Patience, steady hands and a magnifying glass are key. I’ve got two OC9III, they are finicky to set up in my experience, but once in the sweet spot it sounds great. Good luck!

Sean said:

"Patience, steady hands and a magnifying glass are key."

I bought one of those adjustable visors that came with 4 different lenses and a light. It is the greatest thing in the world for anything related to the turntable. I re-wired a tonearm a few years ago, and I couldn't have done it without it.

Now I use it regularly when I check tracking force. I have a small bulls eye on my scale, and my old eyes have a hard time seeing it clearly.

Good morning, HK.

Once you get it aligned the way you want it, and get the tracking force set, you should look at the headshell/cart, and make sure it is close to level. Once you do that, you should listen, and adjust vertically up or down, by what you think sounds best.

Keep us posted on the progress.

Best,

Geno

My TT is linear tracking so it has never been an issue for me, but in theory you may also need to adjust the anti-skate if  you have it.

Yup, will do when I get the vertical tracking angle dialed in.

HK

Yup. After cartridge alignment setting the tracking force and vertical tracking angle (tonearm height) is critical. I usually start w/ the cart manufacturer recommended weight and spin vinyl for 10-20 hours, until the cantilever settles in. Then I tweak the vertical tracking angle by ear on some reference albums. It's amazing when you nail it - treble and bass balanced and soundstage explodes (in a good way).

HK

HK

I've installed a couple cartridges on the same Rega tonearm. I ended investing in a Dr Feickert alignment tool. A bit pricey, but in the long run, worth the investment.

Good luck!

Roger,

Good luck!  While I am not ready just yet to change out my cartridge, it’s been a daunting task that’s on my mind.  I only know one place out by me that’s reputable, but I’d rather take on the task myself.

Please keep us posted on your progress, and when it’s all done….I’d love to hear your experience and any areas where you encountered ( if any) snags.

Dom

The AT OC9XML cartridge is installed, aligned, and now playing music. Should take about 30 hours of playing time to strut it's stuff. Sounds very good now with MC impedance load of 100 ohms.

HK

Good job! Please give some thoughts on the OC9XML once it settles in. I really like my OC9III and once it wears out I haven't thought about what I’ll replace it with.

Here’s my experience with cartridge setup and Decware amps. The setup has to be very precise or you’ll drive yourself mad wondering which cable, tube, etc is amiss. Before I got my SE84C-EX I was using a Jolida 1102. Everything seemed overall ok with that setup. I put the new amp in the chain and after a couple days I started doubting all the good words about Decware. Bass was a mess. Balance was a mess. One recording would sound ok and then the next was horrid. The sound just didn’t seem to match my expectations. Perhaps the amp wasn't really able to drive my speakers. I had an audiophile friend come by for an afternoon. He’s had a ton more experience with setup and has a great ear for things out of place. He suggested to slow down and start with the alignment and work out from there, if the alignment is wrong then everything is wrong after that. For the next few days I played with different protractors and a GeoDisc. Once I thought it was spot on, I went on to adjusting tracking force, VTA and AS. Slowly imaging was coming into focus, nice bass, and more consistency between different vinyl. It really took some time but I got it there. How was it wrong for so long!!! Anyhow, it got so good I had to find a UFO and ZP3. I now understand when Steve says, it’s not the amp but something else in the chain - paraphrasing his comment, I forget where I saw it. A bold statement, but one I found to ring true.

My opinion about the GeoDisc. I have had better luck with printed protractors. Perhaps it works on a table where you can precisely line up the “pivot point” on the tonearm. On my table that point was really a guess, guessing angles is bad juju. It just didn’t work out for me. I don’t have a Feickert, but it is on my list for someday.

HK,

Glad you got things set up to your liking.

Great choices on the music selections. 88 Basie Street is a favorite on vinyl. The Pablo recordings can be pretty incredible.

Best,

Geno

Final adjustments in about one week. Cartridge sounds really nice now. Boron cantilever w/ microlinear stylus - really digs out the details on a recording & reduces surface noise. Thanks for the tip on the stylus timer, GS.

HK