Maximum Cartridge Tracking Force for long LP Life

richardbrand -

"Having said that, my vintage SME 3009 tonearm does not have any preset markings above 1.5 grams tracking force, either for tracking force or anti-skating"

@richardbrand Yeah, that comes from back in the day when low moving mass and high compliance was the thing. Shure led the pack with their low mass, high compliance moving magnet V15 series. Then all of a sudden moving coil hit the scene with higher mass cartridge bodies and low compliance cantilever suspensions which required higher mass tonearms to achieve optimum resonance between 8 - 12Hz. I believe lower stylus tip mass also became a priority. 

I bet there is a heavier counterweight available.

There are hold outs though in the lower moving mass arena like Rega who’s cartridges are 6gms throughout the line and none of which track above 2gms also, the RB series tonearms are all on the low end of medium mass. 

Run the cartridge in initially at the manufacturer's maximum(say for 60 hours) then set at the manufacturer's recommended tracking force whatever that is.

Ignore all other recommendations.

The generally accepted nuance is, too high tracking force causes more wear but too low tracking force causes more damage. Whatever you choose, Always set tracking force within the cartridge’s recommended range. Going outside this can cause damage to your vinyl, your stylus and yes your cartridge. Most modern cartridges track between 1.5–2.5 grams, depending on stylus shape and compliance. I always use a cartridge with a Line contact styli, which is known to distribute pressure more evenly, reducing wear even at higher forces. Mine is has a range of 1.6 to 2.0 grams. I settled on 1.8grams which is the sweet spot for my TT combination. Don’t ignore arm/catridge matching My Linn Ittok LV2 matches well with my Art 9 line contact Cartridge, as it’s a medium mass tone arm with an effective mass around 11grams. So if you don’t know about these things, don’t go buying a cartidge on hearsay or review; take advice about arm/ cartridge matching. All these things play into the performance and wear characteristics. Two final things, setting tracking force is one of the last things you do before setting matching antiskate, so use a decent gauge don’t rely on the arm numbers. Keep a track of the hours you put on the Stylus and don’t be tempted to go past the wear point, get a decent USB microscope, they are cheap and show you wear very clearly.

@theophile + 1. I figure the people who made the cartridge know the optimum way to set it up. I've played records on all kinds of things from the time I was a young teen in the mid-60's, and I've never come close to a tear in the vinyl. Except when I needed to tape a nickel to the headshell. 

@faustuss 

I bet there is a heavier counterweight available

SME made several weights to suit the wide range of 3009 and 3012 tonearms they made, including some to accommodate SPU cartridges which have a recommended tracking force around 4 grams.

My particular arm is a "3009 Series II improved with fixed headshell", and was only supplied by the factory with one balance weight, one outrigger weight and one anti-skate weight for a maximum 1.5 grams tracking force.  Clearly SME had the Shure V15 in mind!

Set up involves getting the arm level by adjusting the balance weight, then increasing the tracking force by sliding the outrigger weight along the outrigger which has a graduated scale with marks at 0.25-gram intervals.  I think you could reliably get 0.01-gram precision by eye, which is as good as I can manage with a new-fangled digital scale!

I am currently using an Audio Technica VM540ML cartridge which has twice the recommended tracking force of the Shure V15 type III, ie 2.0-grams versus 1.0-grams.

Logically I should almost double the anti-skate weight from 3-grams to 5.6-grams.

The dreaded details can be found here SME 3009 / 3012