Antiskating .... The last analog secret

Good one Thomas.
I think this thread will be an important one for those that have the interest and especially "patience" to do any follow ups themselves on this subject.

For year's I have always set and kept near minimum setting for anti-skate and never gave much thought to it.
If my tonearm acted up or jumped across a particular Lp, I'd simply tape a quarter to the head shell and re-play it....just kidding

Raul covered a few cause and effect's of this constantly changing skating energy and there is no set methods including any real rule of thumb to follow unless we all had the exact same gear and Lps.

Anyway, I'm with you Stltrains.

no A.S. for me.

Going as far to tie up my AS lever on my Triplaner to find the limit in one direction was a test of sound in that position. In my case that magical holographic sound was not completely closed from the right side but reduced. For my ears AS is dictectly the reason for the magic sound vinyl playback can deliver. Slight reverse movements of AS from none to where i am now has opened up the magic. Another jingle "Patience is a vertue" applies to TT setup.

Its hard for me to believe after my return to Vinyl 5 years ago that i did not know all that i thought i did about setup. My years of vinyl playback before CD also counts but at that time knowledge of adjustments was not as easily available, more of a trial and error time. It seems to me like i said above AS is the magic, VTA VTF is the timber of the musical sounds. My making of slight moves with height and weight i am hearing better sounds of voice and instruments.

My choice of music is classic rock which is electronicly produced with ampfacation. I am lucky in this choice because all audio gear is electronic. We dont know the sound with out amplification like classical and chamber music which uses the room or hall for increased volume. I do know how rock sounds at a concert from the many i have attended. The dynamics of a rock concert are impossible in the home though i can and do reach the 100+DB level at times. Reproducing the timber of a rock band is the trick for me. The bass drum guitar, lead guitars, and all else involved including full blown orchestras. These sounds are a personal choice in our adjustments. Because i discovered these adjustments are a tone control also.

We are use to the fast paced world of today along with that competitive life we live. Vinyl playback came from a time of a slower world. If you can try to make these small adjustments and listen for a while you will be reworded with better sound.

Well off to see the Saints finally and then back to my passion for better sound.

Good thread, all. Good thread.

I set antiskating by ear, using a Shure test record (i.e., a torture test with increasing modulation levels). Setting antiskating this way always improves the ability to track test records. Frankly, I have so few regular records that my cartridge cannot track cleanly, it is hard to set antiskating this way with anything but a torture test record.

With all of the arms I've set this way, the result is FAR less antiskating compensation than what the manufacturer of the arm recommended. My guess is that most people end up dialing in too much compensation.