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Anti skate question for Rega P8/RB 880 arm

I just replaced my cartridge with the same one I had (Van den hul MC-One Special) and I am getting conflicting advice on the anti skate settings. It is a Rega P8 with RB 880 arm. Rega says tracking force should match anti skating, Van den hul box says 1-25-1.5g tracking force, but only .2-.4 anti skate, and I have a tru-lift automatic arm lifter whose owner told me the anti skate should be 1/2 or less the tracking force on a Rega. That was after the arm was slipping off the lift bar. I moved it to about .75 anti skate. Before that it was set for 1. He was even saying you don't need anti skate.

Please don't tell me to experiment and see how it sounds. It is set for 1.43 g tracking which I don't want to touch. Thanks.
sokogear

Showing 2 responses by lewm

lewm
12,486 posts
 
Oy.
lewm
12,486 posts
 
I think of you as a fairly experienced guy, but I will take a shot at your question anyway.  First, there is no one single "correct" setting for anti-skate, because the skating force is varying in magnitude, second by second, as the stylus traverses the LP surface.  Second, no matter what Rega may say, everyone else seems to agree that one should use the most minimal amount of AS needed to correct for channel-specific distortions one might otherwise here.  In other words, with no AS, one typically hears noticeable distortion in the R channel.  (Owners of VPI tonearms claim not to hear this.)  If you do hear distortion in the R channel with no AS, then add AS force in tiny increments until that goes away.  The needed amount in grams is usually a very small fraction of VTF.  That's what I do.  Others view the cantilever from the front end of the cartridge and look for its deviation from 90 degrees to the LP surface; they add AS until the cantilever seems to be unstressed.  I don't do that.Still others will say they use the run-out grooves of an LP and look for "gradual" motion toward the label.  And still more others will say they use a groove-less LP and look for the stylus to remain stationary.  That's my least favorite idea, because the skating force is due to friction in the groove, and with no grooves you are not reproducing the force you want to cancel.
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