Audio Additives vs Acoustic Sounds Digital Scale

Whether this magnetic attraction needs to be tared out depends on which part of the scale the cartridge is attracted to:
- if the attraction is to the weighing surface, which sits above the load cell, then it should not be tared out;
- if the attraction is to something beneath the load cell, then it should be tared out;
- if the attraction is to both the weighing surface and something beneath the load cell, then the attraction due to something below the load cell should be tared out and the attraction due to the weighing surface should not be. Good luck with that.

We've had this discussion before, recently. John tracy and Dinster acknowledged these facts then. I don't know why they're reverted to a "one answer fits all" position but either answer is an over-simplification.

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That said, all the above is much ado about nothing. Just use a scale that has no magnetic attraction. Whether it affects the indicated VTF or not, that attraction stresses the cantilever and suspension. It's an easily avoided risk that no one need take.

Personally, I've been using Yogiboy's approach for 12+ years... a gunpowder scale with a DIY weighing step made of non-magnetic material. Works perfectly and safely, measures to the nearest .001g, less costly than any audio branded scale.

Stringreen, , I agree with you with one exception (and provided that one's Shure balance is made from non-magnetic material... some aren't).

The exception is anyone who swaps out cartridges frequently. They may benefit from a scale that provides precise, repeatable results, as it allows rapid dialing in of the known, preferred VTF for a particular cartridge. Tweaking by ear is quicker if you start within .01g or so of the ideal.

Horses for courses, of course.

Bill, similar to Actusreus, I often suggest cutting up some credit cards and glueing the pieces together. It's bound to save you some money. ;-)

Seriously, mine is made of a 1" wide length of copper strip. I folded it over several times to center most of the weight on the weighing platform for stability. Then added an "S" curve to drop down to a record height shelf for the stylus. The copper's fairly thin, so getting to record height without touching the platter is easy.

EXTRA BENEFIT
Digital scales use load cells. Load cells are most accurate/reliable when weighing near the middle of their range, least accurate/reliable when weighing at either extreme.

So, make your DIY step's weight = half the scale's capacity minus 2grams. You'll be measuring VTF in your scale's most accurate region.

Example: I use a MyWeigh scale of 50g capacity. My copper step weighs 23g. Adding the typical ~2g of downforce from a cartridge puts me at the midpoint, which should result in the most accurate/reliable readings.

A bit of harmless OCDing, which many vinyl-philes enjoy!

IMO what is important here is the repeatability of the scale, not its ultimate accuracy. Since one will set the VTF by ear and having the ability to make small, repeatable changes is what matters.

Agree!

The tip above about using a load cell near the middle of its range will improve its repeatability and its accuracy. Load cells behave with increasing randomness as a function of the distance from the mid-point of their capacity.