In this post
you will see how to determine the optimum adjustments for your tonearm and cartridge for best sound possible and minimum record wear.
I will go one step beyond than what you can usually find. This means I will not
show you how to adjust tracking force and anti-skating values, I will show you
how to find the optimum vertical tracking force (VTF) and anti-skating value for your tonearm and
cartridge combo.
From now on, I have to assume that you already know the basics on how to adjust your turntable.
A note of caution to all Technics SL-1200 MK2 & SL-1210 MK2 owners: Technics SL-1200 MK turntables offer tone arm height adjustment. At the manual there is a table that shows you the correct arm height value according to the cartridge height in order to have the tonearm parallel with the record.
Well, the manual of my Technics SL-1210 MK2 has it wrong. Why? I have to assume that at some point Technics changed the thickness of the platter mat, without changing accordingly the table at the manual. This does not mean that all Technics manuals are wrong, but you better check it out. So I found myself trying to understand when the tonearm was indeed parallel with the record. This proved to be rather tricky because the tonearm body is round and shines like a mirror, so it tricks the eye. I couldn’t make any accurate height measurements either, since the arm has to be at the regular play position with the stylus on the vinyl record. You don’t want to touch the tonearm with a ruler or a caliper after all.
Even though I am using my Technics SL-1210 as an example for this case, the same method applies for every tonearm that is equally thick from it’s beginning to the end. Solution is very simple and comes at no cost. You just need some coins.
So, now that everything is in the right position, we are ready to start calibrating the tonearm to the optimum conditions.
With the help of track 3 at side two (Introduction to and tone arm resonance test) you can see at what frequency your tonearm resonates the most; it will start moving up and down, it can even start groove jumping.
With this test I found out that my SL-1210 and my 6,3 gram Stanton 681EEE MKIII indeed behaves better without the extra Technics shell weight – Technics includes a head shell weight to use with light cartridges that weight below 6 grams.
Without the shell weight, it resonated at 10Hz. With the Shell weight it resonated at 8Hz (of course tracking force was kept at same value for both cases) so I left it without the extra weight.
Panos found out that his Dual 505-4 Audiophile Concept and Ortofon Super OM 30 cartridge resonate at 10Hz without the Dual auxiliary weight (on the rear shaft of the arm) and at 11Hz with the auxiliary weight, a small difference. But he found out that with the auxiliary weight, his tonearm/cartridge combination had less mistracking than what could be accomplished without the extra weight – always at the same tracking force, so he left it on.
How to determine the optimum tracking force for your cartridge and tonearm.
Your cartridge has a minimum and maximum tracking force value, you can find it at the spec sheet. For example, my cartridge has 0.75g minimum, 1.5g maximum. Most manufacturers also include a “recommended” tracking force value which usually stands in the middle between minimum and maximum tracking force.
Although the recommended tracking force is a good point to start with, we all want to get maximum performance from our cartridge and tonearm combination with minimum record wear. Since the cartridge manufacturer can’t know at which tonearm the cartridge will be placed, he can not provide an exact recommended tracking force value just for you.
Many believe that the best way to have minimal record wear is to set the tracking force close to minimum. This is not accurate. Minimum wear will occur at the minimum tracking force where no mistracking occurs. When a cartridge mistracks, the stylus is no longer following the signal cut in the record groove. Cartridge mistracking causes the biggest damage to record groves whereas at the same time sound performance is low.
Increasing tracking force reduces mistracking and increases the trackability of our tonearm & cartridge. That means that we get increased performance.
Once again, I will not tell you how to adjust your anti-skating, I am sure that your turntable manufacturer has made a wonderful job with the owner manual. If you have lost the manual, you can find it here: https://www.vinylengine.com/library.shtml (it does need registration but it is free of charge).
I will tell you how to determine the correct anti-skating value.
Theoretically, anti-skating value should be equal with your current tracking force value. That is what the manual says. If for example you have set your tracking force at 1,2 gram then you should set your anti-skating at 1,2.
Practically, the correct anti-skating value also depends from the stylus type you are using, as well as from the tonearm / cartridge combination. Your turntable manufacturer can not know what cartridge and stylus you are using, so he gives a general guideline with an average anti-skating value that is based only at the tracking force.
