Inna....if you can't hear that no a/s is better, then your hearing is impaired, your system is not good enough or set up carefully enough. Harry of VPI doesn't use a/s either. I have had cartridges for years with no ill effects of not using a/s. These pages exist for those who seek points of view that may require a more open mind with removal from the rear end.
Anti skate. I think something's wrong
I have an Acoustic Signiture TT with a Graham 2.2 tonearm and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge. My anti skate is set close to tracking weight and it would always dig to in inside when I would start a record. I read this is wrong so I got my Cardas test record out and placed it in smooth section and it imediately gravitated to inside. I adjusted anti skate to where cartridge slighty pulls to inside . Here is the problem. To get this I'm having to adjust anti skate to the max. I rechecked TT and it is right on level wise. I have less sibilence now and swear the two channels are more even. The right channel has always been just slightly lower than left in volume. The only qualm I have is the max antiskate I have to use. Is bearing bad? I have the blue fluid. Or I shouldn't worry and enjoy the music. Mike
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Stringreen said :- "These pages exist for those who seek points of view that may require a more open mind with removal from the rear end. " This is a tough case to answer, SG. I’m sure that some on the Forum would benefit from “removal from the rear end” but it’s not going to happen anytime soon for purely practical reasons. I’m assuming of course that you refer to the complete removal of the unfortunately named A/S mechanism from the rear end of the tone arm to eliminate another external influence on the tonearm & cartridge?
It should be noted many people do the opposite and deliberately attach materials & objects to their tonearms to “reduce” the resonant behaviour of the arm i.e. dampers. In some tonearms, the A/S mechanism is secure and does not “rattle” in the way that pulleys and threaded weights might so any benefit that might be obtained from disassembling the A/S itself would be of limited value. I speak as someone who, in a previous life, was quite anal about removing energy drains and sources of extraneous resonance.
HW is also an advocate of twisting tonearm wires to effect A/S. These will also exert an influence from the pivot rather than locally at the cartridge(?) thus giving you back, to some degree at least, the very same problem that Doug Deacon has crusaded against. Have you checked that you’ve truly “zeroed-out” the effect of the tonearm cable on your rig? A final point about "no wear being exhibited after years of use". As you know this subject has been formally studied and many cartridges tested to destruction. The one thing they were absolutely certain of is that asymmetric wear on the diamond is a guaranteed direct consequence of either too much or too little anti-skate. You cannot change the Laws of Physics but you can have a good time trying ;^) |
To all the anti anti-skaters! This guy should know more about anti-skating than you do! http://www.sound-smith.com/do-i-need-anti-skating.html |
now, now boys......what I say is that a/s can never be adjusted properly,.. and does harm to the end result than to use it. It produces a force which prevents the stylus from being free to respond to the undulations of the record, and thus closes in the sound. The absence of a/s opens the sound and I certainly can hear it on my system. I wrote what I did to encourage people to listen with and without to determine what’s best for you. Soundsmith proposes using it because he fixes cartridges and it seems right for him. Harry builds turntables and doesn’t use a/s on his tables, but includes the mechanism because of market wishes. I don’t use Harry’s twist method which is another means of using anti-skate. I don’t care if anyone uses it or not...only recommend listening and deciding for yourself. That’s what these pages are for. I can tell you that with my system if I use my Ortofon, Benz, or Dyna cartridges, they all sound better with no a/s....and not only is the sound better, but I never have tracking issues with any of the cartridges...no sibilant S's, no unexpected fuzzy sound in the louder sections... nothing. |
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