Crackling distortion

The geometry of the dynavector 20X2L looks very similar to my Grado Sonata1. I don't understand how your method square's the thing up to the record surface. Eyeballing the face and sides of the cartridge till they were flush with the square block was rather simple. Adding or removing a playing card shim was a simple way to listen and adjust.

Captain . . . I appreciate that setting AS force will depend on all the other variables mentioned in your post. Just curious how you decided that "[o]ne donut at the top of the vertical bar, with the fishing line on the top, and no donuts on the horizontal bar" was the amount of AS forced needed.

I just guessed on my rig. Two donuts on the verticle bar to hold the looped fishing wire, and one donut on the horizontal bar. I think we're pretty close because the verticle and horizontal bars will offset each other.

Thanks

I use the Ultimate Analogue test lp Side 2, Track 1 Anti-skating test; 315Hz amplitude sweep to +12dbu (Lateral) the sweep begins clean in both channels. Without anti skate as the sweep increases DB the right channel distorts first. I increase anti skate until both channels distort at the same time. I noticed that this is very cartridge Dependent. My current cartridge requires no donuts on the horizontal bar, my other required 2 donuts. Begin with no donuts and the vertical donut at the highest level. If the right channel distorts first, lower the fishing line and top donut. Keep going all the way to the bottom, if the right channel is still distorting first then add a donut to the horizontal bar, and begin again. BTW, about half way through the sweep you will start hearing the right or left channel distort. If you have too much anti skate the left channel will distort first, then you back off the anti skate. I do everything else first, alignment, VTF, VTA, AZIMUTH, all of it. Then I do the sweep test and adjust the VPI mechanical anti skate until both channels start distorting at the same time. It is very precise, too much and the left channel distorts first. Too little and the right channel distorts first.
I admit this is optimized only for the one part of the record which has the sweep.

I admit this is optimized only for the one part of the record which has the sweep.

Bingo! And that's why it's largely a waste of time.

Little if any real music includes a pure 315Hz sine wave recorded at +12dbu. Real music is a randomized, constantly changing mix of frequencies and amplitudes. These will cause the stylus to act differently than it does to a simplified test track, rendering one's supposedly optimized setup non-optimal when it actually matters.

Better, IME and IMHO of course, is to ignore test LP's and adjust anti-skating by ear. Spend as much time as you can listening ATTENTIVELY to difficult-to-track passages on real records. You'll learn how your rig responds to the music you actually listen to, which will let you adjust anti-skating and other parameters to optimize sonics when it matters.

Test records provide false security and results that have little applicability to real music. I own several. None of them has left its sleeves in years. I've set up dozens of cartridges and made thousands of adjustments without them. So can anyone, I'm convinced, if they'll only play music and adjust with a thoughtful mind.

I used the Hi-FI News Analogue Test Lp which has three 300hz tones L+R +15db on side two. The first test band is the first track on side 2, the second band is in the middle and the third is the last track of the side.
These were the tracks that allowed my ears to zero in and minimize tracking distortion. I don't think I could have done it without them. Everything else was a guess before I realized how to take advantage of the tones and their position on the record.
In addition to the test record, the package also includes an alignment gauge and instructions.
I don't think I've set up "dozens of cartridges"
in my lifetime, but I have probably made thousands of adjustments, usually decreasing distortion in one area only to increase it in another.
I didn't use the record to set up or align my cartridge, I only used it to check my work and fine tune the anti skate and lateral balance weights. It was very helpful having the same tone repeated throughout the side. I don't feel as though the alignment has been optimized for one area at the expense of another.
Some people think Test Records are a waste of money that provide a false sense of security. I disagree. A well designed test record simply provides a reference tone. How it gets used is another matter.