Cartridge  Alignment Tool / Protractor with Azimuth Mirror

This cartridge alignment protractor allows the proper setting up of your cartridge offset and overhang

The Tonar Simple Cartridge Protractor is a handy alignment tool for setting up your cartridge.

Mirror Cartridge Alignment Protractor lets you properly see and align your cartridge stylus for optimal grove tracking and music retrieval. This is one of the most important tools for turntable owners because the ability of your cartridge to retrieve music depends on its proper alignment with the record grooves.

Maximize your listening pleasure with this simple and easy to use phono cartridge protractor.

Finally then there is a mirror for checking cartridge azimuth 

Suitable for all tonearm types.
 
Made in a hard wearing plastic about the same thickness as an LP, complete with full instructions.  This is about as comprehensive a phono cartridge alignment protractor as is available today and a “must have” tool for accurate cartridge alignment & Sound from your Vinyl
  
The importance of this for audio quality is shown by a comparison of the distortion (harmonic distortion HD2) caused by the relative lateral tracking error when playing a record with the distortion in the signal processing within the phono stage, pre-amplifier and power amplifier. If the tonearm geometry is not ideal, which is often the case, or if the installation of the pickup system was not checked, the harmonic distortion HD2 caused by too high a relative lateral tracking error can reach values of more than 3%. In contrast to this, all electrical components in a hi-fi system combined would show a value below 0.1% or sometimes, even under 0.01%.
 
The importance of optimising the tonearm geometry with a high quality alignment gauge can therefore produce a much higher gain in audio quality than a much higher three to four figure investment in better components.

MIRRORED CARTRIDGE ALIGNMENT PROTRACTOR
Baerwald
(Baerwald's geometry is mathematically optimized to produce lower levels of distortion at the points where maximum tracking error occurs in addition to lower average RMS distortion across the entire playing surface of the LP.)

(*Where two null points (zero tracking error) are set at 66.00mm and 120.89mm from the spindle)
When installing your phono cartridge to your tonearm, there are major geometric parameters to be taken care of - overhang, cartridge alignment, azimuth, vertical tracking force (VTF), bias (anti-skating) and vertical tracking angle (VTA).
 
 
All of these are necessary. Failure to get these correct, you definitely get inner groove distortion during LP playback. Improper alignment may result in damage to your cartridge and the LP itself.
More coherence, darker background & natural balance is achieved after aligning your cartridge correctly. 
A correctly adjusted cartridge will produce a pure stereo image with the least distortion.
 
A mirrored protractor allows you to precisely align the stylus/cartridge.
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The built in parallax (dual images) effect makes it easy to tell when you’re sighting exactly down the centerline of the grid - and when you’re not.

Proper setup and alignment is crucial to get the most out of your turntable.
This protractor will last forever and is a fraction of the cost of most alignment tools.

Place this alignment gauge over your turntable spindle, move your phono cartridge over the grid, and make sure it is correctly aligned before tightening it to your tonearm. 

- Ideal with a Stylus Force Gauge & Test LP