VPI JMW-12-3D, JMW-10-3D, JMW-10-3DR, JMW-9-3D, JMW-12-3DR 5e0564_cbcc93a7cd174f0bade791ec25452c22.pdf

VPI JMW-3D Printed

Tonearm Manual

THIS MANUAL IS GOOD FOR COMPLETE ARMS OR ARMTUBES ONLY

Setup and Instruction Manual

VPI Industries, Inc., 77 Cliffwood Ave. #5D, Cliffwood, NJ 07721

http://www.vpiindustries.com

 A NEW BASE HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR YOUR TONEARM. IT

WILL SUPPORT THE ARM AT THE VTA TOWER AND AT THE
CUEING MECHANISM. THIS SUPPORT GIVES THE ARM MUCH
GREATER RIGIDITY AND PROVIDES DEEPER TIGHTER BASS
RESPONSE.

 THE ARMS NOW HAVE THUMBSCREWS INSTEAD OF SET

SCREWS FOR EASIER SETUP AND ADJUSTMENT OF VERTICAL
TRACKING ANGLE (VTA, SRA)

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

NOT FOLLOWING THIS MANUAL WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTEE.

FAILURE TO SEND IN THE WARRANTEE CARD WILL VOID YOUR

WARRANTEE.

 Be very careful when handling the JMW-3D tonearm. The internal arm

wire is exposed at the headshell and at the rear of the arm. The wire is
very delicate and physical damage to the wire is not covered by the
warranty after the arm is removed from its box.

 Please do not touch the unipivot bearing parts. Finger oils on the bearing

cup in the upper bearing housing or on the lower pivot point in the arm
base assembly can cause blemishing of the bearing and possible
corrosion. Also, the point is sharp, be careful.

 There are a number of setscrews on the JMW-3D tonearm. The Allen

wrenches that come with your arm will only fit the setscrews that you will
need to adjust. All oTther screws are factory set and should not be
adjusted, except by our trained technicians. Resetting any of the factory
settings is not covered by the warranty.

A- UNPACKING YOUR JMW-3D TONE ARM

 This instruction manual was lying on a large foam pad. Remove the pad

and put it nearby on your work surface.

 You will now see a number of things in plastic bags:

 Allen wrenches for cartridge mounting and fine VTF adjustment
 Hex nuts, and washers (for cartridge mounting)
 Arm mounting and alignment tool
 Weight scale if a complete tonearm

 Take all these items out and set them aside.

3

 You can now see the arm tube and counterweight, with its delicate wire

and Lemo connector, and the arm base assembly. If your arm is pre­mounted on a tone arm board, remove the small foam piece covering the
"front" of the arm board. Set it aside with the other packing material.

B- CARTRIDGE MOUNTING:

 Remove the arm tube from the box (taking special care not to strain or

damage, the delicate wire and Lemo connector) and place it right side
up on the foam pad.

 For cartridges with threaded mounting holes: Use the screws

supplied by the cartridge manufacturer to mount the cartridge. Any other
screws may not fit the thread properly and may even damage the threads
and cartridge. USE ONE OF THE SUPPLIED WASHERS UNDER THE SCREW
HEAD.

You must use washers and you do not over tighten

the screws, this is a soft material and you will

damage it if you over tighten.

 For cartridges with pass through mounting holes: Use the hardware

supplied with the arm. Remember to use the washers under the screw
heads to prevent damage to the finish on the JMW-3D arm. In this step,
the connectors will be attached to the cartridge's terminals.

 THE COLOR CODE OF THE WIRES IS AS FOLLOWS:

RED = right hot WHITE = left hot
GREEN = right ground BLUE = left ground

IF YOUR PHONO SECTION INVERTS PHASE, THE HOT BECOMES

THE GROUND COLOR

 The arm tube should be on its side on the foam pad when doing this.
 Using tweezers or fine tipped pliers grip the center of the red wire's

connector (do not grip the wire) and push it onto the cartridge's right hot
terminal pin. In the same way, connect each of the remaining connectors
to its respective cartridge terminal. Do not push the connectors all the
way on, as this could damage the cartridge. Always back up the cartridge
with your finger when pushing on the clips.

4

 The JMW-3D tone arm comes with one large dropped counterweight

installed on the rear shaft of the tonearm. For most cartridges you will
only need this large weight. The counterweight is held in position by a
setscrew. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THIS SET SCREW.

 Pick up the arm tube, taking care not to strain or damage the fine wire

and Lemo connector.

