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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
lewm
13,111 posts
 
Nandric, I think we get a total of 4 counter-weights, as you indicate. One is the major one that goes up against the pivot. Then there are three additional supplemental counterweights of increasing thickness and weight. I guess we've got the weights straightened out, now.

Interestingly, contrary to Doug's recommendation I found that my Koetsu Urushi sounded distorted in (I think) the right channel, when I applied virtually no anti-skate (bare lever with no weight installed still would give a tiny amount of anti-skate). I had to use the regular brass anti-skate weight, albeit at a very low setting, to make the Koetsu happy. Today I mounted a Colibri on the Triplanar and forgot to re-install the anti-skate weight, yet the Colibri seems quite happy without it. So this phenomenon is cartridge dependent, which kind of surprises me. I would have thought that the skate force is independent of the cartridge type/brand/design/mechanism.
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
Lew,

Your experience is consistent with other posters including myself, on this thread and others. The amount of anti-skating required is indeed cartridge dependent. This is no surprise if we think about how skating force is generated.

Skating force varies with groove friction. Given two different cartridges, even if one mounted and aligned them identically (optimizing VTF for each) stylus friction in the groove would vary with stylus profiles, cartridge mass, the compliance of the suspensions and downforce.

Your Urushi is heavier than the Colibri. It has a less compliant suspension. It requires more downforce. All these differences increase groove friction. This generates more skating force, so more anti-skating is required. Your results are consistent with theory (and VdH himself recommends low levels of antiskating for his cartridges).

In all these respects your Colibri and my UNIverse are more alike than either is to an Urushi. It's no surprise that the Urushi wants more anti-skating than either of them.

Another example: Dan_Ed has told us he's on the fence regarding antiskating for his XV-1S/TriPlanar. He either wants none (for sonic clarity) or the tiny amount provided by the bare dogleg or dogleg + a few O-rings (for sonic heft).

The XV-1S is heavier than Colibri or UNIverse, like an Urushi, but its compliance is similar to VdH and ZYX. Should we be surprised that it likes more anti-skating than Colibri/UNIverse but less than Urushi? It should surprise us more if it were otherwise.
lewm
13,111 posts
 
Hold the phone, Doug. In order to make the Colibri mount-able on my Triplanar, I had to use an alu insert between the cartridge and the headshell. The insert, after I machined it to a minimum mass, weighs almost 3g. Then because of the insert, I had to use extra-long screws, which probably adds yet another gram or so to the mass at the very end of the tonearm, where it maximally affects effective mass. So the gross weight of the Colibri plus insert plus screws is probably not in the "light" class. So may be more comparable to the Urushi. VTF for Urushi in my system is typically 2g, for Colibri, 1.5g. However, I do take your point that cartridge mass and VTF, among many other things, will affect skating force. After I wrote what I wrote yesterday, I came to that realization independently; my first statement was incorrect. Thank you for saying so. These are the things that I dwell upon just before sleep sets in. I am much smarter then.

But then too, last night I listened to the Colibri WITH the brass anti-skate weight installed about one-third of the distance down the lever, from the elbow. I do believe it sounds (even) better with this small (by my standards) amount of anti-skating. The jury is still out on this; I have to do more listening. It could be that the Colibri is just waking up from long storage. But tracking seemed better, etc. I will try the O-ring trick.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
Dear Lewm, We have obviously some kind of anti-skate enigma.I used to adjust this 'force' with an 'blanco' LP with the advantage that I was able to see the forces involved. Then I learned that I am an imbecile and thatthe right manner was to use the 'tracking ability test' from am test-record. I.e. if you hear the 'buzz' from (mostly) the R. chanel you need to increase the weight. I got 90mu with my (then) FR-64 + Ortofon MC 30S without eny 'buzz'. I must confess that I was very proud with this result. Then I come across an worning from Van den Hul himself: don't try to get 70mu or more,you will destroy your LP. So I give up the concept 'anti-skate' as well as the attempts.
Then Doug come along with his O rings. No way one can get these rings in Holland so I emailed Doug asking for,say,10
of those rings. No answer at all .So I must give up for the second time.
Regards,
sunnyboy1956's avatar
sunnyboy1956
424 posts
 
Doug,
I done it. In less than 2 mins removed the AS.As ever your your instructions were comprehensive and superb. Not sure if the improvement is mildly subtle or subtly mild, but it sure is very ,very nice. Does it really get better than this !!
In awe and with regards
Pradeep
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