Ortofon Standard 2-Point Alignment Tool

A Two-Point Protractor, Printed and Ready, for Under Ten Dollars

The Ortofon Standard 2-Point Alignment Tool is a printed protractor with a spindle hole in it. You drop it over the spindle, lay it on the platter and adjust the cartridge until the cantilever lines up at both marked null points.

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

The template carries two null points and sets of parallel lines, and Ortofon cuts it to Baerwald geometry — the two-null alignment that spreads tracking error most evenly across the disc. Under the IEC standard those nulls fall at roughly 66 and 121 millimeters from the spindle.

It is a lightweight plastic sheet with an easy-to-read grid, and it works with any turntable whose spindle it will drop over. There is nothing to set up, nothing to measure first and nothing to power.

Being a printed template rather than a measuring jig, it assumes your tonearm's pivot-to-spindle distance is already correct. If the arm was mounted at the wrong distance, a two-point protractor will align the cartridge to a geometry the arm cannot actually trace.

Who Is the Ortofon Alignment Tool Best For?

• You are aligning a cartridge for the first time — the least expensive way to stop guessing at overhang and offset
• Your tonearm was mounted correctly — a two-point template does the rest in a few minutes
• You want something you can keep flat in a sleeve — a printed sheet stores where a machined jig will not
• You have just fitted a new stylus or cartridge — geometry has to be reset whenever either changes
• You suspect your arm is at the wrong pivot-to-spindle distance — that needs a measuring protractor, not a template; those are in cartridge alignment tools

How Do You Use It?

Drop the template over the spindle and let it lie flat on the platter. Lower the stylus onto the first null point and look down the cantilever: it should sit parallel to the printed lines. Loosen the headshell screws, rotate the cartridge until it does, then check the second null point and repeat until both agree.

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?

As accurate as your eye at the two null points. On a correctly mounted arm that is enough to put tracking error at its practical minimum, since Baerwald geometry is what the nulls are cut to. A machined protractor that also measures pivot-to-spindle distance resolves finer.

Will it fit my turntable?

It drops over a standard spindle and lies on the platter, so it suits any turntable with a conventional pivoted arm.

What does it not do?

It sets overhang and offset angle. Azimuth, vertical tracking angle and tracking force are separate adjustments needing their own tools.

Do I need to re-align after changing a stylus?

If the whole cartridge changes, yes. A replacement stylus that slides into the same body usually keeps the geometry, but it is worth a check while the protractor is out.

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