At this point, allow me to add some knowledge. You can find turntables that apply the anti-skating force with a magnet, a spring or with a weight that is hanging from a thread.
If designed correctly, the magnet or the spring based anti-skating are superior to the one with the permanent weight. That’s because a properly designed anti-skating is non-linear, as it should increase anti-skating force automatically as the cartridge approaches the inner grooves. But often, when the anti-skating mechanism of the turntable is based at a weight, anti-skating force is fixed no matter what the tonearm position is. A properly designed anti-skating mechanism based on magnet or spring offers the desired variable, tonearm position dependent anti-skating force that can be infinitely adjusted – most weight based anti-skating offer only a step adjustment for anti-skating. Of course I exclude from this conclusion any sophisticated weight based anti-skating mechanisms that automatically vary the angle by which the thread applies the anti-skating force to the tonearm, since this means that the anti-skating force is variable and also can be infinitely adjusted by the user.
But first thing first. You
can also adjust anti-skating with the help of a record such the Shure ERA IV.
Just make sure that you have correctly connected your turntable left and right channels, red RCA is right (R) channel, white or black RCA is left (L) channel. Or you can use track 2 from side one, it has a voice saying "left channel, right channel".
Set the anti-skating of your turntable at equal value as the tracking force you have. Then play again track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test), the same one that we used in order to determine tracking force with minimum mistracking previously. If you hear mistracking sounding on your right channel first, then you need to increase your antiskating value. If you hear mistracking sounding on your left channel first, then you need to decrease your antiskating value. If you hear mistracking occurring simultaneously on both channels (or you have no mistracking at all), then you have set the correct anti-skating force. Simple and nice like a charm. You can hear the results.
However, audiophiles are divided as usual:
Now, if you are a perfectionist, you just became happier because you just learned how to adjust your anti-skating to a good, but all-round value.
1) Each record – or should I say each track of the record – require different anti-skating values due to the unique friction each track has. Friction depends from what kind of music the track has as well as how loud the recording is.
2) Ideally you should set up the ultimate correct anti-skating for each position of each track on a record in order to compensate for possible mechanical tolerances of the anti-skating mechanism.
3) Temperature affects friction.
So please relax. You just read this post and you already know more about antiskating than Captain James T. Kirk. I am sure your turntable now has the most accurate anti-skating adjustment in your town.
Last but not least, a few words about what generally affects the sound quality of a turntable as a sound source. The answer to this is very simple and very complicated at the same time: synergy. The turntable is a part of your system that is greatly affected by synergy. I mean, you can put together excellent ingredients like a great cartridge, a good platter, an excellent phono pre amp and get a sound that is much lower than the sum of these great parts. Then you might try a good platter, a medium cartridge and an economic phono pre amp and be amazed from the sound you will get, due to good system matching and synergy. If you navigate through my blog, you will find some interesting posts that lead to this: good sound is the result of good matching between each and every ingredient: the stylus, the cartridge body, the tonearm, the platter, the phono pre amp, the pre amp. This is why you see all the time people arguing about the sound quality of a cartridge; one says it is the best, other says it is ridiculous. What they actually are listening to and arguing is a poor or good system matching. So, the big question is if you can predict good system matching. I believe you can't, you just have to experiment. I mean, changing the pf or input resistance of the phono amp at a system that was poorly matched did not solve the problem.
Happy listening as always. If you have a headache after reading this post, please stick to CD.
Chris
P.S. If you liked this post, you will probably like my blog. Why not having a look at all the things we have wrote about it here.
Hello! If you are new to this, you will have to make some reading first. You will have to understand how to adjust tracking force and antiskating at your turntable. There is no need for me to say anything about this, you can find all the info you need at your turntable's user manual or you can Google the subject. If you have lost your turntable manual, you can find it here: https://www.vinylengine.com/library.shtml (it does need registration but it is free of charge).
From now on, I have to assume that you already know the basics on how to adjust your turntable.
First
step is to make sure that your turntable platter sits completely horizontal. In order to check this, you will need a
bubble level.
