Does removing anti-skating really improve sound?

Oh, I forgot to add. You do not need a Fozgometer or an oscilloscope to do this right with modern cartridges. A good eye and the right tools can do this perfectly. Back in the day cartridges were all over the place. Cantilevers set in crooked, styli not perpendicular to the cartridge body not to mention internal inaccuracies. But today I have not seen a single
Ortofon, Clear Audio, Lyra, Koetsu or My Sonic Lab cartridge that wasn't dead on. Don't forget you have to use cartridges that match the effective mass of your tone arm. You can always add weight to a stiff cartridge but it is much harder to subtract weight from your tone arm when you use a highly compliant cartridge. 

mijostyn

... Never Trust Your Ears. The problem with ears is that they are connected to a brain ...

We'll have to disagree on this. I consider the brain an advantage, not a disadvantage. The ears and brain work in tandem.

Always follow the science when you have it ...

And for that, you need a brain.

mijostyn

 the most important thing I have learned in this passionate hobby over the last 55 years is, Never Trust Your Ears.

Surely you meant to say that you can never trust YOUR ears. How on Earth would you know about anyone else? But trust me when I say, if your 55 years has taught you not to trust your own ears, I believe you.

Dear @mijostyn : """  Cartridges in pivoted tonearms track much better and have much lower distortion with anti skating set correctly.  "

Yes but the problem word in that statement is: " correctly " and till today exist no single method/mechanism to set up " correctly ". 

The best approach to comes in that link on the Sony PUA 237 tonearm. It's very interesting to read not only its manual but the link there " bias compensation " wide explanation. I said the best approach but not correctly/perfect.

Using test records is not any science and can't really helps. Why? because the AS testing record modulations are recorded at an specific space in the surface of the LP and because the S vector changes at each single grooves modultions.

Set up of AS maybe is the more complicated and almost imposible to do it " correctly ". 

R. 

Finally took a photo of my 20yrs+ cartridge. Don’t want to guess how many hours I’d logged on her but the diamond still looks pretty good. Anti-skating was minimal to none.

https://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/user_image/149477/25976.jpg