I agree completely with Bifwynne. As for MY setup, I do use a bit of anti-skate with the mechanical gizmo. I found the wire twisting technique not for me, since the springiness of the wire diminishes over time. Cartridge setup is a huge pain in the mule, but if carefully done correctly, the VPI is really a good arm. I found Benz, Dynas, and Soundsmith cartridges have the least problems with the arm, however, almost any cartridge can be accommodated. Mike at VPI is the go to guy to help with any problems. I am using a Benz LP-S which is one extraordinary cartridge. I hear things on my 40 year old records, I never heard before. For those that are interested, I had a Benz LP (original - not an S) that I traded into Musical Surroundings for the LP-S. The upgrade is HUGE.
VPI Tonearm connector wire and record tracking
I have found that the bend in the connector wire from the tonearm to the junction box has a MAJOR influence on the trackability of the tonearm. it has tons to do with how the stylus tracks or SKATES across the record. If this BEND is not in an optimum position (that changes all the time as the tonearm tracks across the record), it will dramatically affect how the arm/stylus tracks the record especially on the inner grooves. I find myself bending this wire back towards the platter as it will bend away away from the platter in time. Has anyone else made this observation? Is their anywhere else this wire could have been located to have lass impact on tracking? It is my observation that the arm would sound much better if this wire were located someplace else.
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I prefer the twist, am using a Zephyr on a 10.5i armtube that does incorporate the kludgy AS mechanism (which I don't use, didn't know Peter recommended it). An easier way to adjust wire tension I've used for a while is to get all parameters set (VTA, VTF, azimuth, overhang). Then ball up a wad of Mortite (plumber's putty) that is just heavy enough to float the arm when it is stuck onto the back end of the armtube, and adjust the connector to the point where the arm is just drifting toward the outside of the record. Works for me. BTW, I love that Zephyr cartridge and really appreciated its built in stylus guard when our earthquake struck while I was playing a record. Caught it on the third bounce and expected the worst, but it was fine. |
Sorry if this is heretical, but when I picked up my VPI Zephyr, I did a quick alignment, VTF was a snap, checked azimuth and VTA -- all in 15 minutes. Didn't need a laser or oscilliscope or any other crazy jigs or whatever. The VPI jig is based on Baerwald geometry and works just fine. AS, as I said above, is just a light twist of the tone arm wire. I did a quick and dirty check for cantilever deflectiion, of which there was none that I could see, and away I went. Tracks great; sounds great; channel balance is great. Tzh21y, I don't recall if you mentioned your cartridge, but as Stringreen, Dopogue and I have said, why suffer. Go with what VPI recommends, albeit the Zephyr, DV or whatever. I believe that Stringreen had great results with his Benz LP-S. But I say again, you are not the first person to have this problem. Call Mike at VPI and he can get you where you need to be. |
Tzh21y I have looked at a pic of the arm. Does the wire at the top of the arm come out of a hole directly above the pivot? Or is it offset? It is hard to see exactly. If it is offset, then it will affect the arm in some way as it appears to be quite substantial. The fact that they say it can be used as antiskate would suggest this, as well as the fact it is able to maintain a loop. I designed a couple of arms many years ago with similar arrangements in order to try and avoid the complication and expense of other solutions, and found that it was difficult to avoid some effect from the wire even though it was much finer than that of the VPI. It was not just on the lateral plane, affecting imaging and solidity, especially in the centre and towards the inner grooves, but also in terms of downforce variations which led to a generally imprecise quality, an uneasiness or edginess. Those designs were rejected in favour of wiring that went through the bearings to give the minimum torque. Recently, a friend of mine used some original old bits from one of the arms, a unipivot, and also found that the wiring was problematic. He started off by having the wire exit from the armtube, as in this pic, Fernando's 1st version and eventually ended up by running to the centre of the bearing housing and then straight up for a distance before looping it round the wire support. The wire he used was very soft, but still not as fine as the original wire I used. So maybe you could try routing the wire so that its axis of rotation is directly above the point of rotation of the arm. This will reduce the lateral torque, but the wire will still be prone to affecting the vertical movement. as it acts at a distance from the actual pivot point. Using a longer arm will reduce any effects, as will higher VTF, so cartridges play a part, or using an "inner groove friendly" alignment. I'll say nothing here about anti skate, as it is a contentious subject. Hope this is of use or interest. John |
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