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| It is very important that your platter is completely horizontal. |
Unplug your turntable from mains in order to make sure that it
won't start spinning by mistake. Place the bubble level tool near the center of
your platter. If your turntable is a suspended type, I strongly suggest
using the small and light type of bubble level that you see on the right picture above. The other type is a bit heavy and it might make your
platter change position, giving you a false indication. Also, if your
turntable is a suspended type it is a bad idea to remove the platter mat
and place the bubble level on the bare platter surface, because without the
weight of your platter mat, suspension will change position causing the
bubble level tool to give you a false indication. If you have a perfectly
flat vinyl record, place the record on the platter and place the bubble level
tool on the record. Again, this is valid only for suspended turntables – the
position of their platter is delicate at the weight that the platter has, so we
want to simulate as much as possible the weight the platter has when it plays a
record.
Some turntables have height adjustable feet, if your turntable does not you can place small pieces of folded paper under the turntables feet in order to achieve perfect horizontal adjustment.
I also have to assume that you have installed your cartridge at the correct position regarding overhang. The purpose of this is to ensure that the cartridge will “see” the record grooves with the minimum tracking error possible, from the first until the last track. Again, you can find more regarding this at your turntable’s owner’s manual. Often, manufacturers include an overhang gauge or protractor in order to assist you with the correct cartridge position.
If you want to learn more about overhang, you can see this nice video on YouTube.
Some turntables have height adjustable feet, if your turntable does not you can place small pieces of folded paper under the turntables feet in order to achieve perfect horizontal adjustment.
I also have to assume that you have installed your cartridge at the correct position regarding overhang. The purpose of this is to ensure that the cartridge will “see” the record grooves with the minimum tracking error possible, from the first until the last track. Again, you can find more regarding this at your turntable’s owner’s manual. Often, manufacturers include an overhang gauge or protractor in order to assist you with the correct cartridge position.
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| A Dual overhang gauge |
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| Overhang protractor |
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| Overhang gauge from a Technics manual |
How to check if tonearm is parallel with the record.
At most turntables, the manufacturer advises that the tonearm should be parallel with the record it plays. |
| From Technics SL-1200MK5 manual |
This has to do with the VTA (vertical tracking angle) which affects SRA (stylus rake angle). The goal is to achieve the correct angle with which the stylus reads the record in order to get accurate grove tracking. In order for this to happen, the cartridge manufacturer assumes that the cartridge body is mounted in a tonearm that is parallel to the record it plays; under this condition the stylus reads the record at the angle that the manufacturer intended. I will not further discuss the theory behind SRA and if it affects sound quality at this post; I will limit myself on helping you understanding if the tonearm is parallel with the disk.
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| When you set up tonearm too low. |
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| Optimum tonearm height setup - tonearm parallel to the record. |
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| When you set up tonearm too high. |
A note of caution to all Technics SL-1200 MK2 & SL-1210 MK2 owners: Technics SL-1200 MK turntables offer tone arm height adjustment. At the manual there is a table that shows you the correct arm height value according to the cartridge height in order to have the tonearm parallel with the record.
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| According to Technics SL-1200 MK2 / SL-1210 MK2 manual that came with my turntable, my 20mm heigh Stanton 681 EEE should need a value of 5 at the arm height ring. But actually it needs 4. |
Well, the manual of my Technics SL-1210 MK2 has it wrong. Why? I have to assume that at some point Technics changed the thickness of the platter mat, without changing accordingly the table at the manual. This does not mean that all Technics manuals are wrong, but you better check it out. So I found myself trying to understand when the tonearm was indeed parallel with the record. This proved to be rather tricky because the tonearm body is round and shines like a mirror, so it tricks the eye. I couldn’t make any accurate height measurements either, since the arm has to be at the regular play position with the stylus on the vinyl record. You don’t want to touch the tonearm with a ruler or a caliper after all.
Even though I am using my Technics SL-1210 as an example for this case, the same method applies for every tonearm that is equally thick from it’s beginning to the end. Solution is very simple and comes at no cost. You just need some coins.
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| Some old coins helped me to understand if the tonearm is indeed parallel to the record. It would be even easier if you have an old but flat vinyl to place the coins on the disc. |
As you see at the picture above, you just have to create two identical rows of coins. The height of the row has to be just below the bottom of the tonearm, you don’t want the tonearm touching the upper coin of the row. Unplug your turntable from the mains so it won’t start spinning by mistake and place the tonearm on the beginning of a flat record at play position. Place one row of coins as close as to the end of the toneram (near the headshell) posible and the other row to the opposite direction. Now look at the gaps between the top of the coins rows and the bottom of the tonearm body. If they are equal, then your tonearm is parallel to the record.
