Anti skate question for Rega P8/RB 880 arm

Elliott- are you kidding me? No dealer I know goes to that level of insanity. I think you do have OCD even if you don't go down to the second level of your instructions.

I just had a simple question - the tracking was set up by someone at VPI (Van den hul's new US distributor - who were all very nice despite seeing an archival's product invade their facility - one guy even said he thought my table was very cool - not sure if he still is employed there) who builds their tables who used a digital scale - I guess done to your step 3. All I want to know is in general guidelines for anti skate because of all the conflicting information. If you look at the anti skate mechanism for the RB 880, it is a very imprecise slider - can't be exactly sure where you are between 0 and 1. It's not a knob with tiny gradations like tucking force.

In your vast experience after doing all of your steps above in many scenarios, where do you see the best level for anti-skate ending up? A Rega answer would be most helpful, but all your testing end results (not process) would be nice to hear. A percentage of tracking force, an absolute number, start with zero....? I will not be changing it once I have it set to adjust for specific albums, types of music, etc. I am not a tweaker - I like to set it and forget it.

sokogear OP

I would like to provide you with a few links that discuss everything you ever wanted to know about skating force. It is an easy read and has some very informative videos along with it. The best information I have ever read on the subject.

https://www.wallyanalog.com/post/skating-anti-skating-the-basics

https://www.wallyanalog.com/post/skating-force-offset-angle-part-1-of-2

Sounds like they are trying to sell some kind of product, but the bottom line is they are closer to what the tru lift guy is saying versus what Rega is saying. Since seeing a gradation of even 10% on the slider is tough, I'll keep it around .3-.4 or so, in line with what Van den Hul recommends.

Long time ago I had bought a DV 17D2 to go on my RB300 arm, I set AS on the Rega’s slider to match the VTF, 1.95g. After probably a year or two too many I started getting balance issues with the system, I found the stylus was twisted off the vertical and the cantilever was no longer pointing where it should, not bent, it’s a diamond one, but not straight ahead either. My next cartridge, another D2, I set AS using the blank track on “The Enjoyment of Stereo” about half way across the disk, on the slider it was nearer to 1 than 2 this time and the cantilever stayed in line for 5+ years with no CD player to share the burden.

lewm nailed it, and it was a pleasure to read too. About the only thing I might add is the L or R channel distortion people hear is anti-skate being off to a gross degree. Its possible to reach a level where much smaller errors become noticeable. What I noticed only became apparent within the last year or so, center image seemed to tend to be just a bit to the right. Recordings don't always put things dead center so it took me a while to be sure. Well if its off to the right, the right channel is on the right side of the groove, maybe a little too much anti-skate? Adjusted it down very slightly and not only did it shift that little bit more to center but the whole stage became even a little bit more holographic.  

So as with everything analog it seems you get anywhere in the ballpark and its great, but you can always do even a little better than that- but only if you're willing to tweak by ear. Because as lewm so clearly explained these things are all very dynamic and ever-changing, so you have to rely on the one thing able to look at the whole picture, and that is no meter or dial it has to be you.