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Tri-Planar with no anti-skate?

On a hunch I removed the AS weight entirely from my new TP 7 (Merrill table & Ortofon Kont H cart).

The sound improved to an astounding degree: tons more body, much more solid imaging.

Certainly, I must not have had the anti-skate optimally adjusted, I am curious if others prefer it this way too.
paulfolbrecht
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Hi jfrech. Could be related to what cartridge is being used. I know someone else who prefers AS with a Skala. I still prefer mine without AS and I'm using Dynavectors. On the Talea, all carts sound much better with that tiny bit of AS one or two o-rings provide.

dealer disclaimer: Durand Tonearms and Dynavector
palasr
516 posts
 
Same cart, same arm, different table. Ultimately, I found that I preferred the increased resolution over the added sense of body, weight or gravity to the note; as such, I've removed the monofilament and dogleg completely. I've found that adding a tiny bit of VTF (we're talking maybe a hundredth of a gram, probably less...about a tenth of a rotation on the fine VTF) more than compensates for this loss. I assume you've also removed the damping trough completely as well.

I also find that I enjoy listening more at this time of year as it's warmer and more humid (even with AC). Not that I enjoy the heat, but something about the way sound travels through the warmer air tends to give me a greater sense of body, better dynamic shading and overall sonic density, like you can reach around each performer a bit more clearly. YMMV and all that.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Ha! Speak of the devil. :-) Ok, so at least the three of us agree on the Triplanar with no AS.
mmakshak
589 posts
 
This advice is not specific to the Tri-Planar, and may be only specific to my Ekos/Arkiv(but I don't think so). If the last song of an lp sounds the best, you have too much anti-skate. It's usually just a tiny bit too high. I would not use channel balance, or any other parameter to adjust anti-skate. I did, moving from a very involving sound to one that made me less interested in listening to records.
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
You are not alone!

I use a VPI JMW 10 and no anti-skate! I have never heard any inner grove distortion on any LP. Do not believe test record anti-skate test tracks, they are all too severe for real recordings.

Harry of VPI was right on the 10, 10.5 and 12"" arms, but bent to "false" opinion, and now offers an anti-skate option for disbelievers.

Maybe a little anti-skate for short, 8 to 9" arms.

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