A good question is what can you do if your turntable does not provide VTA adjustment. You can't do anything other than just choosing a cartridge with a body height that matches your tonearm design so when you install it, the tonearm is parallel to the record. A shorter body can be corrected with appropriate spacers between the cartridge body and the headshell, but with higher body you can't do anything.
The next crucial step is to get a test record like the Shure An Audio Obstacle Course - Trackability Test Record For Stereo Cartiges, ERA IV, TTR 115 I have. This record is rather old and came to me from my father. You do not need to have this exact record but any similar one – just make sure that it has a mistracking test. Another record that looks interesting (but please note that I have no personal experience with it) is "The HFNRR Test Record HFN001". You can see it here.
A good question is what can you do if your turntable does not provide VTA adjustment. You can't do anything other than just choosing a cartridge with a body height that matches your tonearm design so when you install it, the tonearm is parallel to the record. A shorter body can be corrected with appropriate spacers between the cartridge body and the headshell, but with higher body you can't do anything.
The next crucial step is to get a test record like the Shure An Audio Obstacle Course - Trackability Test Record For Stereo Cartiges, ERA IV, TTR 115 I have. This record is rather old and came to me from my father. You do not need to have this exact record but any similar one – just make sure that it has a mistracking test. Another record that looks interesting (but please note that I have no personal experience with it) is "The HFNRR Test Record HFN001". You can see it here.
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| My Shure ERA IV test record. |
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| Shure ERA IV test record instructions. |
So, now that everything is in the right position, we are ready to start calibrating the tonearm to the optimum conditions.
Tone arm resonance.
We will start by optimizing the tonearm/cartridge resonance. This will also have a positive effect on mistracking and that is why we need to start from here. Many turntables come with an extra shell weight and/or auxiliary weight for the rear shaft of the arm. The manual advises when to use them (for example, my MK2 advises the use of the extra shell weight with cartridges weighting 6 grams or less and use of the auxiliary weight when cartridge weight excides 10 grams). But what happens if your cartridge is 6 grams or 10 grams? Is it better to use the extra weights or not?
The Shure ERA IV test disk helps you finding your tonearm – cartridge combination mechanical resonance frequency. Typically this resonance frequency is below 15 Hz – you don’t want it to be close to frequencies that are contained in music after all. But if on the other hand the resonance frequency is very low, it will go to record warp frequencies area, typically 0,5 – 8 Hz. So, ideally you want to be as close to 10 Hz as you can.
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Record warp and audible frequencies, you better be on the middle - around 12Hz. |
With the help of track 3 at side two (Introduction to and tone arm resonance test) you can see at what frequency your tonearm resonates the most; it will start moving up and down, it can even start groove jumping.
With this test I found out that my SL-1210 and my 6,3 gram Stanton 681EEE MKIII indeed behaves better without the extra Technics shell weight – Technics includes a head shell weight to use with light cartridges that weight below 6 grams.
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| Technics shell weight. Is it good to use it? Depends. |
Panos found out that his Dual 505-4 Audiophile Concept and Ortofon Super OM 30 cartridge resonate at 10Hz without the Dual auxiliary weight (on the rear shaft of the arm) and at 11Hz with the auxiliary weight, a small difference. But he found out that with the auxiliary weight, his tonearm/cartridge combination had less mistracking than what could be accomplished without the extra weight – always at the same tracking force, so he left it on.
How to determine the optimum tracking force for your cartridge and tonearm.
Your cartridge has a minimum and maximum tracking force value, you can find it at the spec sheet. For example, my cartridge has 0.75g minimum, 1.5g maximum. Most manufacturers also include a “recommended” tracking force value which usually stands in the middle between minimum and maximum tracking force.
Although the recommended tracking force is a good point to start with, we all want to get maximum performance from our cartridge and tonearm combination with minimum record wear. Since the cartridge manufacturer can’t know at which tonearm the cartridge will be placed, he can not provide an exact recommended tracking force value just for you.
