Cartridge Alignment Made Easy – Workshop by Mark Döhmann – 21st October 2022

A growing number of music lovers are falling in love with vinyl and it’s not difficult to understand why! A properly set up analog system playing a quality vinyl pressing can be the ultimate in musical playback enjoyment. However, many of us do not get the best out of our cartridge/tonearm/turntable set up and experience sound quality that could be a lot better with some small adjustments. Setting up your cartridge properly and reaping the rewards is one of the great pleasures of this hobby.

A well-attended evening at nirvana Sound provided an open forum for guests to learn more about the industry of cartridge manufacturing and the technical benefits of taking extra steps to fine-tune your cartridge setup parameters. Topics covered included how records are cut and the issues which can make pressings noisy. Guests were also shown some behind the scenes technical data showing how the alignment process begins at the cartridge manufacturer who receive stylus tips from a handful of source component makers.

We looked at 4 main alignment parameters and evaluated visual and electronic tools vs computer-based multivariate approaches to see how errors can stack and cause irregularities in setup. Mark Döhmann our in-house analog specialist was assisted on the night by a friend and highly experienced setup expert Chris Camilleri who brought along his personal WallyScope to give attendees a firsthand view of a stylus diamond tip under professional grade high order magnification.

After the technical presentation a musical evening followed with personal guest favourites being played for all to enjoy.