What is more accurate: magnetic anti-skating, or barrel weight attached a fishline?


I have seen turntables from Project, Music Hall, and a few other brands that still incorporate a small barrel weight attached to short fishline string which is stretched across a hooking loop to set ANTI-SKATING. It seems to be an artifact from the 1960's and 1970's tonearm design. It is also easy to lose or break 

My question is how accurate is that "device" compared to magnetic anti-skating employed by many turntable manufacturers   Thank you

sunnyjim


Sunnyjim

I have seen turntables from Project, Music Hall, and a few other brands that still incorporate a small barrel weight attached to short fishline string which is stretched across a hooking loop to set ANTI-SKATING. It seems to be an artifact from the 1960’s and 1970’s tonearm design. It is also easy to lose or break

I tend to agree with you. For me this is also a let down in new expensive arm designs that use fish line. I personally see it as a cop out of sorts.

The only thing I would want on the end of a fishing line is my lure attached to a SM Bass, Trout or Muskie. There are so many different types of fishing lines, and they all deal with forces and vibrations differently, trying to trick and outsmart the fish.

http://media.nola.com/outdoors_impact/photo/fishing-lines-c5e62b4f20a3fc1f.jpg

Some are designed to stretch more; some not so much. Fishing line does lose its properties over time. So what about these 20-30 year old tonearm that are using it ?

Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime

:^)


Sunnyjim
My question is how accurate is that "device" compared to magnetic anti-skating employed by many turntable manufacturers

IMO the most accurate is able to deal with changing groove modulations and gradually increase force as it nears the inner grooves. This is basic physics; based on pivot arm design. Any out there that do this ?

I think that the VPI design of using the wire itself as Anti Skate is interesting as the wire would push back more toward the inner grooves. But then you have a "shaky" uni pivot design dealing with this force.

So no designs that that I am aware of. That makes all AS settings ball park, a guess at best. And, if one wants to get anal; this means anyone setting AS at a certain point in the record - it would be applicable to just that point on that specific record only. No ?

Peter at Soundsmith imo gives some good considerations to consider.

http://www.sound-smith.com/do-i-need-anti-skating.html

Of the pivot arms I have used the slickest AS came with the FR64s.

A search of anti skating at AudioGon reveals 2146 results. Hmm....

Nandric

However Van den Hul warned against such values (above 60 microns)

exactly because they need increased anti-skate. Aka:

to much anti-skate is worst than no anti-skate at all. This is the

reason that some of use the ’’minimal amount’’ of anti-skate.


I agree

Just some thoughts over coffee.

Happy Listening whether or not you use AS.
IMO the most accurate is able to deal with changing groove modulations and gradually increase force as it nears the inner grooves. This is basic physics; based on pivot arm design. Any out there that do this ? 

There are at least two that I know of Chris. The Continuum Cobra and Copperhead arms.
By using a triangular shaped anti-skate 'cam' on the underside of the arm, the anti-skate force changes from 8% of VTF at the start of the record to 12% of VTF at the end of the record.

Cheers

The Sony PUA 237/ 286 also uses some irregular shaped ''cam''

fastened at the collar of the arm (aka: vertical bearing). But this

''cam'' is connected with an tension wire which can be adjusted

in correlation with the VTF and/or stylus shape. I thought that no 

tonearm manufacturer copied this ''invention'' but just learned from

''some'' Aussie that Cobra and Coperhead (also from Australia)

made their own variation of this  invention by Sony .

 

@nandric Do you like Sony PUA 286 tonearm more than Lustre 801?

  

Dear SunnyJim,

Initially, since A/S is a constantly moving target and whatever setting we use which sounds "good" to our ears is the "accurate" one, I confess I read your post with a slightly different interpretation i.e. "which of these methods has the least deleterious effect on SQ across the entire groove"?

.......I'd like to know the answer myself! ;^)