Installation of ZYX Cartridges on a Linear Tonearm

As always, I invite customers/audiophiles to send me emails with their experiences. I will be happy to post their comments here.

The parameters that differ when mounting a cartridge on a linear arm are:

• Overhang (the distance from the arm’s pivot point to the stylus),
• Zenith (the angle of the cartridge when viewed from above) and,
• Anti-skating (which does not exist on linear tracking arms).

Most linear arms come with a jig or protractor for adjusting cartridge overhang and zenith. (You can also DIY one easily with a sheet of paper and a straightedge.) The alignment protractors sold for pivoting tonearms cannot be used with linear tracking arms.

These parameters remain the same on any tonearm:

• VTA (the angle of the cartridge when viewed from the side),
• Azimuth (the angle of the cartridge when viewed from the front) and,
• VTF (downforce on the stylus).