Is my anti-skating too strong.


I’m trying to adjust the alignment of the Ortofon Black Quintet cartridge on my Music Hall mmf 9.3 turntable.  When I put the stylus down on the alignment protractor, the tone arm pulls to the outer edge of the turntable.   Should I disable anti skating when doing alignment or is it set too strong?  Obviously haven’t done this too often.
Also, when listening to the anti skating track on The Ultimate Analogue Test LP, there is noticeable distortion at the end of the track which indicates too much or too little anti skating.  Any guidance here?
udog

Showing 4 responses by bpoletti

When you set up and align the cartridge, there should be no anti-skate.  There is no need for it since the outward force should be just enough to offset the inward pull.   

According to cartridge design and engineering experts (I'm not one), most arms are set up with much to much anti-skate.  It's obvious when a cartridge stylus is examined through a microscope.  One side, the one that rides against the out edge of the groove, is more worn than the inside edge, the surface of the stylus closest to the record label. of the stylus.  

The longer the arm, the lower the anti-skate force.  I have been using only 12" arms for a long time and exert almost not anti-skate force.  My cartridges seem to wear evenly.  



Before we all start getting into a major urinary tract exercise, why not read the results of studies and observations from actual cartridge manufacturers.  As a start, I suggest reading Peter Ledermann's comments: 

https://www.sound-smith.com/faq/how-do-i-adjust-anti-skating-my-cartridge





@larryi2    

It should also be noted that the amount of anti-skate needed can vary from record to record and even across the surface of a given record.  So a general estimate is all that may be possible.  And once that happy medium is found, it's very doubtful that even a careful listener will hear the difference from record to record.
Fremer disagrees with Schroder and Ledermann?  That certainly gives them a LOT more credibility.     

I have used Ledermann's method of anti-skate adjustment with very good results.  And a resulting very low anti-skate pressure.  And the cartridges in question were ones that Fremer reviewed very favorably.