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TriPlanar Tips

The manual that comes with the TriPlanar Mk VII tonearm is fairly complete, but there are a few things I’ve learned only by living with the arm. Note: I do not know which if any of these would apply to previous versions of the arm. My only experience is with the Mk VII.

1. NEVER raise the cueing lever while the arm is locked in the arm rest. This pressures the damping cylinder and could cause a silicone leak. For this reason and also for safety, whenever the arm is in the arm rest the cueing lever should be DOWN. This is backwards from most arms and takes some getting used to.

2. If your Tri-Planar doesn't cue straight down there's a quick fix, which may be included on some new arms. The problem is insufficient friction between the arm tube and the hard rubber cueing support bar. Just glue a bit of thin sandpaper to the underside of the arm tube. Make it big enough and position it so it hits the cueing support bar at all points across the arm’s arc. (Note: after doing this you will need to adjust the cueing height, see Tip #3.)

3. When adjusting cueing height (instructions are in the manual) always do so with the arm in the UP position. This adjustment is VERY touchy, since the cueing support bar is so close to the pivot. Be patient and be careful of your cartridge. (Note: after doing this you may need to adjust the anti-skate initiation point, see Tip #4.)

Chris Brady of Teres told me of a way to improve cueing even more by re-shaping the cueing support. Moving the cueing support point farther from the pivot improves its mechanical advantage and makes the cueing height and speed adjustments less touchy. This mod is easier than it sounds and requires only a length of coat hanger (!), but I don’t have pix and haven’t yet done it myself.

4. Changing the cueing height affects the point where anti-skate kicks in. (Yes, it's weird.) Once cueing height is satisfactory, adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame. That pin controls where the anti-skate dogleg first engages the knot on the string.

5. The Tri-Planar comes with three counterweight donuts of differing masses. Many cartridges can be balanced using either of two. The arm usually tracks best with the heaviest donut that will work, mounted closer to the pivot. Of course this also reduces effective mass, which may or may not be sonically desirable depending on the cartridge. It also leaves more room for Tip #6.

6. For fine VTF adjustments don’t futz with the counterweight, there’s an easier way. Set the counterweight for the highest VTF you think you’ll need (ie, close to the pivot). Pick up some 1/4" I.D. O-rings from Home Depot. To reduce VTF a bit just slip an O-ring or two on the end stub. Thin O-rings reduce VTF by .01-.02g, thick ones by .04-.05g. Quick, cheap, effective. (For safety, always lock the arm down while adding or removing O-rings.)

7. When adjusting VTA, always bring the pointer to the setting you want by turning it counter-clockwise at least ¼ of a turn. This brings the arm UP to the spot you've selected, which takes up the slop in the threads. You can easily feel this happening.

Hope someone finds these useful. If you know any more, please bring ‘em on!
dougdeacon
paperw8
165 posts
 

08-27-10: Thom_mackris
We can discuss issues of rigidity until we are all blue in the face. Would you say that the thin bar that supports the damping trough is more rigid than say, a ... tuning fork?
I won't speak about all tuning forks, but the tines of a fork have properties of a tuning fork. I would say that the trough on the Triplanar is more rigid than are the tines of the fork.

However, you have to keep in mind that there are several factors that influence the resonant character of a tuning fork. Among those factors are the geometry of the object and the material properties of the object. I would encourage you to read the comment by Atmasphere:

08-23-10: Atmasphere
The Triplanar has a extensional damping material on the arm tube to reduce mid and high frequency resonance artifacts. This is one of the reasons this arm is so neutral- most arm manufacturers do little to address this issue.
This is an example of a statement that makes sense to me. To my observation, when I tap the Triplanar at various points, I found the tonearm to be very dead. I can believe that the material properties of the Triplanar dampen vibrations. So my empirical observations support what Atmasphere is saying. It is hard for me to imagine that such an apparently dead tonearm would be picking up the resonances that some here have claimed to be the case.

