MC cartridge loading: still baffled

lewn,

The blank disc is NOT intended to simulate actual operating conditions.  From experience of many manufacturers and listeners, it gives a rough approximation of what the correct setting would be when playing actual records.  Like all antiskating measures, at best, one can only get a roughly correct setting--actual skating forces change dynamically during play (tends to be higher at high modulation levels) and this methodology is intended to roughly mimic the forces when playing records at average modulation levels.  I think SoundSmith has a video explaining this approach.  

I use to set antiskating using test records (like the Shure trackability test records) with music played at higher and higher levels and I would set the antiskating at a level that minimizes mis-tracking or cause the mis-tracking to be about equal in both channels, and then I would back off antiskating from this level just a bit to account for the fact that I never have records recorded at such high levels of modulation.  I now just use the blank record approach (much easier).

A good explanation of the blank record and the similar use of the run-out section of the record can be found if the last listed video here:

https://www.sound-smith.com/articles/videos

This is the method now endorsed by Peter Ledermann and Frank Shroeder (tonearm maker).  It is also the method described in the instruction manual of one of my cartridges (I believe it is the one for the Lyra Titan, so J.C. Carr is also endorsing this method). The video explains why this is a reasonable approximation.  

Someone mention listening for how well centered is a soloist on records with a well-defined center image.  To me, that would work only if your cartridge had perfect channel balance and few owners are that lucky.  I would rather have the cartridge set up for optimum physical alignment, and compensate for channel imbalance with the balance control on my linestage.