Ortofon Cadenza Black - Fritz Geiger club

[RobbieGong]

All set up parameters are very important, especially with the more sophisticated line contact profiles like the Shibatas and the FGS.

The FGS is cut to actually mimic the record cutting lathe.....

I've copied over a few things from Galen Carol audio, Cartridge alignment page, as it's not only accurate, the articulation is also better than mine

Vertical Tracking Force (VTF)
etting tracking force is the very first step in setting up a cartridge (though it will be repeated later to fine tune). The cartridge manufacturer will recommend a range (e.g. 1.75g - 2.0g) that is appropriate for their design. Too little tracking force and the stylus will not seat properly in the groove, too much tracking force and you'll overload the internal suspension, and both resulting in a loss of performance. Interestingly, too little tracking is more likely to increase wear than a setting which is slightly too high.

More than just applying force to seat the stylus in the groove, the correct tracking force aligns the internal generator assembly. For a finely tuned rig, it is important to experiment within the manufacturers recommended range to find the precise point that gives the best sound

Overhang: As the stylus tracks across the record, it is important that the stylus remain tangent to the groove. Setting overhang we are aligning the cartridge to follow that ideal arc across the record. In a radial tracking tonearm, there are only a couple of points when it actually is tangent (null points). Without getting overly bogged down in technicalities, there are at least a couple of theories about where the null points should be, and so some gauges are slightly different than others depending on which the manufacturer thinks is best.
To set overhang, you'll need an alignment gauge. There are a number of overhang gauges available through the years (DB Systems, Denessen Soundtractor, Mobile Fidelity Geodisc, to name a few). People usually like the one they've used before, but even the simple template provided with your turntable or tonearm are useable.

VTA or SRA: VTA is an abbreviation for vertical tracking angle, SRA stands for stylus rake angle. The two terms (while not exactly the same, technically speaking) are often used interchangeably to describe the relative angle of the stylus to the groove. (Though I'd say SRA is the more accurate term, most audiophiles are more familiar with VTA, so I'll stick with it here). This angle is normally adjusted by raising or lowering the back of the tonearm (although shims can be used between the headshell and cartridge).

Correct VTA/SRA is achieved when the angle of the playback stylus matches that of the cutting stylus used to make the original master lacquer. Because the angle of the record lathe cutter head (normally specified as twenty degrees, plus or minus five degrees) varies to some degree from manufacturer to manufacturer, we must adjust our VTA to achieve optimum playback results. Other variables such as record thickness, stylus shape and variations in cartridge construction, also make VTA adjustment necessary.

Due to stylus shape and size, some cartridges will be more sensitive to VTA than others. Generally, the more radical the stylus cut, the more sensitive to proper adjustment of VTA. All cartridges however, will benefit, at least to a degree, from proper VTA alignment.

Azimuth is also on the page, but described in a lot of detail land in a way that makes setting it an awful lot of hassle, in my opinion of course. Personally I use my eyes, looking front at the cartridge to see the bottom of the cart body is parallel to the record surface. It says this isnt exactly right and goes into a lot about dedicated cartridge analysers, Fozgometer and channel testing. phase talk etc etc
As well as careful eyeballing, i use on of those see through, acrylic plastic, blocks, with the grid lines on. Easy to use and cheap as chips. I also use one of the tiny, headshell, spirit levels - nothings perfect but these things will defo get you there without the science.

Zenith: Aligning the stylus within the groove in the horizontal plane dials in zenith. Looking down on the cartridge from above, zenith is changed by rotating the cartridge (as if around a clock face). Of course there is only a very small amount of adjustment possible on most arms, just the play in the mounting screws.

Zenith is best adjusted using test equipment, but one can (assuming the stylus is correctly mounted to the cantilever) also adjust by eye using an overhang gauge with an alignment grid. Simply sight down the cantilever from the front, aligning it with the line directly below it on the gauge.

Anti-skate, my guess is we all pretty much know the usual rule with this one ie: start approximately about the same as the cartridge manufacturers, recommended tracking force ie: 2g = 2 on your antiskate and so....


Summary:
It would be difficult to overstress the importance of proper cartridge alignment. If you expect to get all the performance promised by your costly investment in analog, these adjustments simply must be made. So please take the time to insure that your arm/cartridge combination is properly set-up