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Harry Weisfeld Was Right All Along

I'll admit that I was skeptical when I heard Harry Weisfeld of VPI say that his JMW tonearm sounded better without any antiskating device a few years ago. All the arguments for antiskating compensation seemed plausible if not undeniable.

But today, I've seen the light. I own a Michell Orbe SE with a Wilson Benesch Act 0.5 arm and a Shelter 501 II cartridge. I dialed everything in, but still had the compunction to fiddle around with something so I removed the funky anti-skate weight from the WB. Not only does the arm behave much better (no annoying, backswing when indexing), but it actually sounds better to my ears. Smoother, more dynamic, less etched/more natural are the changes I hear. I wonder how many other arm/cartridge combinations would benefit from eschewing their anti-skate mechanisms.

While I originally thought that Harry Weisfeld was simply making excuses, in reality, he was probably just being honest. I'm sure the twisty-wire approach he now uses is a good way to implement anti-skating for those who must have it.
plato

Showing 1 response by dan_ed

dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Stringreen, I can assure you that TWL knows what he's talking about. (I wonder if Tom still scans these forums from time to time.)

The forces that led to the need for AS are always present. The need to apply AS is not always present, IME.

I haven't used AS on my Triplanar in over a year.

As for uni-pivots and AS. I have a new Durand Talea, which is a uni-pivot for those not familiar with this new arm. I've mounted Lyras, Dynavectors, Transfiguration, ZYX, and Shelter cartridges so far and have yet discover any situation that shows ANY need for anti-skate. YMMV, and all that.
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