Tonearms without anti-skate, damage to records?

@mijostyn ​​@dover 

Re parallel trackers, look at the Simon Yorke Aeroarm (no longer available).

Effective mass of the arm is around 25% of a typical 9 inch pivoted arm because it is only 2.5 inches long.  Why do most other designers of parallel trackers keep the length near 9 inches just because most pivoted arms are 9 inches?

I have closely observed the cantilever of 6 high-end cartridges mounted on my Aeroarm and there is no sideways torsion whatsoever.  Tracking is totally secure at the low end of most manufacturers' recommendations.  van den Huls track securely at 1.6g.  Lightweight Ortofons like A90 and A95 are a match made in heaven with Aeroarm.  I will never go back to pivoted arms.

@dover   Please explain why you think the skating force does not change linearly as the record is played.  Surely it is just a question of geometry?

@dover   Please explain why you think the skating force does not change linearly as the record is played.  Surely it is just a question of geometry?

I never said that.   Apologies @dover you didn't

@lewm    "the skating force is not linear in the way its magnitude varies."

Over to you.....

@mijostyn   Simon will thank you for that endorsement.

He is aware of the VTA issue.  He provides very fine height adjustment if necessary on the fly with a large diameter knurled wheel operating on the arm pillar by a high geared tensioned worm and screw.  Using a parallel lines protractor against the lower flat surface of the arm, its arm height can be set very quickly and precisely for each record.

In fact the low effective mass of the arm works in its favour, particularly with a low mass cartridge.  Tracking is very secure.

Yes the working length of the arm is unusually short.  Simon didn't design if for use with off-centre records or for warped records.  In fact because of its low mass this arm tracks warped records that no other arm will track - they just get thrown in the air.  If you find this of value.  But this also demonstrates the tracking security of this set-up.

if you tap any turntable hard enough the cantilever will flex under the force applied.  But, all other things being equal the effect will be less than in the case of 9 inch pivoted arm with much more mass and therefore side force.  And from his S7 on, Simon didn't believe in hi-mass as the best approach to isolation.  I don't tap my turntable while it is playing.

Thank you, but I am not in need of parallel tracking arm recommendations.  I believe the Aeroarm is the best design.  Period.

@mijostyn  

Your comment about my vision is not required.  More sensitive people would regard it as insulting.

I don't need anti-skating any more but there sure has been a  load of rubbish written here.  The only known facts are:  you need it, the amount required varies as the arm moves across the record, = to tracking weight is loads too much, implementing it well is devilishly difficult without ruining the performance of the arm.

In the Aeroarm the tiny air current is expelled sideways along the arm beam, nowhere near the cartridge.

Your imagined evaluation of its resonances can only be fictional because you cannot know what they are.  Whatever they may be, they are always invisible and inaudible.

I already told you the Aeroarm deals with disc thickness differences by an easy arm height adjustment; you obviously have trouble reading (touché re your comment on my eysight)

You say simplicity is best.   Look at the bloody Schroder!  It is a poor over-complex clunky design.  It introduces an undesirable third freedom of movement that is likely to allow catastrophic arm pillar movement, entirely ruining the SQ (remember a few microns is bad).  The Aeroarm has only two freedoms of movement, as in a conventional pivoted arm.

I told you I did not require your advice on arm acquisition - again you have comprehension difficulties

We shall have to agree to differ.

I have little truck with political correctness.  The world has gone mad, led by the USA.  And now we have wank (woke), again originating in the USA.

The principle of free speech is far more important.  Wan**rs would have America and Europe become like Russia and China where you receive long prison terms in life threatening prisons for small breaches.  Breaches need to be extremely severe before I will censor.