Antiskating .... The last analog secret

I am not using any AS and have gone as far as tying up the weight lever on my Triplaner with thread to remove that AS weight also. The result is better sounding vinyl with no audible distortion. The Triplaner Universe combo is a perfect tracking machine.

As Doug mentioned above applying AS restricts letting the cantilever have the freedom to reproduce all of the delicate sounds available to us on vinyl and hearing is believing.

This thread is a great one for vinyl playback improvement thanks Thomasheisig.

Hello Dan very good point now that this move is giving us better sound your thought is next on my list. I have played quite a few tough tracking lps with out any noise or mistracking, know AS looks to be a winner for our ears. I think Triplaner is a winner also.

Audiogon threads and the people who contribute most certainly bring better sound to all. You and Yours and All have a very Merry Christmas day.

Stringgreen i agree with your post above. Thats why i am very happy with the lever tied up on my Triplaner. The thread slips through the hole in the lever with out any problems. I am getting increased holograph sounds with much more upper frequency delivery with absolutely no distortion or surface noise. I have my Universe mounted all the way out on the shell using my Wally Universal for setup. I am getting more effective length this way which is helping the need for AS.

Going from my old VPI 10.5 which had no active AS incorporated to Triplaner which has is kind of backwards. 10.5 could not come close to tracking like Triplaner yet Triplaner without AS is a tracking wonder not distorting in the lest bit. And as we all know the supplied weight is almost 5 grams i believe. When i was experimenting with AS i used brass washers and nuts no where near the weight of the stock TP weight. This is one of the hands on things with vinyl playback that i love. Cant get this kind of action playing digital thats for sure.

Stringreen i am glad you are getting positive results with your VPI arm. Enjoying our favorite lps distortion free is the goal for us. Using 10.5 i had several lps that i know are difficult to track from years of hearing that i could not get to play with out distortion and break up. As i stated i use a Wally Universal for setup so i know i was very close if not right on. My daily job is hands on so i know tedious work. Believe me no one wants there setup correct more than me and i work very hard at it. This is one of the many things i love about our hobby so much.

Doug yes give tying up your lever a try. You know that jingle "whats the worst that can happen" In my case this little move has brought even better sound to my ears.
BTW i gave your music choice a try, was able to get a very nice copy of Haydn Music for England double lp set. You know im a classic rocker but i am truly enjoying the sound and music on these lps.
I already had my Wally on order when Mint became known here on the Gon. Wally is a very nice audiophile and i can understand him getting along with Yip. Its better for us as they may come up with better equipment for TT adjustments.

Dan we may all have gone a bit to far after reading the GuruSetUp piece at Vacuum State. I may spend the weekend and beyond going very slowly with setup. After reading this fine explanation of cartridge setup i could be missing the sweet spot. The problem is i am getting very good sound now. With out a complete reexamination of my setup i feel i may be missing the bulls eye though. And it goes on, on to the holy grail. Man i love this stuff.

For me seeing the graphs shows the sweet spot of cartridge adjustment is a very small place and brings adjustment into perspective. I agree with better tools available now hole heartily. The challenge for me is to stay disiplined, take this process to a snails pace and listen for the best sound by taking very small steps.

Dan so sorry to hear about the cold in your part of the woods. Smoking our New Years turkey today the temp was mid 40s early but made it up to the mid 60s by noon.

On the subject of AS as i have stated above going slow and moving small there is a difference and its quite audible. The brass washer i was using weighs in at 37 grams. I took that off and had just the lever only on TP. Then i went to rubber rings three of them at this point for a grand total of 25 grams. Listening to a very dynamic LP last night Captain Beyonds first the size of my stage has increased along with much better balance and depth. My wife calls it surround sound and if you did not know better you would think i had 5.1 playing. Ive been having a lot of fun making these adjustments and so far its paying off very well for better sound in my system.

Happy New Year to all of you analog lovers.
Mike

Upon further review "Slow is better", "A little bit goes a long way". These jingles have to be inserted into your arm cartridge adjustment log.

I have also returned to slight AS making the smallest moves possible. Also slight moves to VTF and VTA. The graph in the Vacuum State cartridge setup paper opened my eyes up to the possibility of missing the sweet spot of adjustment by making to large of a move. I'm using one no.8 brass washer as the weight for AS for now and its all the way back on the lever.

No doubt that it could be very easy to miss better sound by making to large of a move. This is a tedious time consuming task but will pay huge musical enjoyment. After 5 hrs of tuning last night i most certainly brought better focus, micro detail, to my rig.

This is just the beginning as i am on the hunt and will get my arm cartridge to the best position for superior sound. This is going to be my New Years resolution.

Going as far to tie up my AS lever on my Triplaner to find the limit in one direction was a test of sound in that position. In my case that magical holographic sound was not completely closed from the right side but reduced. For my ears AS is dictectly the reason for the magic sound vinyl playback can deliver. Slight reverse movements of AS from none to where i am now has opened up the magic. Another jingle "Patience is a vertue" applies to TT setup.

Its hard for me to believe after my return to Vinyl 5 years ago that i did not know all that i thought i did about setup. My years of vinyl playback before CD also counts but at that time knowledge of adjustments was not as easily available, more of a trial and error time. It seems to me like i said above AS is the magic, VTA VTF is the timber of the musical sounds. My making of slight moves with height and weight i am hearing better sounds of voice and instruments.

My choice of music is classic rock which is electronicly produced with ampfacation. I am lucky in this choice because all audio gear is electronic. We dont know the sound with out amplification like classical and chamber music which uses the room or hall for increased volume. I do know how rock sounds at a concert from the many i have attended. The dynamics of a rock concert are impossible in the home though i can and do reach the 100+DB level at times. Reproducing the timber of a rock band is the trick for me. The bass drum guitar, lead guitars, and all else involved including full blown orchestras. These sounds are a personal choice in our adjustments. Because i discovered these adjustments are a tone control also.

We are use to the fast paced world of today along with that competitive life we live. Vinyl playback came from a time of a slower world. If you can try to make these small adjustments and listen for a while you will be reworded with better sound.

Well off to see the Saints finally and then back to my passion for better sound.

Dan my family is set on my smoked turkeys a few time a year. I have a fryer/sea food boiling setup but have not given frying turkeys a try as of yet. I saw to many bad pictures of what can go wrong when water and hot oil mix. Yes there was supposed to be a decimal point before my numbers above, over driving my head lights again im afraid.

Guys it is not as cold here thats a given but when its hotter than a frying egg we run the A/C. The temperature in my home as in yours stays within 68 to 75. And theres no humidity along with that.

The bottom line is enjoy the music first. In the mean time when you can as im sure most of you have already done make those very small movements and listen a while before making another move. Its quite an enlightening experience for me. I most certainly was making to large of a move on most adjustments. Like i said the graph opened my ears to what small moves are and how easy you could miss the best setting available.