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Harry Weisfeld Was Right All Along

I'll admit that I was skeptical when I heard Harry Weisfeld of VPI say that his JMW tonearm sounded better without any antiskating device a few years ago. All the arguments for antiskating compensation seemed plausible if not undeniable.

But today, I've seen the light. I own a Michell Orbe SE with a Wilson Benesch Act 0.5 arm and a Shelter 501 II cartridge. I dialed everything in, but still had the compunction to fiddle around with something so I removed the funky anti-skate weight from the WB. Not only does the arm behave much better (no annoying, backswing when indexing), but it actually sounds better to my ears. Smoother, more dynamic, less etched/more natural are the changes I hear. I wonder how many other arm/cartridge combinations would benefit from eschewing their anti-skate mechanisms.

While I originally thought that Harry Weisfeld was simply making excuses, in reality, he was probably just being honest. I'm sure the twisty-wire approach he now uses is a good way to implement anti-skating for those who must have it.
plato
ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
hi Plato -

I have the wilson benesch Circle turntable set up which uses that same arm. How did you disconnect the anti-skate? Just take the ball and thread off the horizontal piece? Seems easy enough to try out. what differences did you hear?

-Ed
quincy
356 posts
 
This is a interesting post. When I was running my Sony PS-X555ES Linear Tracking Bio Tracer table (no antiskate) the balance was equal on my pre amp, the sound stage perfectly centered. I retired the Sony, purchased a Michell Gryo SE with SME V arm, and transfered my Benz Micro Glider over. As soon as I fired up this new rig, I noticed a difference in balance (sound stage) which I corrected by adding five points of volume to the right channel. It took me six hours to set up the Michell/SME so I hesitate to "putz" with the antiskate, since it is tied into and is suppose to be adjusted with the tracking force utilized. Any comments?
plato OP
1,543 posts
 
Hi Ed,

Yes, you just remove the ball and thread. I left the rubber o-rings on the post because I figured it might damp any tendency for the metal post to ring. I was surprised that removing the antiskate didn't seem to affect the tracking force or the azimuth, but it didn't. So just unstring that thing and tell me what you hear (or don't hear)...

Quincy, I'm not sure how the antiskating mechanism is set up on the SME V. I don't know whether it can be defeated simply, or not. You may not want to mess with it. However, I doubt that it would change or disturb your other settings to do so. My theory is that the effects of antiskating are more pronounced with unipivot arms, for whatever reason. I don't know how much the SME- or Rega-type arms would benefit, if at all. Still, if you find that it's easy to do, you could try it. Also, "5 points of volume" difference seems excessive; I wonder what's up with that. Did you change other things at the same time you were setting up the new turntable??
jackcob
37 posts
 
I have the a TNT MKV/JMW12.5/Van den hul, Black beauty combo. I used the HiFiNews test record to set the
"anti-skate" I found that twisting the wires does have an effect on tracking in that the mistracking buzz will start in one channel or the depending on how the wire is twisted.

By the way, this combo is an incredible tracker. It goes through the first three bands of the torture test with no problem, whatsoever, and can almost track the last bank. And it sounds as good as it tracks.
quincy
356 posts
 
Hi Plato,
This is Quincy. No, nothing else changed in the system at that time. Only the table and arm were new. The five clicks on volume were on my Conrad-Johnson Premier 17 LS which utilizes a sealed relay type system for each .5 (or so) dB of volume setting. It just makes me wonder a bit about antiskate and the theory behind it. For the time being, I think I will let things be.
Regards,
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