To antiskate or not antiskate

Thanks for the advice, I will test with and without and listen. 

The physics underlying tonearm skating forces are well established. Various tonearm designs employ different mechanical or magnetic methods to counteract these lateral forces, each with inherent advantages and limitations. Some audiophiles contend that anti-skating mechanisms introduce more problems than they solve and choose to operate without compensation. Empirical observations from cartridge retippers indicate that both insufficient and excessive anti-skate lead to asymmetric stylus and groove wear. Furthermore, skating forces are not constant—they vary with groove modulation, stylus geometry, tracking force, and record eccentricity—thus, anti-skating compensation represents an averaged corrective force intended to minimize the net lateral load over the duration of playback.  
 

 

This table with arm kind of fell into my arms by luck, my dealer 😁 is about to cut it with his distributor of feickert among other brands so this is the last piece and I could have it with warranty and all for half retail and so far I'm very satisfied. 

I am waiting for him to give me a nice deal on the clearaudio TT3 and all antiskate problems are gone 😆

"A dr feickert woodpecker with a clearaudio unify 12 inch tonearm and lyra titan cartridge."

I thought the combination was unusual, now knowing it being dealer package, it's clear.

At half retail probably sounds REALLY good.

@iseland I previously ran a ChatGPT analysis on my tt/tonearm/cartridge combo (Rega Naia, Aphelion 2) and then applied the same process to your (very different pieces, not least a unipivot and a longer tonearm, which make a lot of difference). Take it for what it’s worth, but perhaps you’ll find the process and advice useful:

 

Practical setup method for your Woodpecker / Unify 12” / Lyra Titan

 

Set tracking force first
 

Get the Lyra Titan tracking at ~1.75 g using a real stylus gauge. Not just the counterweight scale marks. Lyra likes precise VTF.

 

Set minimal anti-skate / bias
 

On the Unify, that usually means:
 

If it uses a hanging weight and string: start with the lightest weight, or the innermost/lowest notch.

 

If it uses a dial-type system (some variants do): set something like ~0.3–0.5, i.e. very low.

 

Conceptually, think “just enough to not be literally zero,” not “match the grams.”

 

Play something with strong vocal ‘S’ sounds or splashy cymbals near the inner groove
 

Headphones help. Now listen:
 

If the right channel is the first to spit/break up on hot passages → add a hair more anti-skate.

 

If the left channel is the first to spit → you’re already running too much, back it off.

 

Do this at realistic listening level, not whisper quiet.

 

Stop as soon as it’s symmetrical
 

You are not chasing “perfectly no distortion at all ever” (records themselves aren’t perfect). You’re chasing “if there is stress, it’s equal in both channels.”

 

That symmetry point on a 12” unipivot with a Lyra MC is almost always reached with low anti-skate.

 

Visual check (super useful with a unipivot)

With the platter not spinning but the stylus resting in a normal groove halfway into a record:

Look dead-on from the front.

 

The cantilever should sit centered in the cartridge body, not pulled inward or outward.

 

The cartridge body should look level — not leaning left/right because the arm is being torqued by the anti-skate.

 

If the body is leaning outward (left channel down, right channel up), you’ve applied too much anti-skate and you’re twisting the unipivot. Back off immediately.

 

(This azimuth twist test matters more on your unipivot arm than it does on other types of arms, such as my Rega Titanium arm.)