Alignment/overhang: Rega vs Stevenson vs Baerwald

[denti alligator]

So I set my cart's overhang according to Baerwald's geometry and the sound of my Nagaoka got muddled and it began getting noise (scratchy and crackly). Stevenson overhang fixed a lot of that, but I'm wondering if it might be beter to go back to the Rega geometry.

Thoughts? I was surprised to get worse sound with e Baerwald given what I've read on this forum.

[Sandbah 92]

I've often read that the Stevenson is the better path for the rega. I use that on my p1 with the MP110 and have had zero issues.

[lofijunkie]

IME some carts just don't settle with other alignments if you don't use Stevenson.
Depending what brand, you can't even do the others. Just one of those compromises if you don't do a Rega cart. Had a Sumiko Blackbird and couldn't shove it foward enough to even try Baerwald. At least there is a default and it sounds nice.

[watercourse]

Shelters sounded excellent in either Baerwald or Lofgren B, but I think a tad more easy on the ears with the Baerwald.
Just remounted the DV 20xl in Lofgren B, but not sure I'm sold yet - not sure the highs are as good as I remember them sounding. Will check Baerwald and compare.
Never do Stevenson unless the cart can do no other alignment, mainly because of the increased distortion at the outer grooves.
So, stupid question, but it's not clear from the original post. Are you:
a) setting both the overhang and alignment null points based on each alignment (such as Baerwald OH with Baerwald null points, Stevenson OH with Stevenson null points, etc.), or
b) mixing and matching overhang and alignments?

[JaS]

So I set my cart's overhang according to Baerwald's geometry and the sound of my Nagaoka got muddled and it began getting noise (scratchy and crackly). Stevenson overhang fixed a lot of that, but I'm wondering if it might be beter to go back to the Rega geometry.

Thoughts? I was surprised to get worse sound with e Baerwald given what I've read on this forum.

Hi,
No, you definitely shouldn't get worse sound quality. I'd echo watercourse's comment about mixing and matching alignments? You don't say how you've aligned it, but a common mistake is to set the overhang using an arc protractor but leave the cartridge square in the headshell. In a Rega this will increase tracing error/distortion at the inner and outer grooves.

Red: Standard alignment
Blue: Rega offset angle / Baerwald overhang


If you've aligned correctly to Baerwald null points, tracing error and distortion should be lower virtually everywhere.

Orange: Standard alignment
Red: Baerwald offset angle / Baerwald overhang


Regards,
JaS

PS Rega alignment in the first plot looks a bit lumpy but this is due to the scale used - as can be seen in the second plot, it's actually very close to Stevenson.

PPS This is all based on the inner recorded groove having a radius no smaller than 60.325mm, which is the IEC standard for 12" records. If you play a lot of 7" singles it might be worth using a custom alignment optimised for tighter inner groove radii, like Stevenson or Rega geometry?

[denti alligator]

It was hard for to set alignment without relying on the outline of the cartridge itself, not the cantilever. But in doing this with Baerwald the cartridge was definitely not parallel to the shell. And it didn't sound good.

So am I doing something wrong?

[JaS]

It was hard for to set alignment without relying on the outline of the cartridge itself, not the cantilever. But in doing this with Baerwald the cartridge was definitely not parallel to the shell. And it didn't sound good.

So am I doing something wrong?

It's difficult to say? Which protractor are you using? Any Baerwald protractor (normally IEC with 66 and 121mm nulls) should give the same alignment, but the method for using them is different.

Regards,
JaS

[bacobits]

Sam and I have been communicating on this. He is using the Willis Protractor for the 222mm Rega pivot to spindle measurement, he is mounting the cartridge on a RB300 Arm. So, the overhang is correct and already figured on the grids for all the alignments on this protractor. That is the beauty of it, I use it here and would not use anything else. I don't have an answer for him on this one and frankly a little befuddled why the sound is worse.
I am aligned here using the Lofghren setting and sounds very, very good.

[Dr Pan K]

i aligned my rega TT/ rb 250 tonearm/ nagaoka JT 555 cart with baerwald and it sounded fantastic. much better than rega alignment. less distortion, better tracking.

i used the VE alignment protractor.

[watercourse]

It was hard for to set alignment without relying on the outline of the cartridge itself, not the cantilever. But in doing this with Baerwald the cartridge was definitely not parallel to the shell. And it didn't sound good.

So am I doing something wrong?

My Baerwald-aligned DV cart is turned inward very slightly, not parallel to the front of the headshell.

I've used the K Willis protractor, and its great to use. The only issue is making sure you initially align the protractor to the arm's pivot point to get overhang right. The grid lines are a bit thick, but I've gotten very good results from it using Baerwald.

The only thing I'd say is go through all the steps and double check you are doing them right?

[bacobits]

Wilson, on the purchased Willis Protractor there is no Pivot to spindle line to align. The DL version has to be aligned and is more of a Universal Protractor. This one is configured for the particular arm in this case the RB300 at 222mm, that's the beauty of it. If the arm is not drilled at 222mm you can't use it or shouldn't.
He is using my protractor.

[watercourse]

hmmm... then even more puzzling.
SO, you described the sound as muddy. When I had misalignment issues, it sounded more distorted. Muddy might also point to cartridge loading or VTA issues. Or stylus issues. Can you clarify?

[denti alligator]

Yeah, I'd say it was more distorted than muddy.

I'll try to alignment tool for Baerwald from this site. Good to know it should be angled in slightly.

[watercourse]

That's a good approach. You can check the alignment using different protractors to see if they all agree on the null points, using the same 222mm overhang.
You might also check your stylus to see if there are any problems with it, i.e. gunk or damage. If the cantilever is not straight, and you are using the cartridge body to align, that might also contribute to being off on your alignment.
Lastly, check that the spindle-to-pivot distance is actually 222mm. That was a factor for me when I used a very precise protractor generated for a 222mm mounting distance, and it wasn't actually 222.
Good luck and happy listening!