Turntable (Vinyl record player) sound better and better depending on the adjustment. Conversely, if you neglect the adjustment, you will not only not be able to demonstrate the performance, but you may also damage the vinyl record. Since there are so many adjustments to be made, I would like to organize the contents so as not to forget them. This description is specifically for the TD521 and the 3012R, but I think it can also be applied to other turntables, so I hope it will be helpful for adjustment.
The adjustment procedure is roughly as follows.
- Leveling the mainframe
- Leveling the subframe
- Tonearm zero balance adjustment
- Lateral balance adjustment
- Stylus pressure adjustment
- Overhang adjustment
- Leveling the tonearm
- Cartridge tilt adjustment
- Anti-skate adjustment
If the mainframe body is not kept level, subsequent adjustments will be irrelevant. You need to take your time and level it out.
1.The legs of the TD520/TD521 only have about 10mm thick round felt on the four corners. In order to adjust the height, you have to put something under the legs. There is a possibility that it will rattle if it is supported at 4 points, so I used an insulator like the one in the picture to support it at 3 points. Adjust by inserting a butyl rubber tape or the like under this insulator. Many turntables made in Japan have a floating suspension structure on their insulator, and I feel that many of them were able to adjust the height by rotating the insulator. The body and the turntable can be horizontally adjusted at the same time, which is convenient and easy to adjust.
2.I am useing a marble board as an audio board, and I leveled the board itself and placed the turntable body on top of it.
3.Place a level on top of the mainframe and you need to make sure it is level in a few places.
The TD520/TD521 has a structure in which the subframe is supported by a floating suspension, so you need to adjust the tilt of the subframe to level the turntable.
1.Adjust by turning the three screws circled in red.
The weight of the platter, mat, disc stabilizer (vinyl record holder), etc. causes the subframe to tilt, so it is necessary to adjust it so that it is level with all of these on. Strictly speaking, the weight of the analogue disc must also be considered.
2.The leftmost adjustment screw is hidden under the turntable, making it difficult to adjust.
You roughly adjust the height so that the subframe and the mainframe match. As you can see in the photo, the subframe is floating above the mainframe when nothing is placed on it, but you can only adjust it by eye.
3.After placing the platter etc., you turn the remaining two screws to adjust the level.
After adjusting horizontally, if the subframe height does not match the mainframe height, you need to start over from 2. This adjustment may take the longest. It would be much easier for me to adjust if the subframe was a little longer to the left and the adjustment screw was outside the platter...
4.Place a level on the turntable and check that it is level at several points.
By the way, I don't use a disk stabilizer, so I adjusted it without it.
5.The suspension structure that supports the subframe and the correct adjustment position.
Because it is an image diagram, it may differ from the actual structure.
1.First, remove the weight of the inside force canceller and lower the sub-weight for stylus pressure adjustment all the way back.
Even so, this tonearm has a beautiful structure.
2.Next, turn the knob at the rearmost end of the tonearm to move the main weight forward or backward, and adjust the position so that the arm does not tilt forward or backward.
The 3012R is designed with an emphasis on the initial sensitivity of the arm, and because the fulcrum is located below the center of gravity of the arm, it does not balance well like a balancng toy. The stylus pressure is adjusted using a dedicated stylus pressure gauge, so I don't think it's a problem even if it's slightly off.
Because the J-shaped tonearm is bent, a force acts to rotate it counterclockwise when viewed from the cartridge side. This is an adjustment to balance this. Make sure the tonearm is zero balanced before making this adjustment. However, the 3012R has a knife-edge fulcrum and is supported by a line, so the tonearm cannot rotate around its axis due to its structure. Therefore, you may not need to adjust it very precisely unless it's too far out of adjustment.
1.A J-shaped tonearm is subject to the force of its own weight and the weight of the cartridge, which tends to rotate it around its axis.
2.By turning the adjustment screw circled in red, the entire weight moves left and right, allowing you to shift the center of gravity and balance. It seems to serve as stylus pressure adjustment and lateral balance adjustment.
3.If the lateral balance is out of adjustment, the tonearm will move in the direction of the arrow in the photo when the turntable is tilted while the tonearm is in zero balance.
