Is there a best cartridge track force gauge?

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What Rushton said mirrors my experience and practice with VTF gauges, as far as using them is concerned. A scale is useful for REPEATING a good setting. It won't much help you FIND a good setting.

Nevertheless, that is no reason not to have a good scale. If all good scales cost hundreds of dollars anyone would hesitate. But they don't. Only audiophile branded scales cost that much. Normal people buy equal or superior scales for literally 1/10th the price.

There are .01g scales for well under $100. There are .1g scales for under $20. Why use a $20 balance with doubtful accuracy or repeatability when you can get vastly superior performance for the same price?

Here's one source. An internet search will turn up many others:

http://www.saveonscales.com

I have a Jennings JS-50X scale from www.rightonscales.com go to pocket scales it's $58.99US and is good to 50 grams in .01 gram increments. On my VPI I use two cassette cases (one on top of the other) below the scale and it comes to the perfect height. Can't beat that price.

First, I set the VTF to 1.5 (for shure V15) using the dial markings of my TT. (My TT, a Sony PS-X800 has a servo "Biotracer" arm where the arm is automatically balanced for zero downforce each time you start the TT, and then the downforce is applied electronically...very accurate).

Then I play a tracking test record, and reduce the downforce according to audible results. With the linear tracking arm of the PS X800, the resulting VTF is about 1/2 gram...much less than the same pickup in a pivoting arm, and less than half what Shure suggests.

So, I am in the "by ear" camp, with the provision that the test is done using a tracking test LP.

I second dougdeacon's advice. A good, ditigal .01g scale can be purchased for approx $30 on ebay. I fabricated a platform for the stylus from an old credit card and used double-sided tape to attach it to the scale platform. It is a snap to use.

I think that Albert mentioned having experience with some type of digital tracking force gauge in someone else's system. They couldn't figure out why the system sounded so out of the ordinary until they verified the tracking force. The results obtained using the digital gauge were WAY out in left field, hence the sonic problems. I don't know the details of this specific case in terms of make / model, but it's always good to have some way to appr verify that you are in the ballpark before fine-tuning by ear. Sean
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