THORENS 550 MiniDisc Player User Manual


 
Only a painstakingly aligned pickup is able to compliment
the outstanding sonic capabilities and potential of this
record player. If you consider the ne-alignment too dif-
cult to be carried out by yourself, do not hesitate to ask
your Thorens dealer for a helping hand.
ATTENTION: when aligning the cartridge great
care is once again obligatory in order to avoid
that the delicate stylus or sensitive parts of the
tonearm are being damaged. If you are a new-
comer without any experience it is better to leave
this work to an expert who knows the specic
characteristics of most pickups and tonearms.
A badly aligned pickup will be well on the way
to yield bad sound and to damage your precious
records!
Azimuth: this is the angle between cantilever/stylus as-
sembly and record groove. It should be exactly 90° (ex-
cluding those cartridges in which the cantilever has pur-
posely been installed with a slight tilt).
Alignment of pickup cartridge
Offset: this is the angle between the longitudinal axis of
the pickup and the tonearm‘s longitudinal axis. In all piv-
oted tonearms (like the ones from Thorens) the optimum
value is to be found between 21° and 24°. We recom-
mend to adjust the offset to 23°.
Overhang: this is the distance between the stylus tip and
the centre of the platter spindle. Depending on the indi-
vidual effective length of the tonearm, overhang should be
adjusted between 19 mm and 12 mm. Please refer to the
specications respectively instructions supplied with your
tonearm.
Special pickup alignment gauges are required for the pre-
cise adjustment of the above parameters. They are avail-
able from your Thorens dealer. When you are through with
the alignment you can nally tighten the cartridge screws.
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