Is my anti-skating too strong.

@lewm
I’m not an advocate either way, I always base my views on specific cartridge/arm combinations that I have experienced, not speculation..

However, regarding high horizontal effective mass, the most interesting experience I have had is that my Shure V15vxmr & Shure V15vmr sound superb in both the Dynavector and the ET2, despite their high horizontal effective mass and high compliance. This is counterintuitive.

As stated above I left the Shure V15vmr on the ET2 for 10 years, stabiliser brush removed, and the cantilever was still dead straight after all that time. I actually sold the Shure for more than I paid for it, and the purchaser viewed the 10 year old stylus through a mircoscope and was very happy with it - dead straight and little wear..

Split Resonance - there are several arms that do this is various ways
Eminent Technology, Dynavector, Moersch we have discussed.

Other examples are Helius & Vertere where the effective length is different in the horizontal and vertical plains.

Bruce Thigpen, who majored in physics, audio engineering & air bearing design argues that splitting the fundamental resonance results in more accurate phase response across the spectrum. Geoffrey Owen of Helius subsrcibes to this view as well. Dynavectors argument is based on bass accuracy, providing a more stable platform for the bass notes as cut into the groove.

Regarding snapped cantilevers and linear tracking arms - Kuzma & Walker have far far higher effective mass than the ET2. Those arms I think are too heavy. Mechanical trackers are not great on cartridges either. 

@larryi , high horizontal effective mass does not mean the cartridge does not move. It means it resonates at a lower frequency. The penalty for that is the same as it is for any pivoted arm and remember on the other side of this equation you have the much lighter vertical effective mass which is going to do exactly the opposite in the vertical direction destroying the bass and even causing feedback under certain circumstances. You can not separate the two. You are caught between a rock and a hard place.
@lewm , and that is the problem with the argument with a high effective mass being "OK"  On top of that the slow oscillation of the cantilever at the resonance point is going to place the cantilever in a less linear point in it's travel increasing distortion and tracking problems. The market usually figures things out. No air bearing arm has ever gained traction in the market and I do not think it is because of the complexity of having a compressor. The Clearaudio straight line trackers are lighter but still cursed by the same problem on top of hygiene issues and people in general do not care for them. No compressor.
I also object to your coloring this as my "ideology." It is not my ideology any more than the sun rising in the east. You can hypothesize that this issue does not cause a sonic problem but the issue exists. 
Finally, IMHO a good pivoted tonearm is going to function and sound better. If tangential tracking is your thing check out the Reed 5T and the Schroder LT. The Schroder in particular is genius. It accomplishes the goal of tangential tracking while maintaining similar vertical and horizontal effective mass and avoids the use of motors and compressors. 

Here's my take on a/s.   I have a VPI 10 with 2nd pivot/Winfield cartridge.   I was very careful to dial in the a/s using various methods, but got a compromise that I thought was good.  A few days ago, I got a couple of Schumann resonators which really opened up my system.   Now, I hear a resonance with the a/s set that disappeared when I removed the a/s altogether.  The clarity certainly improved.  It may be VPI's means to apply force...weight with articulated arm attached to the arm tube with a string. 

mijostyn,

I agree that if horizontal mass is high enough, it raises concern with very low frequency resonance.  I was just pointing out what is the theory behind the anisotropic arms.  As long as the bass frequencies are above the low frequency resonant point, those arms should work as intended, at least in theory.  The theory also only works if the bass is mastered in mono so there is no vertical modulation for those frequencies.  Some mastering engineers say they do blend bass to mono, but, others say they do not.  

What is your personal experience with either the Schroder LT or the Reed arm?  Do you know how much the LT costs?  I once inquired about the Reed, but, I lost interest when I found out it cost about $18,000 (two and a half years ago).  I am assuming the LT is not cheap; my friend's Schroder arm was quite expensive (but exquisitely constructed).

Hello UDOG.  As you may have guessed by now, there is some controversy about anti-skate force! I did not read all the responses, but they quickly deteriorated into petty squabbling and personal put downs. I am sorry for that nonsense. The term "anti-skate" gives you a clue. The arm is being pushed toward the center of the record by the spiral nature of the groove. Let's pretend the record is smooth as ice; if we push a skater, he/she continues to move even after we stop pushing. The skater coasts forward with only the friction of the skate upon the ice to slow that motion. The spiral groove pushes the mass of the arm and cartridge constantly and the arm "coasts" as well. So there is a force pushing against the inner wall of the groove - the "skating" force. The pitch of the groove varies, sad fact, so adjusting instant by instant to balance the skating force with the force of the outer groove wall against the stylus is not possible, but we can shoot for an average. Record playing is an expensive process and we want to minimize the wear and tear on the record groove and the stylus. Here's how to make the adjustment. (The blank groove record is a great idea!) Put the arm over the record about halfway across, the cueing arm holding it just above the record's surface. Notice the position of the cantilever with relation to the front of the cartridge. It should look centered. Now lower the stylus into the groove. The arm was not moving and the groove will accelerate it toward the spindle. Notice the cantilever's movement and recovery. Count to five, giving time for the acceleration to occur, and note the position of the cantilever. Is it still centered? So you can see this process in action, put the "anti-skate" setting at either extreme and watch what happens. You want to set the 'anti-skate' control so that the cantilever stays centered while the record plays. A set of close-up reading glasses from the drug store may help. Get the cheap ones with the wire frames. Keep Smiling!