Tri-Planar with no anti-skate?

Paul,

Glad to see you're enjoying this discovery. I did this a year or two ago and shared the results here. Several other owners confirmed what you're now hearing.

Depending on the cartridge, the LP and the tracking conditions, the weight of the bare dogleg doesn't always provide enough A/S for clean tracking. I described our solution, the O-rings Dan mentioned, in my 9-16-2006 post on this thread. We play with anywhere from 1 to 6 O-rings on the A/S dogleg. Other cartridge's requirements may vary, but that will give you a starting point.

While you're at it, read that whole thead from the top. Some (not all) of the tips I presented might help you get even more from this extraordinary tonearm. A couple tips won't apply if your TriPlanar is the latest model VII upgraded version, but they'll give you some perspective on Tri Mai's latest developments.

There are other tweaks which enhance performance still further, but you'll have to email me for those. They're a bit racy for a public forum! ;-)

Enjoy!
Doug

Doug, As regards the drastic reduction of the anti-skate weight on the Triplanar, do you recommend it for all cartridges or only those with line contact styli?

I have a Koetsu Urushi, which I would guess has an elliptical stylus. Does anyone know for sure?

Lewm,

I set A/S by ear. That way it's optimized for any stylus and any tonearm. I think you should do the same.

To set A/S by ear you must first set VTF by ear (with A/S temporarily disengaged or set to zero).

Once VTF is optimal, increase A/S in *tiny* increments until you have no R channel mistracking even on very dynamic, difficult-to-track LP's. The amount you'll need will vary with the equipment and even from one record to another, but it will probably be less than indicated by the standard scale on some tonearms.

The TriPlanar has no A/S scale because Herb Papier understood that different cartridges track differently and that different records act differently. This makes any A/S scale arbitrary and essentially useless. Setting by listening is ultimately the best method and it teaches you more about your rig.

I have a question.I really mean it to be proposed as such,and am in no way trying to undermine any previous thoughts.
If we set(as I do)VTF...shouldn't antiskate be employeed,along with the VTF adjustment?
Doesn't setting antiskate, seperately from VTF, change the VTF value,necessitating an aditional re-check of VTF?
Very possible my own arm,and the one I am considering getting,work differently here.

Thanks, Doug. Sirspeedy, you must live in the DC metro area, as I do. I too was a longtime friend of Herb Papier's, and my experience of him was much the same as yours, i.e., a great guy. I met Tri Mai at Herb's house, when I went there to have Herb upgrade my Triplanar to a Mk VII. Tri was learning how to make the product at Herb's side.

Sorry for the off-topic blather.