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Setup Dynavector XV-1s on SME V help

I am having all sorts of issues getting it tuned in. I do have it sounding very good but my settings leave me confused. My tracking force is 2.4 in a dynamic balance. My antiskating is set at 2.5 or abouts & the damping dip stick is all the way down. When I cue in the tonearm it always jumps right into the 1st track, never setting smooth. ON the Hi-Fi News test disk it flys across the blank space & then jumps over the next track almost to the end of the track. Kind of crazy. My VTA is level. I am loading it at 1000 ohms to great effect now & I can track the 4th track of the HiFI News & Record Review bias test track but with a lot of buzzing. I have almost no buzzing on the 3rd track. The arm resonance is about 9 hz or so in horizontal but harder to detect in vertical, but seems about the same.

Now w. my VdH Condor I had no tracking issues & itbehaved perfectly in the SME V. The Dynavector on the Ikeda never had any problems on the lead in groove (no jumping our bouncing) but it just didn't sound good (might have been the break in or the Ebony headshell I was using. I am waiting for a Dynavector headshell to use as the stock Ikeda headshell won't accomodate the Dynavector.

Anyone with any experience please chime in as I am totally lost.
dgad
downunder
1,329 posts
 
Tim. I find my XV-1 is quite sensitive to VTA in the 5 years I have had one, but it will never go from sounding great to bad. That is why I bought the VPI to make it easier than my Linn.

There seems to be enuf SME IV / V users out there that are getting great sound out of the XV-1 so it does not seem to be any real problem.

I am sure you will enjoy it.

cheers Shane
jtimothya
612 posts
 
Thanks Shane & Nsgarch!

Wrt to checking deflection on set-down versus pick-up, I am not an engineer, but with the pick-up method I wonder if the arm/cartridge/stylus being up to speed is a factor as they ride the groove. Would the arm have enough mass and inward momentum as it is picked up to continue slightly foward during the pickup motion while causing the stylus to be pushed to the side of the right (outside) groove as the arm is raised, giving a deflection to the cantilever to the right as they all get raised, such that the rightward deflection happens but is not caused by the antiskate? That is, the arm/cartridge gets a teeny bit ahead of the stylus. Dgad, I think this is kinda what you are describing, but I wonder if it is the way to gauge the antiskate?? Dunno - just thinking out loud (which is usually dangerous for me.)

Rgds,
Tim

Tim
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
The trick, with my visual anti-skate technique, is to get a good "fix" on where the cantilever is relative to the cartridge body just before the stylus settles into the groove. That's why you need a lot of light.

It's not going to deflect at most more than .5 mm, so you need to fing a place on the cartridge body very close to the cantilever itself.
sirspeedy70680e509
1,064 posts
 
You will need a superb Digital stylus force guage.Take a look at the "just listed, under cartridges section" guage,that claims to be accurate to 1/1000's of a gram.WOW,does this look like a winner.95 bucks,and I cannot believe how well designed it seems to be!Anyone out there have feedback on this,yet?

PS--What do you think,Dr Nsgarsh?I wouldn't touch it, unless I had your feedback.Though I do like my "Digital One" guage,when we did the Venustas vs IC-70 shootout,two weeks ago,it measured .13 gms off of the "Winds" guage.I could not quantify which guage was OFF,yet I find it hard to believe it was the "legendary" Winds,that was the culprit!We ultimately set up to the Winds,but this guage is a whopping 800 bucks,in the 1/100 gm model!To me,the supremely accurate digital guages are a real necessity,but there seems to be a dilemma in choosing which are "the real deal",as it seems they don't all read out,the same.Be careful here,everyone!

Any thoughts,from the "Peanut Gallery"?Anyone old enough to actually remember the "peanut gallery" has my undying respect!!
dgad OP
782 posts
 
I have calibration weights for diamond scales. Now these scales cost over $3000. They measure to 0.002 of a gram. They are so sensitive that any air conditionining or leaning on the table makes a huge difference. I compared my cheap $50 (auction) scale with my calibration weights and found it within 0.02 of a gram at full weight. I also found the fine tuning of the VTF was so slight that even changing the counterweight position for 0.02 of a gram took a tremendous amount of patience. Now 0.05 of a gram was accomplished but also required patience.

Now, most recommend setting VTF to the recommended range and then using your ears for the final tuning. Measurement then is truly only needed to reproduce audibly confirmed results. The problem is humidity, and temperature also have an affect. This in itself means that you will need experience and recorded measurements to finalize your VTF list of measurements and know what changes to do based on these parameters. I don't have that much patience but if it sounds bad I start to fiddle.
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