After going through the effort of adjusting horizontally, you lift the rear and tilt it slightly. Then, you adjust it so that the tonearm does not move in that state. However, you don't have to be perfectly balanced. (I don't think you can adjust it perfectly with light weight cartridges) In the first place, if the turntable body is horizontal, the tonearm will not move, so I don't think there is a problem unless it is greatly out of adjustment.
The stylus pressure is adjusted using a dedicated digital stylus pressure gauge.
Because the cartridge uses a fairly strong magnet, you may not be able to measure accurately without using a dedicated scale.
1.Move the subweight back and forth to adjust the stylus pressure.
By the way, the sub weight seems to be about 0.25g per scale.
2.The appropriate stylus pressure of the SHURE V15VxMR I use is exactly 1.0g when without using the dynamic stabilizer. It seems that a maximum of 1.25g is allowed, so I think you should adjust the stylus pressure to your liking while actually listening to the sound.
If the overhang is out of adjustment, the stylus will not be able to accurately trace the groove of the vinyl record, and the sound will be distorted. This adjustment is very important, so you need to adjust it carefully and accurately.
Studio Kuro has created an adjustment paper called "Alignment Protractor" for overhang adjustment, so I think it would be good to use that as well.
1.Print and use the adjustment sheet for the 3012R.
When you print a PDF file, always print it "actual size". If you print with "fit to paper" etc., the scale will be out of order and you will not be able to adjust it correctly. The 3012R has an overhang of 13.2mm, and you can download the data with the 13.2mm line highlighted in red here.
2.You can adjust the amount of overhang by loosening the screws circled in red and moving the entire tonearm. The screws are on the other side as well, so you'll need to unscrew both to move.
3.If you adjust the stylus so that it moves on a circle offset by 13.2mm from the center axis of the turntable, the sound groove of the vinyl record and the angle of the stylus should be almost parallel. I think it's easier to adjust near the center axis of the turntable.
4.Most turntables made in Japan cannot move the fulcrum of the tonearm, so the amount of overhang is adjusted by changing the mounting position of the cartridge using the long hole in the head shell.
1.You can raise or lower the tonearm by loosening the screw shown in the picture.
2.I dropped the stylus on the vinyl record and placed a level on the head shell to adjust.
The tip of the stylus sinks under the weight of the level, so I lift it up a little to check. If the head shell thickness is uneven and not flat, you will need to visually adjust the level of the arm as the level cannot be placed on it. The tonearm doesn't seem to need to be exactly horizontal. It seems that there are cases where you can adjust it by tilting it slightly according to your preference, so please adjust while actually listening to the sound.
If the cartridge is not mounted perpendicular to the vinyl record, the stylus will not be able to accurately trace the grooves of the vinyl record, resulting in distorted sound.
1.By loosening the screw at the tip of the tonearm, you can rotate the head shell slightly.
2.I dropped the stylus onto the vinyl record and placed a level on the shell to adjust. If the thickness of the head shell is uneven and not flat, it is not possible to place the level, so it seems that there is also a method of visually adjusting by placing a mirror under the stylus.
The friction that traces the grooves of the vinyl record exerts a pulling force on the tip of the stylus toward the inside of the vinyl record. If the stylus pressure is heavy, the effect will be large, and in some cases the stylus may skip or the sound of one of the channels may be distorted. You need to use an "Inside Force Canceller" to counteract it with a force that pushes the tonearm back to the outside of the vinyl record.
1.For the 3012R, adjust by hooking the weight on the arm extending behind the tonearm.
This hooking arm looks like 0.25g per division. You adjust by changing the hooking position according to the stylus pressure. (As the stylus pressure increases, the hooking position moves to the rear)
2.The angle between the string hanging the weight and the hooking arm should be 90 degrees when the tonearm is at the outermost circumference of the vinyl record. Some people say that the "Inside Force Canceller" is not necessary because it interferes with the movement of the tonearm. If you don't feel needle skipping, sound bias, or distortion, you may not need to use it. In the photo, the standard value is for a stylus pressure of 1g, but in actual use, I use less than the standard.
The sound of vinyl records played on a well-tuned turntable is surprisingly good. I can understand why new turntables are still being released even now that digital media such as MD and DAT that came out later are long gone. It's partly because the old recordings sound better than modern recordings with a lot of compression and a narrow dynamic range by computer-programmed, but they sound very pleasing to the ear. Turntables are worth using because the sound changes greatly depending on the adjustment, and I feel that they are the most hobbyist among audio equipment.
