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TriPlanar Tips

The manual that comes with the TriPlanar Mk VII tonearm is fairly complete, but there are a few things I’ve learned only by living with the arm. Note: I do not know which if any of these would apply to previous versions of the arm. My only experience is with the Mk VII.

1. NEVER raise the cueing lever while the arm is locked in the arm rest. This pressures the damping cylinder and could cause a silicone leak. For this reason and also for safety, whenever the arm is in the arm rest the cueing lever should be DOWN. This is backwards from most arms and takes some getting used to.

2. If your Tri-Planar doesn't cue straight down there's a quick fix, which may be included on some new arms. The problem is insufficient friction between the arm tube and the hard rubber cueing support bar. Just glue a bit of thin sandpaper to the underside of the arm tube. Make it big enough and position it so it hits the cueing support bar at all points across the arm’s arc. (Note: after doing this you will need to adjust the cueing height, see Tip #3.)

3. When adjusting cueing height (instructions are in the manual) always do so with the arm in the UP position. This adjustment is VERY touchy, since the cueing support bar is so close to the pivot. Be patient and be careful of your cartridge. (Note: after doing this you may need to adjust the anti-skate initiation point, see Tip #4.)

Chris Brady of Teres told me of a way to improve cueing even more by re-shaping the cueing support. Moving the cueing support point farther from the pivot improves its mechanical advantage and makes the cueing height and speed adjustments less touchy. This mod is easier than it sounds and requires only a length of coat hanger (!), but I don’t have pix and haven’t yet done it myself.

4. Changing the cueing height affects the point where anti-skate kicks in. (Yes, it's weird.) Once cueing height is satisfactory, adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame. That pin controls where the anti-skate dogleg first engages the knot on the string.

5. The Tri-Planar comes with three counterweight donuts of differing masses. Many cartridges can be balanced using either of two. The arm usually tracks best with the heaviest donut that will work, mounted closer to the pivot. Of course this also reduces effective mass, which may or may not be sonically desirable depending on the cartridge. It also leaves more room for Tip #6.

6. For fine VTF adjustments don’t futz with the counterweight, there’s an easier way. Set the counterweight for the highest VTF you think you’ll need (ie, close to the pivot). Pick up some 1/4" I.D. O-rings from Home Depot. To reduce VTF a bit just slip an O-ring or two on the end stub. Thin O-rings reduce VTF by .01-.02g, thick ones by .04-.05g. Quick, cheap, effective. (For safety, always lock the arm down while adding or removing O-rings.)

7. When adjusting VTA, always bring the pointer to the setting you want by turning it counter-clockwise at least ¼ of a turn. This brings the arm UP to the spot you've selected, which takes up the slop in the threads. You can easily feel this happening.

Hope someone finds these useful. If you know any more, please bring ‘em on!
dougdeacon
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
So I tried tip #11 this am. Removed the damping trough.

Seems quieter and more transparent. Took 30 seconds. Nice tip ! Thanks for starting the thread years ago!

I'll try the o rings next on the antiskating...
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
Hi Jfrech,

Glad #11 is working for you too. A friend in LA first suggested it to me and everyone who's tried it seems to agree.

Regarding A/S, reducing it to the minimum needed for clean tracking improves microdynamics, low level detail and harmonics - much like fine tuning VTF. The amount you need varies with the cartridge, its behavior as it ages and even from LP to LP if you have everything dialed in.

After switching to the little O-rings in 2006, we found our cartridge needing progressively less A/S as time went by (also less VTF). A year or two ago it reached the point of needing no A/S at all - zero O-rings on the dogleg and the dogleg itself propped up so that there was no lateral pull on the string.

The next tweak was obvious: if we didn't need A/S then we didn't need the A/S mechanism. It had become just another resonance trap, like the damping trough. I removed the whole thing (2 minutes, no need to dismount the arm) and we heard an improvement similar to removing the trough, though subtler.

Call this #12. Something to try AFTER you've progressed from X number of little O-rings to zero with satisfactory tracking.

Enjoy!

casaross
50 posts
 
In #4, Doug states "Changing the cueing height affects the point where anti-skate kicks in. (Yes, it's weird.) Once cueing height is satisfactory, adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame. That pin controls where the anti-skate dogleg first engages the knot on the string.

How does a person adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame? Is this just a matter of putting a bit of pressure on this to force it down relative to the arm cueing support bar? (I assume that one should make this adjustment with the cueing lever down so as not to put too much pressure on the hydraulics of the arm lift cylinder.)

On another note, how is it best to begin to judge whether the headshell is parallel to the record surface to begin to dial in VTA? Is there a tool or trick, such as a stack of flat playing cards or other simple device that Doug or other Triplanar users have employed successfully? I do not really trust my eyes to do this as I do not practice this skill so frequently that I think I am good at it just by "eyeballing it."
joe55ag
29 posts
 

I have been using a tip that I read about years ago on Audiogon for leveling the headshell. (making it parallel to the record surface.)

Find a set of 3x5 cards that have the lines printed on them.
Look through them and find one with perfectly parallel lines. (very easy to see if you look near the edges)

Take that card and carefully fold it in half with a good tight crease so it is a long "V" with the lines on the outside.

With the platter stopped, carefully lower your stylus down to a nice flat record on about the 2nd track.

Place the card (upside down V)on the record behind the arm & cartridge so that the card is on the flat part of the record (away from the label and the outside edge)

Now use a flashlight and look at the headshell and the card right behind it. You will easily see the top of the headshell against the lines of the card - it is very easy to see if it is off parallel.

Now adjust your VTA on the Triplanar exactly.

(The headshell on the Triplanar is installed exactly parallel to its arm.)

This is the best method I have found to start off with a parallel headshell on the Triplanar.

I think you will like it as much as I do.
(I keep the card in my kit)

Have Fun,
Joe
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
How does a person adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame? Is this just a matter of putting a bit of pressure on this to force it down relative to the arm cueing support bar?
Yes, it swivels down or up as required, pretty easily. A fingertip will do.

(I assume that one should make this adjustment with the cueing lever down so as not to put too much pressure on the hydraulics of the arm lift cylinder.)
Yes, though the main reason is that it's safer for your cartridge to do this with the arm locked down.

The silicone fluid in the lift cylinder is not part of a hydraulic system in the sense you're probably thinking (and as I once thought). It's just a lubricant. Cueing speed is controlled by the white nylon screw, not by the fluid.

Nothing you're likely to do will put that fluid under any pressure. Excessive pressures on the cueing mechanism (like raising the cueing lever with the arm locked down) could bend some of the parts. It's unlikely to cause a fluid leak.
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