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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
 
Dear Ralph (Atma), What cartridge are you using that requires no AS compensation? I know that Doug uses the ZYX Universe.

Nandric, I am very sorry you had to pay so much for your Triplanar. However, as you yourself noted, most of the money did not go to Tri; it went to all those middle-men you mentioned. But I would add in your defense that even $4000 is still a ton of money to most of people who are not obsessed with this bizarre hobby. What interests me is that it now seems that you have been convinced that the single AS weight that comes with the Triplanar is too heavy for quite some time. What drove you to that conclusion, and when? What cartridge are you using with it that seems to dislike AS? Or is it just that you want to try the minimal to no AS approach espoused by Doug?

I don't know whether I am smart or not, because if I did think the AS weight was impossibly heavy, I might indeed clamp it in a vise and go at it with a hacksaw. After I ruined it THEN I would probably first call Tri for a replacement and then call up a competent machinist, which I am not.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
Dear Lewm,The problem is,as always I think,in the premises
or assumptions (aka'knowledege versus ignorance'). Papier
was a genius so he of course thought about his anti-skate
construction and the AS weight. Then there were different
methods to adjust the ant-skate. I already mentioned: grooveless LP; the test-records with 'tracking test',etc.
Those are in some sense 'prescribed' or 'recomended' to us.
So we used these methods assuming that they are 'right'.
But then we learn that this is not the case so we become insecure. Not a pleasant state of mind. So we want to try
something else or anything. Our forum is mainly about such
'dilemmas'.So we get different 'proposals' that I also mentioned and even tryd to 'disclose' their 'nature'.But our forum is also about,say,'passion' so some members get
angry when they hear something they don't like. This causes
then 'accusations',etc. I owned the Triplanar VI and own
the VII and am 'in'the Triplanar for more then 10 years.
But I am still 'pressuposed' by some members to 'hate' or 'dislike' the arm. You are asking why I am 'convinced'
that this (actual) AS weight is to heavy. Well Lewm this
is my assumption because I learned that others don't use this weight at all. But I also mentioned that I give up
the 'concept' anti-skate as well as attempts. Not 'exactly'
true but this is,it seems to me,a kind of evidence that I have no idea what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' with this
anti-skate enigma.But I also want to try 'anything' so I will get the O rings as well as 3 more AS weights. My,say,
'provisional' method is to use the test-record and 'rich'
50 mu (to be sure)because I learned that this is 'necessary' and then do the rest by listening to the so
called 'critical LP's' ( Rigoletto but not the 'Ring').
Regards,
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Nandric, I have obviously misunderstood you. I did not wish to continue last week as I felt that my doing so would only detract further from the purpose of this thread. It is often difficult to convey ideas and meanings through written word, at least for me, and I find it even more difficult if I don't stop to consider that other English speaking people don't have the same exposure to colloquialisms as me. Some phrases and words tend to impart a bias one way or another on my thinking based on how I have learned to use English, or American if you will. ;-) Perhaps this is why I sometimes sense antagonism from posts by what I'm guessing are Europeans. I say this because I work with many English speaking Asians and have never felt this urge to say "hey, wait a minute!". In the future I will try to keep this in mind.

Back on topic. I would agree with Nandric that the TP AS weight would appear too heavy based on my experience with this arm and the XV-1s. However, the need for AS is directly related to how well one has the cartridge aligned and the stylus profile in my opinion. I say this because these seem to be the two factors that determine how much static drag there is. If this is true there is no wonder why AS could change from LP to LP, and even from inner to outer groove. I hope all of us TP owners have at least figured out that inner/outer adjustment by now. Again, it appears to be a "one size fits all" weight.

However, I have never tried to calculate what the AS curve looks like as the weight is moved out on the stub. I would expect this to be linear, while the effects of applying AS may not be due to the issues above.

As for making weights, not everything need be metal. I have even used woodworking plug cutters to make small weights out of different hard woods. (Tip: drill them before breaking out of the stock.) This method allows for many differences in mass due to wood densities between species and does provide some weights between nothing and the stock AS weight. So you do get some finer adjustment. The slight downside is that the wood can impart a hint of coloration, and I bet brass does as well. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just to be expected. Heck, I've talked to a TP owner or two who don't like the o-rings because they feel this use dampens things to much. No wonder AS is regarded as a near "mystical" adjustment.

Good to hear we have another "smart gay" in our midst. :-) :-) Sorry, that struck me as just too funny to pass up!
lewm
13,111 posts
 
Rumors that I am a "smart gay" are exaggerated.

Nandric, if you re-read what you wrote and what Dan-ed just wrote, you will see, I hope, that there is no way that Tri could accommodate, or indeed anticipate, all the neurotic needs of us audiophiles as regards the AS weight. I hope you eventually find happiness in that regard. Because of the fixed-angle headshell with respect to the pivot, there will always be at least some skating force with any cartridge. So I start with the idea that some amount of AS makes sense. That's why Herb put his AS device on the tonearm in the first place. Perhaps, to those who choose to remove it, the apparatus itself imparts some sonic signature that is more objectionable than the effect of no AS, where skating force is very low. Using the Urushi and the Colibri in my system, I prefer not to live without some AS compensaton.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
Hi Lew, I run the Transfiguration Orpheus at home. Here at the shop we use the ZYX Universe and the Anti-skate weight is set at the absolute minimum.
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