antiskate disc


this is not new info, but as I have struggled to adjust the antiskate on my REED 2G(not calibrated), I thought I would try the blank disc method, despite mixed reviews of this technique.  I have an ALNIC AMBER cartridge which has a FRITZ GYER S stylus....it is so fine that it immediately cuts its own groove in the vinyl blank disc, making subsequent passes impossible...frustrating!!

jw944ts

Showing 2 responses by dynacohum

I read AR XA inventor Edgar Villchur’s “Understanding High Fidelity” as a young man, and his position was that antiskate correction was unnecessary because it’s not the skating force you care about, it’s the groove damage caused by mistracking that you should be concerned with. His suggested solution was to use the higher end of the recommended VTF range to minimize mistracking.  The contention that lower VTF meant less record wear was a commonly stated falsity, promoted by cartridge manufacturers Shure, and ADC that research done by Decca in the UK and Nippon Columbia in Japan found no support for, as I recall…hence their own cartridge models tracking above 2 grams.  
 

On the original topic, I used to use a copy of Johnny Winter’ Second Winter, an album with 3 recorded sides, to do rough antiskate adjustment, and yes, the stylus left a mark…but not enough to become a groove…maybe the FG has a pointier tip!

Clearly the XA bearings were primitive in terms of machining and design, especially the cockamamie vertical needlepoints with the silicone oil damping contraption. Later models like the 77XB I have used a simpler one piece part. I run an AT-71 on it and it tracks at 2 gr just fine. One of my 4 working turntables.