Many believe that the best way to have minimal record wear is to set the tracking force close to minimum. This is not accurate. Minimum wear will occur at the minimum tracking force where no mistracking occurs. When a cartridge mistracks, the stylus is no longer following the signal cut in the record groove. Cartridge mistracking causes the biggest damage to record groves whereas at the same time sound performance is low.
Increasing tracking force reduces mistracking and increases the trackability of our tonearm & cartridge. That means that we get increased performance.
Optimum tracking force is the lowest tracking force we can set where we have the minimum mistracking posible. This means that from this optimum tracking force, a further increase in tracking weight will not reduce mistracking any more. Of course, we always respect cartridge manufacture minimum and maximum tracking force values.
In order to find the optimum tracking force, set up your tracking force at the manufacturer minimum value. Also remember to always set up the antiskating at the same value as the tracking force - we will examine how to determine the correct antiskating value below. Play track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test). As flute plays louder and louder (it has level one, two, three, four, five), at some point you should clearly hear distortion at the flute; this is mistracking.
Now that you know how mistracking sounds like, set up your tracking force in the middle of the manufacturer minimum and maximum value. For my cartridge (with a 0.75g minimum, 1.5g maximum) that would be (0,75+1,5)/2=1,12 grams. Play again track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test).
If distortion is completely gone, then play it again with a little lower tracking force (-0,05 grams) until you start again hearing mistracking. Stop at the point before you hear mistracking, if for example at 1,1 gram you don’t have mistracking and at 1,05 gram you have mistracking, leave your tracking force at 1,1 gram.
If distortion is not gone, start increasing the tracking force by +0,05 grams until you stop hearing it. Never exceed cartridge manufacturer values! If you get at your maximum tracking force but you still have mistracking, this is your system limitation. Note at what level you hear mistracking, let’s say for example that at maximum tracking force you hear the flute mistracking at level 5. Start reducing the tracking force until you start hearing mistracking to increase again. If for example at 1,5 grams you have mistracking at level 5, at 1,45 grams the mistracking is the same, at 1,4 grams the mistracking is the same, at 1,35 grams mistracking is stronger at level 5, at 1,3 grams the mistracking starts at level 4, then your optimum tracking force is 1,4 grams.
Usually, one channel will mistrack first. This means that anti-skating is not set correctly, so make a mental note which channel mistracks the most and see the next paragraph for that.
This procedure might look like complicated but it is not. The Shure record is very easy to use, when mistracking occurs it is very clear and leaves no doubt. This is a valuable tool for you in order to adjust for sure your turntable for the best possible performance with the minimum record wear.
However, if you are not in the mood for such fine tuning, I would choose the maximum tracking force over the average. I have never encountered a cartridge / tonearm that played worse at maximum tracking force compared to the average but I have encountered many times the contrary. I have also encountered cartridges that didn't benefit from the maximum tracking force, so with above method you could stay at lower tracking force without compormizing.
In order to find the optimum tracking force, set up your tracking force at the manufacturer minimum value. Also remember to always set up the antiskating at the same value as the tracking force - we will examine how to determine the correct antiskating value below. Play track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test). As flute plays louder and louder (it has level one, two, three, four, five), at some point you should clearly hear distortion at the flute; this is mistracking.
Now that you know how mistracking sounds like, set up your tracking force in the middle of the manufacturer minimum and maximum value. For my cartridge (with a 0.75g minimum, 1.5g maximum) that would be (0,75+1,5)/2=1,12 grams. Play again track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test).
If distortion is completely gone, then play it again with a little lower tracking force (-0,05 grams) until you start again hearing mistracking. Stop at the point before you hear mistracking, if for example at 1,1 gram you don’t have mistracking and at 1,05 gram you have mistracking, leave your tracking force at 1,1 gram.
If distortion is not gone, start increasing the tracking force by +0,05 grams until you stop hearing it. Never exceed cartridge manufacturer values! If you get at your maximum tracking force but you still have mistracking, this is your system limitation. Note at what level you hear mistracking, let’s say for example that at maximum tracking force you hear the flute mistracking at level 5. Start reducing the tracking force until you start hearing mistracking to increase again. If for example at 1,5 grams you have mistracking at level 5, at 1,45 grams the mistracking is the same, at 1,4 grams the mistracking is the same, at 1,35 grams mistracking is stronger at level 5, at 1,3 grams the mistracking starts at level 4, then your optimum tracking force is 1,4 grams.