 For now, position the large counterweight as close to the bearing housing

as you can (toward the front of the arm) but not touching the balance
ring. The object here is to balance the arm while keeping the
counterweight as close to the bearing housing as possible. This results in
the least inertia for a given cartridge weight.

 In some rare cases it may be necessary to use two counterweights

together or a larger counterweight. Contact your dealer if a second or
larger counterweight is needed.

C- ALIGNMENT

 Place the arm tube assembly on the lower bearing, taking care not to

strain or damage the wire and Lemo connector. Make sure the unipivot is
centered in the female bearing, the arm should feel free in all directions.
Place the arm in its rest.

 At the rear of the arm base assembly is the connector block. Plug the

Lemo connector into its receptacle on top of the block. Notice that the
connector can plug in only one way. Align the red dots on the arms plug
with the red dot on the receptacle. Push gently, do not force the plug.

 Do not attach the anti-skate filament at this time if at all.
 Make sure the turntable is level. Refer to your turntable instructions and

use a bubble level to check level. In most cases, the best place to put the
level is on the platter.

With a unipivot arm it is particularly important to level the turntable.

 Move the counterweight until the arm has a very slight downward

tracking force, just enough to keep it on the supplied alignment jig and
not move.

 This alignment will yield the lowest distortion in the last third of the

record, the hardest to track, when playing a typical 12" record. Do not go
crazy over this adjustment. You do not know if the stylus is aligned
properly on the cantilever. You are also facing a constantly moving target

5

when playing a record. The arm is moving in 3-dimensions and will only
approximate the accuracy you have built into your alignment.

 Slightly loosen the screws in the alignment jig and place into position by

sliding the narrow end with the “V” cutout against the base of the male
bearing uni-pivot.

 While holding the “V” against the bearing well, swing the other end (with

the hole) over the turntables spindle so that the spindle holds the jig in
place. Lightly re-tighten the screws.

 While the arm is in its rest, loosen the screws that hold the cartridge just

enough so the cartridge can be moved back and forth.

 Carefully swing the arm over the grid at the far end of the jig and place

the stylus as close to the dot in the center of the grid as possible. Using a
lighted magnifier will make this job very easy.

BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE CARTRIDGE STYLUS:

 Move the cartridge so that the stylus rests on the dot. Now, viewing the

cartridge from above, line it up so that its sides are symmetrically
positioned between the lines of the grid. If the cartridge has parallel
sides, these should be made parallel to the grid lines. Also make sure
that the cartridge is centered between the sets of lines. Follow picture
below. If you can see the cantilever clearly you can align the cantilever to
the alignment grid. This is difficult and may produce no increase in sound
quality.

6

REMEMBER: YOU ARE ALIGNING THE CARTRIDGE NOT THE

HEADSHELL

 Double check the adjustments made above. The cartridge needs to be

both centered and "square" between the gird lines and have the stylus
resting on the dot or very close to it.

 The alignment gauge does not have a hole or dimple to hold the stylus.

While the printed dot makes it harder to keep the stylus in place, this
method was chosen to avoid the possibility of damaging the stylus
cantilever or the diamond tip as the cartridge is positioned.

 Place the arm back in its rest.
 Without letting the cartridge move, tighten the screws holding the

cartridge to the arm head. Do not over do it as you will damage the
JMW-3D arm headshell.

D- TRACKING FORCE (VTF):

 Tracking force is adjusted by moving the counterweight forward and back

just a bit at a time. A little light oil on the counterweight shaft will let you
move the counterweight easier and you can wipe it up when done.

 The JMW-3D tonearm does not have a built-in tracking force gauge, but a

Stylus Force Gauge is supplied with your complete arm on a new unit.

 A stylus force gauge does not come with the purchase of just an

armtube.

7

 Following the gauge instructions set the tracking force to the cartridge

manufacturer recommendation plus 1/10 of a gram more. We always
recommend going to the high side when it comes to tracking force. High
frequency vibrations can cause a light-tracking cartridge to cause more
damage to the grooves than running a cartridge at a heavy setting.

VERY IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE THE HEADHSELL IS PARALLEL TO THE
PLATTER WHEN SETTING THE TRACKING FORCE. IF IT IS NOT THE END
RESULT WILL BE HIGHER OR LOWER VTF THAN YOU WANTED.

E- AZIMUTH ADJUSTMENT

 Next, the lateral balance or azimuth must be set. Because the phono

cartridge is offset, there is an unbalancing force that tilts the arm to one
side. For the cartridge to properly track the record groove, the stylus
must be ninety degrees to the record surface. Move the counterweight so
a slight tracking force is applied and the stylus just sits on the record
surface.

