contact-us/

[Mikeandvan]

Contact Roksan, and get their help. https://www.roksan.com/

https://www.roksan.com/en/support/contact-us/

Thanks.

[Shovel_Knight]

This looks like a proper audiophile device to me: meticulously designed to make your life as hard as possible.

[Mikeandvan]

This looks like a proper audiophile device to me: meticulously designed to make your life as hard as possible.

It just seems like typical British cheapo engineering. It may sound good, may'be I'll never know!!

[Bigbird]

Oh no! Sorry to see this. Can you send it to J7 to have a look at? He rewires them so must be able to take it apart to fix. I know they feel a bit lightweight but i found them pretty easy to setup and once dialled in they sound very very good for their price point. A rewire and TP skale takes it into the bigboy leagues. Dont give up on it. I can get you some pictures of the setup manual if you need them? I sold mine to the father in law who has the bits still


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[Mikeandvan]

Oh no! Sorry to see this. Can you send it to J7 to have a look at? He rewires them so must be able to take it apart to fix. I know they feel a bit lightweight but i found them pretty easy to setup and once dialled in they sound very very good for their price point. A rewire and TP skale takes it into the bigboy leagues. Dont give up on it. I can get you some pictures of the setup manual if you need them? I sold mine to the father in law who has the bits still


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Well, at least it can be fixed, but a £100 for being clumsy is hard to swallow, plus p&p, still, my own fault.

[AJSki2fly]

Well, at least it can be fixed, but a £100 for being clumsy is hard to swallow, plus p&p, still, my own fault.

Sorry to read about your mishap, at least it can be fixed and then you will be off to musical heaven. :D

[hifi_dave]

Well, at least it can be fixed, but a £100 for being clumsy is hard to swallow, plus p&p, still, my own fault.

I don't think you have been particularly clumsy. The few Nimas I have fitted have been a pain and in use have developed little, annoying problems, which shouldn't happen. They don't have a nice 'feel'.

Forum types often have a dig at Rega but their arms are robust, easy to set up, stay set up and perform perfectly for year after year. I know which I would rather use.

[Mikeandvan]

J7 will rewire the arm without too much pain to my pocket, 2-3 week wait.

[Mikeandvan]

Tonearm back from Johnie J7, very quick, he pointed out the weird use of ribbon printed cable as the original stock internal wiring! Replaced with cardas at £80, and only £5 postage. Look forward to fitting it now.

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[WESTLOWER]

Reading this thread with slight puzzlement.

The Nima is actually a very fine arm for something under £500. It really lets the music just come through.

It's flimsy because that's what unipiviots generally feel like in use. If you haven't used one before they do take a while getting used to it.
Use the arm lift! Cueing by hand (especially after a jar) will inevitably lead to you kicking the cat! :doh:

As Chris said, if you invest in a Tiger Paw counter weight it allows the counter weight to sit nearer the pivot point and
is a good improvement in handling and SQ.

The comment about poor British craftsmanship, I just don't get IMO. It's a non obtrusive instrument to extract the music..Simple.
Obviously that was a mistake to mess with the screw on top of the pivot housing.

I swapped a Nima directly over with a very lovely but rather more expensive Naim Aro, and whilst the Aro was 'better' in handling and music repro,
there wasn't a huge amount in it..and I could have easily lived with the Nima a lot longer.

I did find the external Roksan High Res cable a big improvement, but I see you have already tried to address that with a Yanis cable.
IMHO, I think the Roksan upgraded cable is worth seeking out when finds allow..

For what it costs, I think once you are up and running you will be impressed.

Which cartridge are you going to use with this?, obviously synergy being important to end result.

[Mikeandvan]

Reading this thread with slight puzzlement.

The Nima is actually a very fine arm for something under £500. It really lets the music just come through.

It's flimsy because that's what unipiviots generally feel like in use. If you haven't used one before they do take a while getting used to it.
Use the arm lift! Cueing by hand (especially after a jar) will inevitably lead to you kicking the cat! :doh:

As Chris said, if you invest in a Tiger Paw counter weight it allows the counter weight to sit nearer the pivot point and
is a good improvement in handling and SQ.

The comment about poor British craftsmanship, I just don't get IMO. It's a non obtrusive instrument to extract the music..Simple.
Obviously that was a mistake to mess with the screw on top of the pivot housing.

I swapped a Nima directly over with a very lovely but rather more expensive Naim Aro, and whilst the Aro was 'better' in handling and music repro,
there wasn't a huge amount in it..and I could have easily lived with the Nima a lot longer.

I did find the external Roksan High Res cable a big improvement, but I see you have already tried to address that with a Yanis cable.
IMHO, I think the Roksan upgraded cable is worth seeking out when finds allow..

For what it costs, I think once you are up and running you will be impressed.

Which cartridge are you going to use with this?, obviously synergy being important to end result.

Thanks Adam, I am a bit impatient at times, and I need to understand more the delicate nature of turntables, in a word, I'm an idiot. I'm going to be using my Nag MP200 with this, hope that's a good match! On a NAS Interspace TT. The instructions on the Roksan website for the Nima were a bit vague in parts, so that didn't help, they need to make them idiot proof.

[Mikeandvan]

All done now, of course there was a hitch.... I forgot to plug in the tonearm cable! So had to redo vta, but actually once I'd done all the other stuff it was quite easy. One thing that surprised me was how turning the counterweight actually sets the azimuth very effectively, just the slightest twist and it comes good. I'll see how I get in with it over time as I've heard the weight setting can drift, and sound wise its so hard to compare as I havent' had my NAS set up for quite some time and now using it with a different amp as well, so will be a few weeks until I can appreciate its qualities.

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