turntable anti skating

danger boy

i heard from a friend that you should match the anti skating on your arm to the weight of the tone arm, is that correct? or do you need any + anti skating on your tonearm?

I ask because I just put a NOS Audio Technica series V cart and stylus on my Technics SL-M1 table... and she sounds mighty nice i do have to say.

hypertone

You generally set it to the VTF force setting of the stylus.

analog97

Your friend is incorrect, sir. Generally, the anti-skating is set to the downforce, i.e. a cartridge that tracks best at 1.5 grams downforce should have the anti-skating set to 1.5. Look here for more info:

http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/ttadjust.html#DOWN

SCompRacer

Congrats on your cartridge upgrade!

True, the rule of thumb is to set anti skate the same as vertical tracking force. It also depends on the cartridge type (MM/MC) and manufacturer now. Some manufacturers say the compliance of a modern moving coil cartridge should be the factor in setting anti skate. For instance, Sumiko recommends anti skate be set to 1/2-2/3 of VTF with their Blackbird cartridge.

As mentioned in the great link provided, there are various ways to fine tune AS. Use your ears with test/regular LP's or by using an oscilloscope.

madmax

I've read that after the initial setup of say 1.5 grams downforce and 1.5 on the anti-skate that you can fine tune a small amount. I could never hear a difference though.
madmax

danger boy

when I adjust the anti skate.. i don't hear any difference either... but i have it set to appox the same as the VTF of the tonearm.

madmax

Checking with an oscilloscope sounds interesting. Not sure how to do it though.
madmax

treitz3

The following is the same question I asked on another forum [kinda], but it will answer your question and give you some insight.

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10763

hearingimpared

When setting your anti-skating you should start out at the VTF weight. However there are some things to take into consideration.

Being that this is a new cartridge then it is going to take some time for the suspension to loosen up or break-in if you will. That being said then you should set your VTF as recommended by the manufacturer of the cart. Set your HTF or anti-skating to the same setting as your VTF. That's a good place to begin.

The way to tell if your anti-skating is set right, you should choose a passage of music you are very familiar with. Play the music and listen carefully to the left channel, if there is no audible distortion then you have it set correctly for the left channel, however if there is distortion then you should back the anti-skate for down a bit and try again. Continue until there is no distortion in the left channel.

Now do the exact same thing for the right channel. If you get distortion, then you should up the anti-skating force until you hear no audible distortion.

After checking each channel you should double check just incase you overcompensated on one channel.

This is the simplest way to do this without any testing devices or test records. I suggest this method and stongly recommend in the meantime you purchase a test record so you can more accurately adjust these settings

Since this is a new cartridge you need to allow some time for breakin. After about a month of regular use, you should recheck all of your setting, overhand, VTF, HTF and VTA if you have that capability.

SCompRacer

madmax wrote: »

Checking with an oscilloscope sounds interesting.

I've never tried it either.

From analog's link...

If you are a perfectionist, you may connect an oscilloscope alternately to the left and right outputs of your preamplifier (or the Record Out sockets), and check the bias adjustment by playing the test with separate left and right channel signals, in various modulations, starting at 50 mu.
The use of a Record Weight and/or The Universal Record Stabilizing Ring makes it possible to choose a more precise downforce and bias as the use of these does reduce distortion already to a great extend. This will result in a better adjustment and a much better signal.

hearingimpared

I know of using a scope for azimuth adjustement but not of HTF. Veeeeeeeeeddddddy inteddddding.

danger boy

what is overhang exactly?

hearingimpared

I'll try to explain this in a general way. The overhang is how the cartridge sits in the headshell of your tonearm. Usually measured in mm past your spindle or in mm from the pivot of your tonearm and in a off angle (kind of like toeing in a speaker) so that the cartridge moves along an arc across the record with minimal tracking error. There are many guages for this and usually are measured in two spots (null points) on the arc across the record. My tonearm has one null point as the manufacturer believes if the stylus is set perfectly in this point, there will be minimal tracking distortion when the stylus crosses the record in the arc.