Usually, one channel will mistrack first. This means that anti-skating is not set correctly, so make a mental note which channel mistracks the most and see the next paragraph for that.
This procedure might look like complicated but it is not. The Shure record is very easy to use, when mistracking occurs it is very clear and leaves no doubt. This is a valuable tool for you in order to adjust for sure your turntable for the best possible performance with the minimum record wear.
However, if you are not in the mood for such fine tuning, I would choose the maximum tracking force over the average. I have never encountered a cartridge / tonearm that played worse at maximum tracking force compared to the average but I have encountered many times the contrary. I have also encountered cartridges that didn't benefit from the maximum tracking force, so with above method you could stay at lower tracking force without compormizing.
How to determine correct anti-skating value.
The rotating vinyl disk applies a force to the tonearm towards the center of the record. Antiskating force is needed to equalize this force.Once again, I will not tell you how to adjust your anti-skating, I am sure that your turntable manufacturer has made a wonderful job with the owner manual. If you have lost the manual, you can find it here: https://www.vinylengine.com/library.shtml (it does need registration but it is free of charge).
I will tell you how to determine the correct anti-skating value.
Theoretically, anti-skating value should be equal with your current tracking force value. That is what the manual says. If for example you have set your tracking force at 1,2 gram then you should set your anti-skating at 1,2.
Practically, the correct anti-skating value also depends from the stylus type you are using, as well as from the tonearm / cartridge combination. Your turntable manufacturer can not know what cartridge and stylus you are using, so he gives a general guideline with an average anti-skating value that is based only at the tracking force.
At this point, allow me to add some knowledge. You can find turntables that apply the anti-skating force with a magnet, a spring or with a weight that is hanging from a thread.
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| Magnetic, spring and weight based anti-skating mechanisms. |
A
properly designed anti-skating mechanism is non-linear; it should gradually increase
the anti-skating force automatically as the cartridge approaches the inner
grooves. I
know that this may sound awkward - I also wrongly thought that the anti-skating
force was supposed to be stronger at the beginning of the record where
peripheral velocity is higher and lower in the inner tracks where peripheral
velocity is low. But this is not the case. The force that the rotating disk
applies to the tonearm towards the center depends from many things: friction (and
friction depends from tracking weight and the type of stylus), speed and the
position of the tonearm. So, the truth is that the needed anti-skating force
increases as the cartridge approaches the inner grooves. Once more,
anti-skating is lower at the outer grooves and higher in the inner grooves.
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| As a proof that anti-skating is higher at inner grooves, look what happens to the anti-skating spring underlined with a red line. At rest position (a) the spring is tensioned only a little. As the tonearm moves towards the center of the record, the spring expands, which means it exerts a bigger anti-skating force. (screenshot taken from a service manual of a Dual turntable) |
Let
me point out again that correct anti-skating force depends from the friction that
each stylus has against the record grooves.
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| The anti-skating dial at Dual 505-4 has two scales, one for spherical stylus and one for elliptical. Note that for a given tracking force, anti-skating force for spherical stulys is smaller than that for elliptical. |
Increased friction is the real reason why when you increase tracking force, you also have to increase anti-skating value. This is why for a given tracking force, correct anti-skating varies
if you have a spherical or an elliptical stylus; you have different amounts of friction.
You can find on the internet a method to set the correct anti-skating with the help of a blank vinyl record, which is a record that has no grooves on it. The target is to put the anti-skating value to that point where the tonearm will stay in place when “reading” the rotating blank disk, meaning it should neither move towards inside or outside.
You can do
the same with a LaserDisc, and since I have a few of them, together with my good friend
Panos we gave it a try.
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| A blank vinyl record |
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| The LaserDisk is spinning at Pano's Dual CS 505-4 Audiophile Concept turntable. |
Just make sure that you have correctly connected your turntable left and right channels, red RCA is right (R) channel, white or black RCA is left (L) channel. Or you can use track 2 from side one, it has a voice saying "left channel, right channel".
