[jumping jupiters]

Has anyone seen his new TT setup DVD...I'm thinking about ordering it. I've had 2 turntables over the course of the last 2 years and I am sure there is some information that I could use to squeeze the last bit of performance out of it.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

The DVD has not been released yet. I remember seeing somewhere that it's coming out either this month or sometime in August. I intend to get one when it is released.

 

[tkam]

It could be a useful tool but the fact that its Fremer would be enough to keep me away.

 

[jumping jupiters]

well...I recieved my DVD yesterday and watched it last night. The good news is that I found out I am doing most things correctly. He basically goes through 3 setups: project, rega p5 and a vpi scoutmaster. I wouldn't say that the setup is ABC for beginners...it is actually really useful for those of us who have tried to setup cartridges and achieved realtive success. He defused many of my concerns and gave me assurance that I am not doing anything wrong. The biggest lesson I learned is that VTA is effected more by tracking weight then by any VTA adjustment...I do not recall the exact formula, but the cantilever effect of the stylus causes the tracking weight to be something like 4x more effective then a VTA adjustment in terms of effecting the tracking angle.

The one concern I noted in my setup had more to do with azimuth of the cartridge. Since I do not own a measuring devise I am left to trust the dial indicator on my arm. So measuring tracking force and then dialing in the arm to match the tracking weight is all I am left to.

Overall I would give the DVD a rating of 8. It is not all encompassing to make it a 10 and I did learn a few things, keeping it from being a 7.

Chad

 

[jumping jupiters]

based on the dvd i spent a couple hours today...and i do mean hours...adjusting the weight on my rb300 arm. as scary as it was to me i actually moved the weight beyond the manufacturers recommended force (both heavier and lighter). using a benz h2 cartridge with inteded force of 1.75 to 2 grams, i found that less force actually improves the sonics...I ended up around 1.5 grams of force. detail jumped off the record! it was actually trickier than i had hoped...less obvious at first. i was using a bb king in london album...at times the guitar sounded more in the room and then the harp would be slightly conjested. other times the vocals would hang as king trailed off which made me think i was digging deeper with correct force, but then a plucked string got more stident. in the end i hit the right mix around 1.5 grams and everything snapped together at once...now i feel like the cartridge is a shining star! that made the dvd worth while!

 

[Wil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam It could be a useful tool but the fact that its Fremer would be enough to keep me away.

Hahaha. true, true.

 

[britishbane]

I've not seen the DVD yet, but I would bet that anything on that DVD you could find online. I would think that the DVD would be more apropriate for someone who literally has no idea what they're doing. As long as you have some concept of TT setup you could save your 40 bucks and spend it on something like the turntable basics alignment protractor or shure vtf gauge.

 

[dolifant]

I just watched the Fremer DVD, and I liked it. I have only returned to vinyl after a 15-20 year absence, and I found it useful to see exactly how to set up the cartridge.

Oh, I did it myself after reading some things on the net. And it is probably close to fine. However I will now adjust the azimuth with a voltmeter, because I never really believed you could just eyeball it.

Since I have the Scoutmaster and Signature arm, it is exactly what I wanted to see. I learned I need to get a better magnifier and will probably get the Wally tools for a more accurate alignment. If you spend over $1K for a cart, you should get the most you can. I don't know if I will bother with the antiskate device. I just put one twist on the tonearmm wire. But if I do, it is explicitly explained and shown. And as explained above, the relationship and primary importance of VTF to VTA was something I hadn't realized.

Whether you like his humor or not, he is an enthusiast for vinyl, and it shows. How bad could that be? Why do people dislike Fremer? We need nore vinyl cheerleaders.

 

[DeeJayBump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolifant Why do people dislike Fremer?

Part of the reason could be this:

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RR-FREMER-A.html

 

[daycart1]

I find MF very interesting to read most of the time, though some of his conclusions seem pretty strange.
ONe that stick in my head was this. He played vinyl on an ultra high end system with a $30K phono stage. Then he switched out that phono stage for a merely fabulous one. Then, to compare the two, he burned CD's of each and played them back on a cheapish CD player. He then claimed that he could hear a big difference on the CD playback attributable to the different phono stages!

 

[dolifant]

I read most of the above website re Fremmer vs. Salvatore and laughed.

It doesn't change my mind about Fremer. He is not the end all be all of reviews, but neither is Salvatore. Fremer is entertaining, Salvatore is like a treatise. I must agree that Salvatore's site is good and very informative. He is very opinionated, but not, I assme biased by the menufacturers. But who knows. Maybe his ZYX Universe cartridges`are cheaper than mine would be. Just maybe he has a " connection" too.

I still liked the DVD and found it helpful.

 

[ironbut]

I liked M. Fremer allot better till I was witness to a "private" listening session at HiFi 98 with him. But, I don't Have to like him to enjoy reading his articles and they are the only thing that I always read end to end in Stereophile. Of course, I am a HUGE vinyl fan and was very reluctant to buy my first cd player in the mid '90's. I think, for anyone outside of the industry, to think that you have nothing to learn from someone who switches cartridges in and out and has to optimize them on different arms and tables most of which are new enough that there is no forum to refer to must be pretty confident. I have owned over 25 cartridges since 1978 and installed about half myself and the only thing I'm sure of is, I'm sure none of them were installed perfectly the first time! I've always tweeked vta and vtf and azimuth, ran test records, reference recordings and taken the suggestions of reviewers (" to really test bass,..") on tracks that lays this or that bare, until months later, I think that maybe I've got it. ( or am just sick of trying)
If I wasn't always learning new things about this hobby, it wouldn't be as much fun to me.

 

[robm321]

I've been setting up my own for awhile now, so it sounds like a beginner video. I guess I'll pass. How much is it?