Free cartridge upgrade...... it works plus Jelco 750 alignment info

[worrasf]

If it sounds to good to be true it usually is but this is an exception

Origin Live make a claim that putting nylon washers between cartridge and headshell improves the SQ of all cartridges by decoupling them -analogous to the Cartridge Man's isolater:
http://www.originlive.com/dynavector...n-washers.html

Having been not totally happy with my cartridge setup and having decided to spend a wet weekend sorting it out it seemed a good time to give the Origin Live claim a try - not least as I had a couple of nylon washers I was not using that came with my Oyaide HS TF headshell

Getting your chosen cartridge alignment (Baerwald, Lofgren, Stevenson, OEM) right with the Oyaide/Jelco combination is not straight forward as others have commented previously on this forum and elsewhere:
http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable...ic.php?t=25329

It was a challenge doing this with the Jelco OEM headshell but the Oyaide is worse because the headshell is longer and the mounting slots allow less scope for fore & aft cartridge movement - especially if you want to have the mounting bolt heads recessed in the slots like I do.

I have a custom MINT! tractor that worked well with the OEM Jelco headshell. This was setup to Lofgren A with a 17.9mm overhang as opposed to the OEM Jelco 15mm. The only way of achieving this and hence using the MINT! was to put a rubber washer between the Oyaide and the Jelco. With the cartridge fully pushed forward it would just align - to be fair it aligned perfectly as per Yip's instructions both for overhang and stylus alignment.

The trouble is I just don't like the idea of having a rubber washer in between headshell and arm - I know in the past things always sounded better with the Jelco and Sumiko headshells when I removed it. And indeed when listening after the above setup was dialled in while it was ok it somehow didn't sound quite right - can't be more specific but I just knew I was missing a trick.

So, the only alignment that will work with the Oyaide/Jelco is the OEM Jelco with overhang of 15mm and null points of 59mm & 112.5mm. I should mention that I had previously used the OEM Jelco alignment with this combination and was quite happy with the SQ but having spent dollar on the MINT! previously felt I owed it to myself to get that setup to work

The alignment guide that ships with the Jelco works perfectly and using an Origin Live tractor I can confirm that with the overhang set correctly the above null points are automatically dialled in All that's needed is to spend time and patience ensuring the alignment is spot-on with cartridge dead centre in the headshell.

So I had taken the opportunity to slip a nylon washer beneath cartridge and headshell and when happy with alignment, VTA, Azimuth nipped the bolts up tightish. Using slot head bolts rather than allen bolts and a small screwdriver it should not be possible to exert excessive force. A different concept to setting up my old Ittok/Troika where a bench vice was the order of the day

Anyway, onto the point of the post - having listened to the setup from the first needle drop I concur with Origin Live's claim. Note: I only used 2 washers in between the cartridge and headshell where they suggest 3 and none between mounting bolts and headshell where they do because I like the bolt heads recessed in the headshell slots.

There is an audible improvement in clarity and definition giving a crisper more vibrant presentation - with complex tracks there is no "bleeding" of notes. This is most marked at the frequency extremes with tighter more tuneful bass and clearer highs. Percussion like castanets and wood blocks are no longer one note instruments but the woody reverb and hollow sound is readily audible. I could detect no downside in SQ or imaging.

So, for a few pence or for free if you have them kicking around all I can say is the next time you have a few hours to spend on setting up your cartridge give this a try - I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

The only potential downside is that it does drop the stylus down a tad and on my setup with arm horizontal it is only about 2mm above the record surface when fully lifted on the cue so care is needed not to stuff the stylus when cueing and lifting

Steve