You are correct, people can discuss this stuff until they are blue in the face, but ultimately what counts is whether a person knows what they are talking about. In my case, I tend to make that determination based on whether I can make sense of what the person is saying.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Paperw8, did you TRY listening to the TP with that trough removed? Atmasphere posted that he also has removed the trough, or did you miss that?
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
... ultimately what counts is whether a person knows what they are talking about.
Agreed. In this case the measure is how music sounds with and without the trough. We know. You don't.

The OP requests that you avoid further postings on his thread, which he started to help people willing to help themselves, not to argue anyone into something they're unwilling to try.
paperw8
165 posts
 

08-27-10: Dougdeacon

... ultimately what counts is whether a person knows what they are talking about.
Agreed. In this case the measure is how music sounds with and without the trough. We know. You don't.

The OP requests that you avoid further postings on his thread, which he started to help people willing to help themselves, not to argue anyone into something they're unwilling to try.
What I know is what you say you hear, but you have failed to give a logical explanation as to why you are hearing what you say you are hearing.

As it turns out, some of us have other things to do rather than to spend all our time listening to a wide variety of audio equipment. Since some of us have limited time, we need to cut down the search by pre-screening down to a set of logical candidates to investigate from the wide variety of available audio equipment that is sold. That's why I look for logical explanations, because that is how I get clues as to what is worth my while to investigate further.

Don't get me wrong, I think that there is a limit to what you can learn from objective data. If you want to optimize a system to your specific tastes, you can only do that by listening to the actual equipment. But you should understand that there are real limits to subjective evaluations: they are subject to being colored by various preconceived notions. That's why you, and audiophiles in general should learn more critical thinking about this stuff. You will find that seeking out objective information and data to support your subjective assessments will help you in your own evaluations.

Ultimately, what you do is up to you. But what I am telling you is that when you post your opinions on public forums like this one; those comments are going to be evaluated by people like me based on whether subjective comments can be supported by an rational explanation (or at least some evidence of reasoning) of why you might be observing what you are observing. In my mind, relying on well-worn buzzwords just doesn't cut it.
thom_at_galibier_design's avatar
thom_at_galibier_design
724 posts
 
Dear Paperw8,

You went to the effort to quote my comment about the the THIN BAR to which the trough mounts, and then conveniently side-stepped my point by IGNORING this bar and turning your attention to the trough itself.

The (relatively) heavy trough hangs off this (relatively) flimsy bar. I don't have time to make this any more obvious to you.

Yours is a classic straw-man argument and has no relevance to my point.

I completely agree with you and with Ralph, in that the Tri-Planar's arm wand is extremely well damped. It is however, not perfect. No tonearm is.

The well behaved properties of the Tri-Planar's arm wand is is no reason to ignore other sources of gremlins - vibrations entering from other points in the arm.

The more I learn about hi-fi, the more I learn that EVERYTHING matters, and the less inclined I am to be dismissive of others' observations.

I agree with you, that this forum is a cauldron of ideas from which we all distill and refine our collective knowledge.

I applaud that you want to spend more time listening to music, and as a designer, I frequently longingly look back at the "innocent times" when I didn't have to listen to my hi-fi so critically.

I for one however, am grateful for the efforts of people like Doug. The lifting he does, I don't t have to do. With infinite possibilities, no single one of us can track every last gremlin down.

Of course, we still have to pick and choose our battles, based on what makes sense to us, and this is dependent on our experience set.

Without a critical mind we run the risk of letting charlatans and snake oil salesmen who would help us part with our money.

There's a fine line however, between a discriminating mind and a closed one, and when you struggle to twist someone's words to suit your preconceptions, you have lost me.
You are correct, people can discuss this stuff until they are blue in the face, but ultimately what counts is whether a person knows what they are talking about. In my case, I tend to make that determination based on whether I can make sense of what the person is saying.

Based on this logic (presuming that you're not a particle physicist), then quantum mechanics and string theory is all hogwash.

One final comment - many of the tweaks Doug suggests will be wasted on a mediocre turntable. The hierarchy still applies, and if you don't optimize your basic platform first (your turntable), then much of the ground Doug has traversed won't be appreciated.

I'll let others comment further. I have a turntable to release in time for the Audiofest ...

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
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