 Rotate the counterweight as needed to bring the arm into correct lateral

balance to set azimuth. When the azimuth has been set, you can lightly
tighten the setscrew located on the top of the counterweight. Lay the
long thin rod supplied behind the cartridge mounting screws into the V
groove and use it as a guide for setting azimuth.

Long thin rod

90 degrees

 Unlike other unipivot arms, the JMW-3D lateral balance weight does not

hang off to the side of the arm. Instead, its position around the bottom
of the upper bearing housing places the weight below the pivot point.
This increases mass below the pivot and increases arm stability.

8

F- ANTI-SKATING:

REMEMBER: THE JMW-3D ARM NEEDS VERY LITTLE ANTI-SKATING

FORCE IF ANY AT ALL!

 VPI has conducted careful listening tests over the last 20 years

manufacturing tonearms and determined that every tonearm we tried
sounded better with its mechanical anti-skating disabled and the tracking
force very slightly increased.

VPI has a unique solution to anti-skating: the coiled wire of the
JMW-3D tonearm acts as a spring and pushes the arm back without
affecting the sound quality.

 Adjust the counterweight so there is no down force on the cartridge.
 Swing the tonearm toward the spindle and release it. The arm should

swing out toward the outer edge of the turntable.

If you try adjusting the anti-skate with a groove less

record, you will ruin the twist in the tonearm wire and
void your warranty. Do this with the mechanical anti­skate if you want that much anti-skate.

 IF ADDITIONAL ANTI-SKATE IS NEEDED FOR WORKING WITH

TEST RECORDS YOU CAN GO TO THE MECHANICAL ANTI-SKATE
SUPPLIED BUT WE DO NOT RECOMMEND IT FOR LISTENING!!

9

G- ARM HEIGHT:

Unlike many tone arms, the JMW-3D height is both easy and repeatable to
vary. The knob next to the bearing housing bears a scale numbered from
zero to ninety-nine. Below the knob there is an index mark engraved on the
front of the support pillar.

Rotating the knob clockwise lowers the arm and rotating it counterclockwise
raises it.

Set the arm height as follows:

 First take a 3X5 lined index card, bend it on the long side, stand it up on

the record so the lines are parallel to the record surface. Loosen the two
thumbscrews on the arm base, lower the arm onto the record and make
the headshell parallel to the lines on the index card by rotating the arm­height knob as needed.

 This is a good initial setting. You may wish to vary it depending on the

cartridge you are using and or the particular record being played. The
knob's scale makes it easy to return to a previous setting by making a
note of the number above the index mark and the number of complete
turns taken.

 The old wisdom, which had the arm tube parallel to the record surface,

assumed not only that all cartridges had the same internal geometry and
stylus rake angle but also that all records were cut with the same
equipment set the same way. The idea was that everything would line up
properly with the arm parallel to the record.

 If you have a gentle touch (so as not to bounce the turntable) you can

simply vary the arm height while listening to the record and catalog the
changes in sound you get while doing this. There is one perfect spot for
each record and cartridge combination. Depending upon your patience
and other mental factors, you could go through this process for every
record you own. Or, as most of us do, you can find a setting that works
for most records and sit back and listen to the music.

THE ARM HAS TWO BLACK THUMBSCREWS FOR LOCKING

THE VTA SETTING ONCE YOU ARE DONE ADJUSTING.

LOCKING THE ARM WILL GIVE THE BEST SOUND WITH THE

TIGHTEST CLEANEST BASS. REMEMBER, WHEN MOVING

THE VTA UP OR DOWN YOU MUST LOOSEN BOTH

THUMBSCREWS.

10

H- CONNECTING TO THE PREAMPLIFIER/AMPLIFIER

 ONLY USE INTERCONNECTS THAT ARE SHIELDED AND PROPERLY GROUNDED.

NON-SHIELDED INTERCONNECTS CAN HUM AND PICK UP RF.

 The ground connection is available to eliminate hum if necessary. If hum

is present, first connect a ground lead from the connector block to the
preamplifier or amplifier to which the output cable is connected. If this
does not eliminate the hum, run a ground wire from the turntable chassis
to the connector block as well. The block's connector will accept bare
wires, spade lugs, or ring tongue connectors.

THE WARRANTY ON THE JMW-3D ARM IS FOUR YEARS.

MISHANDLING OR MODIFICATIONS VOIDS THE

WARRANTY.