Digital Stylus Force Guages how accurate are they?

gudnoyez

I have 3 turntables I'm currently using and I have set the tracking force using a Clearaudio manual guage it was a pita to get used to at first but now that I somewhat mastered it, I'm curious as to how accurate it is.

I just bought a LKG digital Stylus guage from KAB USA, to compare with the Clearaudio one. I was just wondering those of you that use just a digital one how accurate do you think it is, and those of you that use both which one do you trust more and which ones do you use?

SCompRacer

IIRC DK did a review on numerous digital stylus gauges here. I have the first one, but don't have the issues he had.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/67124/a-review-of-four-digital-stylus-pressure-gauges

motorstereo

I have a few vintage stylus gauges and one modern digital one as well. In my tests my elcheapo vintage AR and the digital both measured exactly the same. Being that the old AR scale is easier to use than the modern digital one that's the one I use on the rare occasion I check my stylus pressure on my clearaudio tt. I also have an old Garrard scale that is easier to use than the digital and that's next up to get compared.

gudnoyez

Thanks guys that's why I got a digital to see if the manual balance ones are accurate, the scales on the one I have now are hard to read so I thought that one that lights up will be easier to read and if it's as accurate that's a plus. I have read pros and cons on both so I figured I would try them both.

Emlyn

I only use the old Shure mechanical gauge. It's only claimed to be accurate to within a tenth of a gram, and only within the regular range of stylus pressure. But, that's close enough for my purposes to get the tracking force within the range recommended for a cartridge in the below $500 price range I use. From there, I just back the tracking force up and down a little bit to see what sounds best.

I thought about getting a digital gauge years ago, but figured there is not really a point precisely to the hundredth or thousandth of a gram where tracking force should absolutely be set with no wavering. Even mega buck cartridges have a small range within a couple tenths of a gram that's acceptable. So, I didn't get one even though the digital gauges can claim to be more accurate.

Msabot1

Just keep in mind that tracking force and VTA go hand in hand for accurate playback on any equipment to minimize groove wear and distortion...

jdjohn

I have one of those digital gauges/scales. That same unit has been rebranded quite a bit, but they all look exactly the same. Some retailers are just greedy, so you'll see them priced anywhere between $15-$50 it seems. Mine works fine and is plenty accurate IMO.

gudnoyez

Well done with the experiment for now the stylus guage qwest is over when I get the digital at 1.5 the Clearaudio is a tad light and when I get the Clearaudio at 1.5 to my eye the digital reads 1.52 so that little bit of a variance shouldn't be that big of a deal or should it? The only thing I got out if this is that the manual ones are just as accurate. I will try it out later on another table. I guess the only real advantage of the digital one is if you want to periodically check the stylus force the digital one saves time. That concludes my findings I'm done.