gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, By fiddley...it has numerous settings and they all interact. It starts with the plinth suspension adjustments, followed by the motor sub chassis adjustments, then you need to make sure the alignment between the pulley and platter is ok, if not go back and do the first two over. Next is the arm height, followed by horizontal alignment, then fasten a cartridge to the head section. Next the mono filament between the head and the rear mounted floating counterweight. Then getting the head level horizontally. Find a scale that is the exact height to check the tracking force. This is critical as the head moves up and down (not the arm as it is fixed in the vertical plane). Set the adjuster on the counter weight. If it won't adjust, change the length of the mono filament. Recheck the VTF. Verify that the head is now parallel to the record. Re-do the past few steps if it is not. The set the travel adjust on the arm so it doesn't hit the spindle. Then adjust the azimuth of the arm so it does not swing in or out when placed in the middle of where a record would be (remove the record first) . Oh BTW the table has to be level first. Go back and check the head to see if it is still parallel in all directions to the record. NOW if you did everything right it will play. If not...ugh. That is what I call fiddley. Oh BTW the arm requires a really high compliance cartridge as only the head moves up and down. That is the reason for the ADC-XLM. It was OEM on this arm and has one of the highest compliances known to man. Depending on the stylus up to 50. (most normal cartridges are in the 10-20 range) Sharp eyed individuals will note in one photo I was testing an AT F-7 cartridge to see if it would work out...it didn't.
On the brighter side of things...because of the head arrangement the turntable has superior tracking ability for warped records. Overall it plays well, just not in the same league as my Dual or Empire. But for eye catching appeal it is hard to beat.