For VPI Unipivot Owners, do you use antiskating?

03-09-15: Adeep42
To all posters: Thanks for all the very interesting responses. Think I'll stick with HW and the no AS crowd. At least for the time being. I am looking for the Telarc Omnidisc and might re-evaluate then.

Adeep, I note that you are using a moving magnet cartridge, while most of those who have been participating in this discussion are using LOMC's which presumably have significantly lower compliance. Given that in particular, I would suggest that if you have not already done so you make a point of looking at your cartridge from the front while the stylus is in the groove of a ROTATING record, and determining if the cantilever is deflecting perceptibly to the left or the right, relative to its position (nominally straight ahead) when it is lifted off of the record.

Quoting from myself in this thread:

My vinyl experience over the years has not included LOMC's or other cartridges having relatively low compliance, such as I presume most of those participating in this discussion are using. FWIW, though, using MM's and MI's having relatively high compliance (primarily Grace F9-E variants, including non-Ruby, Ruby, and Soundsmith re-tipped Ruby versions), primarily on a Magnepan Unitrac unipivot arm, with VTF generally set in the upper part of the recommended range for the particular cartridge, I have over the years consistently found that:

1)Left or right deflection of the cantilever, as viewed from the front of the cartridge when playing a record, will closely match the corresponding angle (nominally straight ahead) that is assumed by the cantilever when the stylus is raised above the record if anti-skating is set to approximately 50 to 65% of the amount recommended for the particular tonearm at the particular VTF.

2)A setting can be found in that range which will result in imperceptible left or right cantilever deflection at ALL points on the record.

3)Modest deviations from that amount of anti-skating force (either higher or lower) will ALWAYS (IME, as described) produce clearly perceivable sideways deflection of the cantilever while playing a record, which will NOT vary perceptibly as a function of what part of the record is being played.

4)I have never tried an anti-skating setting approaching zero, because given the foregoing it would seem absurd to do so in these particular circumstances.

If you do not see significant sideways deflection, I suspect that your tonearm is applying significant anti-skating force even if none is intentionally being introduced. And if you do see significant deflection, my opinion is as stated in item 4 of the quote. In part because it seems pretty much inconceivable to me that the result would not be significant misalignment within the cartridge of the moving magnet relative to the coils, and in part because of the obvious issues involving the stylus-to-groove interface.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks, Lew. FWIW, the procedure I use is:

1)I increase anti-skating until deflection to the left (toward the center of the record) becomes just barely perceptible. This is done with the stylus positioned approximately in the middle of the rotating record. I note the setting. In the case of my arm, the "setting" is the number of tiny metal pellets that are placed in a bucket.

2)I decrease anti-skating until deflection to the right becomes just barely perceptible, with the stylus positioned at approximately the same location on the record. I note the setting.

3)I set anti-skating to the mid-point between those two values.

4)I verify that no perceivable deflection occurs at other points on the record.

5)I declare victory :-)

As a rough ballpark, I have found that raising or lowering the resulting number of pellets by something like 15% will result in easily perceivable deflection, symmetrically in the two directions.

Best regards,
-- Al

03-12-15: Stringreen
No one can control the a/s that's needed or preferred because the force is constantly changing.

In my experience (as described earlier), all of it involving MM and MI cartridges, as I had mentioned a change in anti-skating force of about 15% from the value arrived at per the procedure I described will result in EASILY perceivable deflection of the cantilever from its normally straight-ahead position. Yet at the same time, as I said earlier, once I have adjusted anti-skating force per that procedure there is NO perceivable deflection at ANY point on the record (apart from deflections that may be caused by large groove modulations, of course).

That would seem to say something about the DEGREE to which skating force varies during the course of the record.

Regards,
-- Al