I posted the following thread in the AudioNivana Forum and decided to post in here as well. I've search the WBF forum on the AnalogMagik software and was not able to get any "hits". Hopefully someone has some experience and can provide some comments.
Greetings all!
I'm new to this Forum and became aware of it when I was searching the internet in regards to the AnalogMagik setup software. Before and if I make a purchase, I am interested in some overall cost/benefit feedback of this tool and if AM can assist me with obtaining the maximum sonic benefits from my system.
Given the comments from AM's owner, Richard Mak, relative to proper initial setup being critical to AM's potential benefits, I decided to first do a "re-set" of my arm and cartridge's alignment using the SmartTractor (as opposed to the Graham supplied jigs) and wanted to share my results in addition to receiving some feedback.
I have owned an assortment of Graham arms and have always used the ingenious setup jigs that Bob provides with his arms. However, in reading through this thread, I decided to double check both the Pivot-to-Spindle distance and the alignment of the cartridge to my preferred Loefgren B DIN setting. I used the SmartTractor to do my setup and comparison. What I found, relative to the Graham jig setup, was:
1. The correct Pivot to Spindle distance of 217.4 mm was close, but not exact (about 1-2 mm off). I attributed this to some "slop" in the spindle jig that was supplied with the Elite arm. NBD, minor adjustment. For those of you who don't have experience with the Graham Elite arm, there is a very small "detente" on the top/middle of the bearing housing that I used in aligning the PTS measuring tool that's part of the SmartTractor. It would have been much easier/helpful if Bob would have engineered this with an "indent" as opposed to a "detente"; but maybe he didn't think this was necessary given his own PTS setup jig and routine.
2. The Cartridge alignment was a whole other matter.... In using the Graham jig for the cartridge alignment, it had the stylus set considerably back (2-3 mm) of the SmartTractor's Loefgren B DIN setting. I believe that the Graham arms have a proprietary setting for cartridge alignment. I'm not certain about this; however, there is only one setting marked on the Graham supplied cartridge setup jig. In the 1.5T Graham arm that I previously owned, I know there were two setup marking in the stylus setup jig to choose from, not one, as with the Phantom Elite. I don't recall which two setting were on the 1.5T's jig, I just know there were two.
Apologies for my long-winded intro; however, I was hoping to receive some feedback/comments on some questions I have:
1. Will the AnalogMagik software help me further fine-tune my system over and above what I can achieve using the SmartTractor and Adjust +? i realize that AM is certainly more robust in what it can do; but is it worth the bucks????
2. Are there any other Graham Phantom Elite owners out there that have gone thru BOTH the Graham jig settings and the settings using a SmartTractor, or different, protractor? If so, I'd be interested in hearing the results.
Oh, I should probably advise what my system consists of:
Oracle Delphi Mark VI table
Graham Phantom Elite arm
Koetsu Onyx Platinum Cartridge (also AirTight PC1 Supreme, and a Koetsu Rosewood Platinum - but prefer the Onyx)
AirTight ATH-2A Reference SUT
AirTight ATM-2's Mono'ed amps
AirTight ATE-2 phono stage
AirTight ATC-2 line stage
Accuphase DD-65 CD
Setup tools - SmartTractor, Adjust +, Graham jigs, and an assortment of other devices
Cables - an assortment
Thanks much!
Kyle
Greetings all!
I'm new to this Forum and became aware of it when I was searching the internet in regards to the AnalogMagik setup software. Before and if I make a purchase, I am interested in some overall cost/benefit feedback of this tool and if AM can assist me with obtaining the maximum sonic benefits from my system.
Given the comments from AM's owner, Richard Mak, relative to proper initial setup being critical to AM's potential benefits, I decided to first do a "re-set" of my arm and cartridge's alignment using the SmartTractor (as opposed to the Graham supplied jigs) and wanted to share my results in addition to receiving some feedback.
I have owned an assortment of Graham arms and have always used the ingenious setup jigs that Bob provides with his arms. However, in reading through this thread, I decided to double check both the Pivot-to-Spindle distance and the alignment of the cartridge to my preferred Loefgren B DIN setting. I used the SmartTractor to do my setup and comparison. What I found, relative to the Graham jig setup, was:
1. The correct Pivot to Spindle distance of 217.4 mm was close, but not exact (about 1-2 mm off). I attributed this to some "slop" in the spindle jig that was supplied with the Elite arm. NBD, minor adjustment. For those of you who don't have experience with the Graham Elite arm, there is a very small "detente" on the top/middle of the bearing housing that I used in aligning the PTS measuring tool that's part of the SmartTractor. It would have been much easier/helpful if Bob would have engineered this with an "indent" as opposed to a "detente"; but maybe he didn't think this was necessary given his own PTS setup jig and routine.
2. The Cartridge alignment was a whole other matter.... In using the Graham jig for the cartridge alignment, it had the stylus set considerably back (2-3 mm) of the SmartTractor's Loefgren B DIN setting. I believe that the Graham arms have a proprietary setting for cartridge alignment. I'm not certain about this; however, there is only one setting marked on the Graham supplied cartridge setup jig. In the 1.5T Graham arm that I previously owned, I know there were two setup marking in the stylus setup jig to choose from, not one, as with the Phantom Elite. I don't recall which two setting were on the 1.5T's jig, I just know there were two.
Apologies for my long-winded intro; however, I was hoping to receive some feedback/comments on some questions I have:
1. Will the AnalogMagik software help me further fine-tune my system over and above what I can achieve using the SmartTractor and Adjust +? i realize that AM is certainly more robust in what it can do; but is it worth the bucks????
2. Are there any other Graham Phantom Elite owners out there that have gone thru BOTH the Graham jig settings and the settings using a SmartTractor, or different, protractor? If so, I'd be interested in hearing the results.
Oh, I should probably advise what my system consists of:
Oracle Delphi Mark VI table
Graham Phantom Elite arm
Koetsu Onyx Platinum Cartridge (also AirTight PC1 Supreme, and a Koetsu Rosewood Platinum - but prefer the Onyx)
AirTight ATH-2A Reference SUT
AirTight ATM-2's Mono'ed amps
AirTight ATE-2 phono stage
AirTight ATC-2 line stage
Accuphase DD-65 CD
Setup tools - SmartTractor, Adjust +, Graham jigs, and an assortment of other devices
Cables - an assortment
Thanks much!
Kyle
