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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
bill_k
916 posts
 
Just to clarify Harry's statement about antiskating with his unipivot tonearm designs, he did not say that his arm sounds better with none. Rather that the loop of wire in his arm's design provides a level of inherent A/S force, and that in most setups it is sufficient and sounds better than using an additional mechanism to provide A/S force. He now includes an adjustable mechanism on his arms due to some customer demands which allows users to apply a desired level of A/S, but still feels that it sounds better without using that device.
pani
1,219 posts
 
It is an old thing. If you listen with an open mind you will find that with a majority of 9" and 10" tonearms anti-skate makes the sound more hifi-sh and mechanical. Without anti-skate it is more natural but a wee bit fuzzy which I do not mind. The only exception I have seen in this regard is Naim ARO. It doesnt detoriate the sound with anti-skate on. I think the solution is to go for longer tonearms if your TT can support one. Else choose between a compromise, with or without antiskate.

I personally prefer to add a really low antiskate just to strike a balance and also to ensure that the cartridge cantilever is not stressed too much by the side force.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,844 posts
 
According to Tri Mai of Triplanar there is in fact no standard for the amount of anti-spate to be applied.

In practice I have found that very little is needed on the Triplanar. I don't use the weights- just a few tiny rubber o-rings on the antiskate mechanism.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,472 posts
 
Pani...if it sounds fuzzy add just a we bit more downward force.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Ralph (Atmasphere) ... I own a VPI Classic with a 10.5 inch uni-pivot wand. I use one rubber donut on the JMW arm AS thingy. I can't say that using that dribble of AS force makes much of a difference in sound playback.

The only reason I use the AS is because Peter Ledermann told me that the stylus on my Zephyr cartridge (my previous primary carty) was showing uneven wear. Peter suggested a little AS to even out the wear pattern.

My current primary cartridge is the Lyra Kleos, a truly wonderful performer. I still use the one donut, but again, not to tweak the sound, but rather to make a rough justice attempt to even out stylus wear.

Just an anecdotal experience FWIW for the benefit of fellow A'gon members.
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