Over a week ago, I received the TonaL. I've read so much about it but upon opening the box and browsing through the instructions, my immediate impression was--
kailangan ng pasensya 'to! Like most tasks that involve setting up turntable, the most important rule is that you have to be in the right frame of mind.
But then Murphy's Law had to show up elsewhere so bear with me, you'll see why I'm not necessarily the one who practices what I preach
Today, I finally get some time alone to attempt installation. First let me say, Manny's instructions are so thorough and meticulous they're absolutely fantastic if you can stay focused and not have your "attention drift".
Unfortunately, I'm not that type when it comes to nice analog toys
so knowing how the TonaL operates "in principle" I ventured ahead sans safety net and went on to install the TonaL.
The TonaL comes with three aluminum posts to handle different heights. I chose the tallest to use with my Simon Yorke S7 tonearm/Jan Allaerts MC1-B/Z cartridge.
From start to finish it took about an hour and, if I had to do it again, I believe I can do it in much less time. There are a few tricky spots--
In my case, I decided to mount the metal disk on the outer side of the arm because I had measured and fitted the lifter without the disk in place. As it turned out, when I put in the disk and the plastic stand in the left (inner side) of the arm, it was hitting the lifter too early.
There are 6 degrees of freedom where installation can go wrong. Forwards/backwards and left/right are the most crucial in terms of placement. If you put the lifter too close to the arm then it'll lift way before the last track ends. If you put it too far away from the arm, there's still a way to "make pahabol" with fine-tuning the distance of the head. Either way, perhaps the most important installation parameter is to be sure about where the TonaL is located before you remove the adhesive and commit.
Height adjustment can be done easily via a screw but be sure to do it starting from a higher position working your way to a lower position. The idea is to make sure that when the magnet and disc make contact that your cartridge won't be banged into the groove. Notice how I sound very experienced here?
The TonaL is a world class product, in fact, I think it's the best thing in the market right now. The only minor quibble I have is the plastic holding the metal disc looks a bit flimsy... besides it's a part of a square trying to get hold of something round.
I would prefer a small semi-circular metal ring whose ends have tangs that close via a screw. The metal ring could be fitted with felt underneath and be wrapped over the tonearm, then both its ends are brought together via a small screw to secure position. The metal ring might also be kept in place without screwing like those
plastic headbands.
Mandy, I truly believe you have a product that can sell here (in the US). Let me do my part promoting it and work out how you can hook up with a dealer. Thank you, sir!
Finally, if you click on the picture below, I've made a small AVI of the TonaL in action. The file is 770KB and is an exercise in
TonaLity!
Epilogue. Remember what I said earlier about keeping focused? Well, at the same time I was setting up the TonaL, I was transferring the Pacquiao-Morales fight from my cable box/DVR to a DVDcamera for ripping into a hard drive so I can burn my cousin a DVD of the fight. In between ripping the mini-DVD to HD I was also using the DVDcam to shoot the TonaL. Since the entire fight can't fit in one DVD, I have to stop the DVR from time to time. When I took the DVDcam to shoot the TonaL the second time the DVR prompted me "Save" or "Erase"? Guess what I pressed. So now I have 8 rounds of the Pacquiao fight in my HD and deleted the fight from my DVR. Nakampucha. My cousin will have to wait until I record the replay this weekend.