What tonearm height do you use for your Ortofon Concordes?

Zilver said:
O.k. Mattu so you're one of the few people who believe elliptical wear less that spherical.

Could you explain a bit more about your mixing style?
Do you scratch or back cue a lot? Can you name your favorite DJ or a DJ who's style is very similar to yours.

I scratch ocassionaly. And I want to keep doing this. But I don't want my records to wear!

I know Dave Clark uses Ortofon Gold (elliptical), and he definitely scratches a lot with them. Although I don't think he cares about record wear at all.

Yes, dont worry. These 2 modelas are very little different.
Its hard to choose because one is proportional to another, if you scratch no one can tell if its more wear or less.
Dont trust everyone! there are great ppl in this forums, but everyone got their own preference.
So the best way is to try yourself. Take the crapest record you have, go to the local shop and ask them to try all carts they have, and dont forget to say to them that you would like to buy some, and just try, scratch with different and you will hear which do more wear.
In your case just stick to your Es. they will not wear much because you gonna scratch a little.
I gonna try shure M44G, many ppl recommended it has the smallest wear than any othe carts.
 
wow, i've slept on this thread for way to long! i didnt' know we had a ortofon dude up in the place!!! :victory:. first off, i would like to say thanks to franky for answering all these questions! but this is what comes to mind when i read this quote:

djcorea said:

How about trying something that will not have the sound of an Ortofon Nightclub (but still warm and very nice) and will wear your records less than a lot of other dj needles on the market. I'm talking about a Shure M44G
the kid has a nice solid point, i use m447's and i'm mad happy with them. but i've always considered buying a OM scratch (by the way, i think the pink is just straight pimp!). do u guys reccomend me sticking with the shures, or will the scratch serve me well also? i'd love to hear some peoples takes on this.

but frank, i read that u have not used the m44g's (is that correct? major long post, so might have browsed passed something u said, sorry). but it would also be interesting to hear from you what advantages the OM scratch holds over the legendary 447's. but if you don't wont to answer, it's also all good. i'm grateful enough as it is for how many q's you have answered.

thanks guys! (and sorry if this q was asked, again, i might have browsed past it)
 
Year, thank you Frank!
Btw. I love pink color of concordes!
Now i cannot deside between Shure M44G and Scratch.:p
 
I have a 30 day money back quaranty on my Night Club E's.

This meqns I have to decide within 10 day if I want to keep Ellipticall needles or if I send them back and go for Spherical needles.

What would you do? I've already posted some questions, but I didn't get a clear answer yet.

And I believe Frank from Ortofon is on a holiday.
 
More help Frank?

Thaks f/the tip on this site gene !

Lot's of mis-information on tone-arm height adjustment because of that scale. It's strictly a reference and has no bearing whatsoever on what the correct adjustment should be.

Simple procedure : w/platter stopped and a record (and slip mat if used) in place, lower the tonearm so stylus is in the groove.
Adust the height so that, when looking from the side the tonearm is perfectly parallel to the record surface (ie neither nose up nor nose down.) should look like 2 railroad tracks.

If the arm is nose up, raise the height. Nose down, lower it. Keep in mind that a stylus does not track perpendicular to the record, but at an industry standard of 20 degrees. The only time that angle is maintained is when the tonearm is adjusted correctly. Hope this clears things up. BTW as a point of reference, my test set-up 1200mk III , using an Ortofon slip mat (what else?) reads 1.6.
Additionally, that tracking angle is also dependent on the correct trackig force ...please no pennies, dimes, etc on top of the TA...just creates distortion and increase record wear. Whew, I thing that covers it.



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So, your reply raised an interesting question for me.. You say that this angle is affected by the tracking force and that we should use the correct tracking force. So, I made a little picture to help me visualize things and it seems to me that apply too much or little tracking force should change that angle. Am I right to assume that this could then be offset by changing the tone arm height to compensate? Also, as an example the Ortophon Concordes recommend 4 grams of tracking force. I've never understood how manufacturers pick that number- if it's complex please don't feel you need to explain- however I'm wondering if one of the reasons is that at that recommended weight the needle will sit at 20 degrees? If so, and my tonearm height theory is correct, is there any sort of rule of thumb on how much we might alter the tonearm height from parallel per gram of weight applied above or below the recommended tracking weight? As an example, if all the above is correct, I set the S-120 at 5 grams- one gram above the recomended and my needle is now squashed down a bit more making the angle say at 18 degrees with the arm parallel, raising the tonearm height should then help restore the needle to 20 degrees- if so what would the rule of thumb might be on how much to raise (or lower if less than the recomended weight) the height? Finally Frank, as you know there is endless debate on how high the tonearm should be for scratching- is this 20 degrees actually ideal for tracking or just for sound quality? I really appreciate how you answered other questions on here- if people with the manufacturers always found these threads and responded the world would be a much better place!!
 
i'm using an average thickness slipmat and for the tonearm to be parallel to the record i'd have to be using a much thicker one. i also noticed that (at least on my 12's) i can adjust the height almost 1 measurement below 0" (which would be like -1" or the opposite of "these go to 11":D ). anyway, that put the tonearm closer to parallel. i also noticed when locking the height adjustment on one of my decks, the tonearm would move up a little, but not on the other deck. the entire tonarm base is loose on the one deck when it's not locked and solid as a rock on the other. any ideas on how to tighten the one back up? thanks - jeff h

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I learned an awesome tip on youtube to get your tonearm parallel. Take a ruler and put it vertical and measure the tonearm height near the base where it connects to the TT and again near the needle. The two numbers should be the same- if not, then adjust the tonearm height up or down. This takes all of the guesswork of measuring how thick your slipmat and the mat that goes under it is (or regular rubber mat that you use if your not a dj), the particular height of the record you have on the platter (records vary in thickness they say) and finally how much weight your applying to the needle (as I believe this may also lower the cart closer to the record the more weight you add and thus also change the angle of the tonearm).
 
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