DB Systems Protrac Cartridge Alignment Protractor

Alignment Anywhere Between 44 and 153 Millimeters From the Spindle

The DB Systems DB-10 Protrac is a transparent alignment protractor that lets you check cartridge tangency at any point — or points — between 44 and 153 millimeters from the record spindle. It needs no batteries and no power of any kind.

A cartridge on a pivoted arm traces an arc across a record that was cut in a straight line. Alignment is the compromise that makes the two agree at a pair of points on the disc, and the closer you get to it, the less the stylus fights the groove everywhere in between.

Accuracy, Range and Fit

What It Sets and How

Most protractors give you two fixed null points. The Protrac gives you the whole radius: at any distance from 44 to 153 millimeters, you can check whether the cantilever is tangent at that exact point. That is what lets it serve any standard cartridge on any radial tonearm, rather than one alignment geometry chosen for you.

It is a small sheet of transparent material, which is the point — you look through it at the cantilever rather than alongside it, and parallax stops being the limiting factor in how well you can judge the alignment.

There is nothing to power and nothing to calibrate. DB Systems describes the job as three steps, and the tool assumes only that your tonearm is a conventional radial design.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Stereophile lists the Protrac in Recommended Components as "JA's preferred alignment protractor," and quotes Art Dudley calling it "a hell of a bargain." The magazine's own summary is "fiddly but accurate" — worth knowing before you start, since it rewards patience.

Who Is the Protrac Best For?

• You want to choose your own null points — anywhere from 44 to 153 millimeters, rather than the two a template gives you
• You align by eye and want the eye helped — a transparent sheet removes the parallax that limits a printed template
• You own any standard cartridge and radial arm — the tool is not cut to one geometry
• You want a tool with no battery — nothing to power, nothing to calibrate, nothing to fail
• You want a five-minute job — Stereophile calls it fiddly, and it is: budget the time or choose a jig from cartridge alignment tools

How Do You Use It?

Set the Protrac over the spindle and choose the radius you want to check. Lower the stylus to that point and sight through the transparent sheet at the cantilever, adjusting the cartridge in the headshell until it is tangent. Repeat at a second radius, then go back and confirm the first — the two interact, and it takes a couple of passes.

Pairs Well With

What most owners of an alignment tool shop next.

• Stylus force gauges — geometry and force are the two halves of a cartridge setup
• Phono cartridges — a protractor is what makes fitting one yourself reasonable
• Test records — for hearing whether the alignment landed
• Stylus cleaning — worth doing before you start peering at a cantilever

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is it?

Accurate enough that Stereophile names it a preferred protractor. Because it works at any radius from 44 to 153 millimeters and you sight through it rather than across it, the limit is your patience rather than the tool.

Will it work with my tonearm?

It suits any standard phono cartridge on a radial tonearm. A tangential or linear-tracking arm aligns to a different principle and needs its maker's own procedure.

Does it need batteries?

None. It is a precision transparent sheet with no power source and nothing to calibrate.

Is it difficult to use?

Stereophile calls it fiddly, and that is fair — sighting a cantilever through a sheet takes care and a couple of passes. What you get for the patience is alignment at a radius you chose rather than one someone else printed.

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