Often you can even sub in a more expensive model for a performance boost. In the end, hours of playback means your stylus is going to wear out. Make sure you replace it before it starts doing damage to your records. Two Creatives on Their Journeys to Sustainability. Chase Pellerin. How do you know when stylus should be replaced?
How long does a typical stylus last? Are there ways to extend the life of a stylus? What kind of stylus should you buy? Related article. Please note that our alignment tool is only compatible with our OA2 tonearm. If you have our unipivot tonearm, then you will need to use a Stevenson Protractor shown below , which you can download and print here.
Use a stylus force gauge like this to check that your vertical tracking force VTF is correct. The manufacturer's recommended VTF will be listed on your cartridge's spec sheet. If you need to adjust VTF, loosen the thumbscrew on the counterweight and adjust the counterweight's positioning on the back of the arm.
Once the counterweight is positioned correctly, tighten the thumbscrew. That's it! Your cartridge is now installed and ready to play. The new cartridge may need a few hours to break in before it really starts singing.
For any Orbit manufactured before October , the counterweight will only work with cartridges that weigh 6 g or less newer Orbits a different tonearm that will accommodate heavier cartridges up to 7. If you have an older tonearm and want to install a heavier cartridge like the Ortofon 2M or Shure M97XE, you will need to add some additional mass to the counterweight.
Like everything to do with vinyl, the process is as varied as the hardware and your own ability will vary as well. I worked with a guy who could install a cartridge in under five minutes and be so close to the factory alignment, there was no point trying to better it. Sadly, we are not all like him. Firstly, there are two major types of tonearm and two major types of cartridge and their attributes may influence the type of cartridge you choose to buy.
Arms with a detachable headshell are easier to work on in these cases. The entire end of the arm is on a locked plug type fitting and this can be removed and the headshell worked on at pretty much whatever angle takes your fancy.
In these cases, it is relatively simple to attach a cartridge with either a threaded body or fastenings. Arms that have a one piece tube are a little different in this regard. You will need to work in situ and this will likely steer you towards cartridges that have a threaded body. What does 'threaded body' mean? Simply that the cartridge body is part of its own fastening.
The mounting bolt screws directly into the cartridge and pulls it into place on the arm. With a one piece arm this means that the cartridge is an order of magnitude easier to attach to the arm because you aren't struggling to get a fixing bolt into place while lining everything up.
There is a cheat to this which we'll come to in due course. Working on the principle that you are first removing the old cartridge, the first thing to do is disconnect the arm leads from the pins on the cartridge.
I always recommend using tweezers to do this. Many arms have good strong wires and tags which you can remove by hand but it is good practice—as well as being much easier- to use tweezers to remove them. Always grip the tags themselves in order not to rip the cable out of the tag.
0コメント