Getting My Feet Wet in VINYL

[BobM]

Wish i was closer Evan. I'd help you out in a heartbeat if i could get there but family plans prohibit me from spending the whole day in audioland. Just take your time and start from scratch with the adjustments and you will get there. Keep the al ohol and the frusrtration awY from the delicate and expensive parts.

[tmazz]

Running the weight heavier , no anti skate, sounds good and NO NOISE but I know its not correct

Do you have a stylus gauge to accurately set weight with?

Need to set VTA & VTF

Read this. Test in the morning.

http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm

Back to Deadwood.

Good article, but I would add one thing. I always use a small mirror to test for proper azimuth. Place the stylus down in the middle of the mirror and look at the cart body and its reflection. If the cart is square with the platter then the body and it's reflection will form a straight line. If not, they will form a visible V. Note that this will only work with carts that have straight sidewalls that are perpendicular to the headshell mounting.

[evan1]

I'll start again in the morning. Can't balance the arm and get the Anti skate correct. Do i need to use the anti skate weight ?

[etcarroll]

Good, you're home today. FedEx web says package is out for delivery to you.

[BobM]

Your cartridge is a MM, right? So make sure when the needle is in the groove on a record and nothing is spinning that your arm is parallel to the surface of the record. Use an index card placded on the record behind the arm and look from the side to see how parallel it is. Adjust the height of the arm to get this parallel. If your cartridge is a MC then this VTA becomes a whole lot more important and adjusting it becomes a pain in the ass and must be done by ear after everything else is set. So ..

First check the alignment of the cartridge to a protractor. Get this spot on those 2 points indicated. Adjust your cartridge "perfectly" so it is aligned with those dots and with the proper angle as indicated on the protractor. This is absolutely key before you set anything else.

Then balance the arm with the anti-skate off.

Then set your counterweight to get the proper downard force.

Then set your anti skate, but start with very little of this and see if it works for you before you increase it. There is also an art to getting this right but you can address it at a later time since it is a finicky setting.

Don't worry about azimuth yet until you can get all the other things aligned properly. Azimuth is a not too important at this stage and as long as the bottom of the cartridge looks reasonably flat to the record you are probably OK for now. When you want to get finicky you can address this at some later time.

If you have a MC cartridge you can now properly listen and set the VTA. Listen for a good balance between tinkly things and bass. Adjusting the back of the arm downward will increase bass strength but will probably reduce the presence of cymbals and bells and such. Raising the back will do the opposite. But there is going to be one spot that gets both right. Listen for the leading edge transient of a cymbal or triange or bell to be sharp and clear and exacting. When you find that spot your top end is locked in and the bass will most likely be proper too, but you can adjust a little bit up or down from there to get it all spot on. Little adjustments here can make a difference and it needs to eb done by ear.

Once the VTA is set you need to go back and recheck all the other parameters to be sure they have not changed. If they have then reset them properly. Ain't this fun?

Patience is a virtue here.

[evan1]

Your cartridge is a MM, right? So make sure when the needle is in the groove on a record and nothing is spinning that your arm is parallel to the surface of the record. Use an index card placded on the record behind the arm and look from the side to see how parallel it is. Adjust the height of the arm to get this parallel. If your cartridge is a MC then this VTA becomes a whole lot more important and adjusting it becomes a pain in the ass and must be done by ear after everything else is set. So ..

First check the alignment of the cartridge to a protractor. Get this spot on those 2 points indicated. Adjust your cartridge "perfectly" so it is aligned with those dots and with the proper angle as indicated on the protractor. This is absolutely key before you set anything else.

Then balance the arm with the anti-skate off.

Then set your counterweight to get the proper downard force.

Then set your anti skate, but start with very little of this and see if it works for you before you increase it. There is also an art to getting this right but you can address it at a later time since it is a finicky setting.

Don't worry about azimuth yet until you can get all the other things aligned properly. Azimuth is a not too important at this stage and as long as the bottom of the cartridge looks reasonably flat to the record you are probably OK for now. When you want to get finicky you can address this at some later time.

If you have a MC cartridge you can now properly listen and set the VTA. Listen for a good balance between tinkly things and bass. Adjusting the back of the arm downward will increase bass strength but will probably reduce the presence of cymbals and bells and such. Raising the back will do the opposite. But there is going to be one spot that gets both right. Listen for the leading edge transient of a cymbal or triange or bell to be sharp and clear and exacting. When you find that spot your top end is locked in and the bass will most likely be proper too, but you can adjust a little bit up or down from there to get it all spot on. Little adjustments here can make a difference and it needs to eb done by ear.

Once the VTA is set you need to go back and recheck all the other parameters to be sure they have not changed. If they have then reset them properly. Ain't this fun?

Patience is a virtue here.

Bob my problem is after I do all that when I hang the anti skate weight the tone arm skates. Its all good without the A/S weight

[evan1]

Good, you're home today. FedEx web says package is out for delivery to you.

 

[BobM]

Then leave the anti-skate off. If it plays fine without it then don't worry about it.

[evan1]

Then leave the anti-skate off. If it plays fine without it then don't worry about it.

Will it wear out the stylus quicker?

[evan1]

Guys you know me, home on a rainy day . Good day for a video. Let me know how the TT sounds. The video is dark but just listen


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGuZGrKRCs

[BobM]

Then leave the anti-skate off. If it plays fine without it then don't worry about it.

Will it wear out the stylus quicker?

The stylus is made of diamond. It won't wear out in your lifetime. Anti-skate serves 2 purposes

- to keep the stylus from skipping across the surface of the record when it encounters something in the groove (basic usage)
- to help center the stylus in the groove and improve the soundstaging (advanced usage)

If you're not experiencing the first one then you're OK for starters. If you want to get picky and fine tune your sound then you can move on to the next one. Here's a link to an explanation of how to set that properly

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=27850

[mfsoa]

Bob, FYI Evan's tonearm only has 3 possible AS forces, defined by grooves on the tonearm attachment where the AS weight's string goes.

These grooves are defined by the ease of getting the string on the desired groove

1) Pain in the ass

2) Nearly friggin' impossible

3) Holy crap I got in on the innermost groove and I swear I'll never remove it

 

[BobM]

and the answer is ... tweezers (maybe)?

[mfsoa]

I use one of those small diameter, hollow coffe-stirrer straws, along w/ tweezers, to (try to) push the loop where I want it.

[evan1]

I use one of those small diameter, hollow coffe-stirrer straws, along w/ tweezers, to (try to) push the loop where I want it.

Mike did you know the anti skate post unscrews? No, really it does .