Set the anti-skating of your turntable at equal value as the tracking force you have. Then play again track 1 from side two (Harp and flute test), the same one that we used in order to determine tracking force with minimum mistracking previously. If you hear mistracking sounding on your right channel first, then you need to increase your antiskating value. If you hear mistracking sounding on your left channel first, then you need to decrease your antiskating value. If you hear mistracking occurring simultaneously on both channels (or you have no mistracking at all), then you have set the correct anti-skating force. Simple and nice like a charm. You can hear the results.
However, audiophiles are divided as usual:
- Some claim that you better adjust anti-skating with the blank / laser disc, because setting it up with a test disk means that you set up the anti-skating for artificially loud & intense tracks and this will lead you at a higher value.
- Others claim that you better adjust anti-skating with a test disc and using a blank record is wrong. A blank record or a LaserDisc are slippery for your stylus, like an ice rink. You have minimal friction. But when you play a record with grooves, you do have friction. Adjusting the anti-skating under artificially low friction conditions will lead to wrong value.
- The test record led us to the anti-skating value of 2,3.
- The LaserDisc lead us to the anti-skating value of 2,4. Now, this was a surprise for us. We would expect that we would come with a lower value under these conditions of minimum friction!
Now, if you are a perfectionist, you just became happier because you just learned how to adjust your anti-skating to a good, but all-round value.
But if you are a hysterical perfectionist (or should I rather say perfectionpath?) you have to live by the fact that there is no way to know if you indeed have set an absolutely correct anti-skating value. Here are just a few practical reasons why:
1) Each record – or should I say each track of the record – require different anti-skating values due to the unique friction each track has. Friction depends from what kind of music the track has as well as how loud the recording is.
2) Ideally you should set up the ultimate correct anti-skating for each position of each track on a record in order to compensate for possible mechanical tolerances of the anti-skating mechanism.
3) Temperature affects friction.
So please relax. You just read this post and you already know more about antiskating than Captain James T. Kirk. I am sure your turntable now has the most accurate anti-skating adjustment in your town.
2020 update, regarding anti-skating: With the aid of some new test LPs and an oscilloscope, we verified that the listening method with the Shure test disk gives much more accurate results than the blank disk / LaserDisk method.
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| This LP is better for checking the anti-skating with the oscilloscope. |
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| Anti-skating was set at a value where both channels behaved equally regarding mistracking. |
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| Another test LP we got. |
Last but not least, a few words about what generally affects the sound quality of a turntable as a sound source. The answer to this is very simple and very complicated at the same time: synergy. The turntable is a part of your system that is greatly affected by synergy. I mean, you can put together excellent ingredients like a great cartridge, a good platter, an excellent phono pre amp and get a sound that is much lower than the sum of these great parts. Then you might try a good platter, a medium cartridge and an economic phono pre amp and be amazed from the sound you will get, due to good system matching and synergy. If you navigate through my blog, you will find some interesting posts that lead to this: good sound is the result of good matching between each and every ingredient: the stylus, the cartridge body, the tonearm, the platter, the phono pre amp, the pre amp. This is why you see all the time people arguing about the sound quality of a cartridge; one says it is the best, other says it is ridiculous. What they actually are listening to and arguing is a poor or good system matching. So, the big question is if you can predict good system matching. I believe you can't, you just have to experiment. I mean, changing the pf or input resistance of the phono amp at a system that was poorly matched did not solve the problem.
Happy listening as always. If you have a headache after reading this post, please stick to CD.
Chris
Many thanks to my friend Panos for helping me with this post!
P.S. If you liked this post, you will probably like my blog. Why not having a look at all the things we have wrote about it here.
How would I hook this up to my system to use it? I am confused. It looks like you have an old Iphone with ports lol. HELP!!!
ReplyDeleteHi, no smartphone; it is a portable oscilloscope and we hooked it to the rec out of the pre amp.
DeleteGreat read! Can you tell us what anti-skate force you settled on in your 2020 update?
ReplyDeleteThank you. The anti skate force we settled is more or less the same like with the Shure test disk.
DeleteΠολύ καλό και κατατοπιστικό, ευχαριστώ πολύ
ReplyDeleteΕυχαριστώ!
Delete