What Digital Stylus Force Gauge Do You Like?


I bought a cheap unit, but it has no weight with it, so I am not sure how accurate it is. What digital stylus force gauge do you like? I am sure the Winds gauge is very good, but no way I can spend that kind of money. What reasonably priced gauges do you like?
slowhand

Showing 3 responses by rushton

Dweller, I'm a believer that the gauge only gets you into the ballpark because the optimal VTF setting must be set by ear and must be determined through iterative adjustment and listening as VTA is dialed in because the two settings interact. At the risk of repeated my comment in another thread on this same topic... I've always followed Lloyd Walker's recommended procedure for fine tuning turntable setup: http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm

So for me, greater accuracy than the Shure provides is irrelevant except in one situation: If one has multiple arm wands and needs to easily move from one to another, being able to re-establish quickly, easily and with great accuracy a predetermined optimum tracking force makes sense, and there are gauges out there that are more repeatable with precision than the Shuure. But in my opinion, that pre-determined optimum tracking force will have been determined in an earlier "dialing in by ear" process. In this case, the important factor is the gauge's repeatability of measurement (i.e., the ability to get precisely the same result over multiple measurements), not its absolute accuracy of measurement.

Hope you enjoy getting back into vinyl!
Hi Doug, that's an interesting additional need for a precise gauge that I'll keep in mind.

Inpepinnovations (Bob P), that little B&O gauge always worked well for me, too, up to its weight capacity. Sounds like you and I share a similar philosophy on what works well for us with our systems!

Jsaah (Joe), glad the link was helpful. It's the small things that bring out the magic that our equipment is capable of delivering, and VTA/VTF for us analog nuts is one of those critical things. If you liked the turntable tuning suggestions, you might also enjoy reading Lloyd's comments elsewhere on his web site about how to listen critically to a system; I find those to be right on the mark, too.

Regards to all,