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Anti skate and tonearm damping query

I have read a number of threads relating to both antiskating and tonearm damping on the JMW 9" Sig.arm and find myself a bit confused.......I have been experimenting a little and have reached the conclusion that I must be deaf. I have not used the additional antiskating system, I have tried twisting and not twisting the leno wire and can hear no difference. If the Leno wire is not twisted therefore no antiskate, will this damage the stylus or the album??
I have also filled the damping well above the taper to the base of the point and still cannot hear 'the music being sucked out' or indeed, an improvement. Do I fill the well up to the point!! and then work backwards. Those that finetune using the damping seem to have some sort of epiphany when the 'sweet' spot is reached.

Can someone please shed light on how I should be going about setting the AS and finetuning the damping on the arm. The table is a scoutmaster with super platter and sds, the cartridge is the dynavector Te Kaitora Rua

Thanks
wes4390

Showing 2 responses by tfkaudio

tfkaudio
591 posts
 
Hi,
The lemo connector has a small amount of anti-skate bias, even when not twisted. Twisting it (counter-clockwise, I think?) will increase the anti-skate force.
I experimented with the anti-skate on this arm, both via the lemo connector and the anti-skate assembly. The difference I heard was minimal. I only heard a noticeable difference when way too much anti-skate was applied. The soundstage moved off-center and the sound became smeared.
I currently use the optional anti-skate with no weights on it. It makes no difference that I've ever been able to hear consistently, but it tracks the test record better and so I would assume it's probably better in terms of groove wear.
The great improvements I've made with this arm were the result of a) dialing in VTF/VTA, and b) nailing the alignment with a Mint LP protractor.
I've never tried using the damping fluid. Just seems too messy.
Regarding Srwooten's post, if you don't have a syringe handy, a Q-tip works too.
Cheers.

Tom
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
Hi Wes,
When I set VTA, i did it by ear only. Didn't even look to see if it was parallel. It's pretty easy to hear when you've got it right. The sound kind of pops into focus. Bass and treble become balanced. Bass is taut, not sloppy. Treble is clean, not strident. When you're off, either bass (too low at the tonearm base) or treble (too high) will dominate and exhibit the sloppy/strident characteristic.
Later on, I saw a post here recommending the 3 x 5 card method (Thanks, Stan). I tried it and found that my arm was exactly parallel to the record surface.
I haven't done it in a while, but I thought that turning the VTA wheel clockwise raises the arm at the pivot point.

Cheers.
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