Oracle Audio Technologies
8
Important safety precaution !
If you are planning to cut your own mounting board, remember
that the cutting of the arm board can sometimes be troublesome as well as being a potential hazard.
It is extremely important to precisely drill the tone arm board as recommended by the manufacturer with
the proper center to center specification to make sure the tone arm can perform to its full potential.
The use of an adequate tooling is important to both accuracy and safety.
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Use stainless steel or aluminium screws to mount the cartridge for maximum rigidity.
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In preparation for the final alignment, tighten the phono cartridge screws very lightly so it can be moved
in the headshell.
PRECISELY ALIGN THE PHONE CARTRIDGE
The Calibrator disc is a precision protractor and strobe disc. It is an important tool to achieve an accurate
calibration of the tone arm and phono cartridge geometry.
Important !
Do not use tape on any of the aluminum parts. Doing so could make the paint peel off ! This notice
applies to all aluminum parts, the sub-chassis, the platter or other aluminum parts.
Important !
Before you proceed to the cartridge alignment on the Calibrator disc grid make sure the platter is
kept from moving by inserting the blue cloth between the platter and the sub-chassis. Any movement of the
platter with the stylus cued down on the Calibrator disc could result in irrevocable damage to the stylus or the
cantilever.
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Place the Oracle Calibrator disc on the platter over the acrylic mat.
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Block the platter using the blue cloth by skeezing it between the platter and sub-chassis.
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Aim the black alignment line (Located over the “O” of Oracle) with the pivot center of the tone arm.
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Adjust the stylus pressure to approximately 1.5 gram.
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Move the tone arm over the alignment grid and cue it down.
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Check for the horizontality of the arm tube with the surface of the calibrator disc or use the tone arm
manufacturer's supplied tool, adjust the height accordingly. ( This will influence the vertical tracking
angle … VTA )
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Bring the tone arm over the center of the grid again and lower it. The ultimate goal is to make the stylus
tip fall exactly in the pin hole in the center of the grid. If not, position the cartridge so it does. This can be
done by either moving the phono cartridge in the headshell or in the case of a Oracle SME tone arm,
moving the base of the arm back or forth so it does. ( read the tone arm instructions )
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Precisely align the body of the cartridge with the lines of the grid. A more accurate way is to visualize the
cantilever as an extension of the center line of the grid. ( This is the Zenith angle alignment )
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Secure the cartridge screws and repeat the previous operation.
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Check the azimuth ( lateral view of the cantilever ) by lowering the stylus over the black portion on the
calibrator disc. The mirror reflection will help determine if the cartridge is off its vertical axis.