Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

kvetcha said:
groove funk + oils + heat from the stylus
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Exactly. I would hazard a guess that if you took a cheap $30 Amazon usb microscope and looked at the stylus of 3/4s of the users on here, it would look like that or worse. It's not visible with the naked eye at all. And unless you're cleaning the hell out of everything (like I am now) that's what you get.
 
highqualityrecords said:
Checking against my gauge, it is pretty dead on. I can just see the tip of the stylus when looking dead on from the bottom of the gauge.

I ordered a new stylus, as I am close enough hours wise anyway.

Additionally, do y’all think its could be the Microline stylus revealing a bad pressing?
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Stylus replacement is a good move if you’ve aligned with the Technics gauge. Technics aligns to Stevenson so it’s aligned for very low IGD.

That said, I hate the Technics jig. It “aligns” the stylus in free space. Kinda stupid, since records aren’t played in free space- it’s not accounting for stylus force at all. As stylus forge increases, the stylus will “push” forward. The same thing happens as the suspension settles.

The MoFi GeoDisc is highly recommended. It aligns to Baerwald for lower distortion across the entire playing surface as opposed to optimizing for low inner groove distortion like Stevenson.
 
Mather said:
Well, I have an RCM now which helps but also I use blue tack before I play. Same as Onzow basically. Blue tack is that sticky stuff kinda like plasticine that you used to stick posters to walls when you were in high school etc... Just carefully drop the needle into it a couple of times. Make sure NOT to move the platter or you'll rip your stylus off.. But it cleans off a lot of the gunk. Keeps it pretty clean.
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The Blu Tack method may sound odd, but it is what Peter Ledermann at Soundsmith recommends for his cartridges. I simply use the wet stylus brush. I'm sure that there are some situations where one method may be preferred over the other.
 
Angsty said:
The Blu Tack method may sound odd, but it is what Peter Ledermann at Soundsmith recommends for his cartridges. I simply use the wet stylus brush. I'm sure that there are some situations where one method may be preferred over the other.
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Ortofon on my rig so no liquid on stylus due to glue.
 
Angsty said:
What he said.
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free ship
www.audioadvice.com

MoFi Geo-Disc Cartridge Alignment Device

Mounting and aligning phonograph cartridges can be a tedious and time-consuming chore. Not with the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab GEO-DISC! This cartridge alignment device is simple to use and extremely accurate. Just fit the disc on your platter and align using the simple printed graph based on the...
www.audioadvice.com www.audioadvice.com

Not sure why Upscale doesn't list it, perhaps they do not want to promote home setups over there in house ones (from experience) ?
 
Angsty said:
What he said.
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Even though I recommended the Geo-Disc as an easy solution, you can use any of a ton of cheaper or free options. Paper alignment gauge can also be downloaded from Vinyl Engine. I bought my Geo Disc for $20 used at a local record store when I was looking at an Ortofon Alignment Protractor for $15, similar to this one.

EDIT: I do have to note that all protractors do not use the Baerwald alignment that's on the Geo-Disc. There are others like Stevenson, Lofgren, and a few others. Some people do obsess over which one is best, but I'm not one of them.

Protractor User Guide - Aligning Cartridges with Baerwald, Loefgren & Stevenson | Vinyl Engine

Amazon product ASIN B01MUI056J
 
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HiFi Guy said:
VTA doesn’t matter with a conical stylus.
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Agree, but I was suggesting that if the Crosley user upgraded to an elliptical AT stylus (or a cartridge of a different height), there might not be a VTA adjustment on the Crosley deck to optimize. Apologies if that was not clear.
 
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