Clearaudio Clarify Help Needed!


I am in the process of setting up the Clearaudio Ovation turntable with Clarify tonearm I purchased used. All good until came time to move the counterweight to adjust cartridge downforce.

The counterweight will not move. The tt manual is a piece of crap, lacking information and offering only a few lousy photos. It states "By loosen the screw on the counterweight on the tonearm-tube you can adjust the tracking force of your cartridge by moving the counterweight (shown in the picture below)." The picture shows the counterweight (CW) on the tonearm tube with a red arrow pointing in one direction and a green arrow in the other. There is no indication of where the "screw on the counterweight" is located. I have located a very tiny set screw on the underside of the counterweight, but don't have an allen wrench tiny enough, long enough to reach it. Could this be the "screw on the counterweight" I can "loosen"? It is only accessible if I remove the tonearm - which would make balancing the arm very difficult, as after balancing it I would have to remove it again to tighten the screw? Why would Clearaudio have buried the set screw on the bottom of the counterweight, where inaccessible without removing arm?

There is a knob on the back end of the tonearm. Is this the "screw" I'm supposed to "loosen" to free my tonearm? I turned it both directions but it had no effect on the freedom of the counterweight. It appears to connect to a long spring that runs the length of the tonearm? What is the purpose of this knob? How am I to know when it is properly turned to proper position? Why is there no mention of it in the "user manual"?

Any help much appreciated!

Balthus

balthus

Showing 6 responses by jasonbourne71

Looking underneath the TT to adjust anti-skate is idiocy! What were the designers thinking?

You don't have enough weight on the cartridge. Get a stylus force gauge and check to see if the down force is at least 1 gram. You can go higher for most cartridges.

@mijostyn : If that is for adjusting anti-skate then the OP must do that ONLY after setting the down force. Not before!

The knob at the shaft end is used to move the counterweight forward or backward after leveling the arm. This allows adjustment for the down force.

You have to move the rear counterweight forward to increase the down force after you level the arm. Get a stylus force gauge. Set the down force to the cartridge's recommended value - 1 to 2 grams usually. Then tighten the set screw to lock in the weight.

I have never heard of looking underneath the turntable to adjust anti-skate! If so, then that Ckearaudio TT is a bad design! I wouldn't buy such a TT!