Tri-Planar with no anti-skate?


On a hunch I removed the AS weight entirely from my new TP 7 (Merrill table & Ortofon Kont H cart).

The sound improved to an astounding degree: tons more body, much more solid imaging.

Certainly, I must not have had the anti-skate optimally adjusted, I am curious if others prefer it this way too.
paulfolbrecht

Showing 12 responses by dan_ed

Paul,

What you heard by reducing AS is what several of us are still enjoying with the Triplanar.

Doug Deacon found out a while back that the performance on the Triplanar/UNIverse combo can be improved substantially by lowering the AS force. Following his lead I have found that this also works very well with my Tri/XV-1s combo. We now use a few silicone rubber o-rings for AS weights on our Triplanars. Hopefully, Doug will see your thread and offer the correct o-ring size.

You then listen for slight mis-tracking, sibilance, etc, and then add another o-ring until it is gone.

I've found this to work with my Basis Vector tonearm as well.
Hi jfrech. Could be related to what cartridge is being used. I know someone else who prefers AS with a Skala. I still prefer mine without AS and I'm using Dynavectors. On the Talea, all carts sound much better with that tiny bit of AS one or two o-rings provide.

dealer disclaimer: Durand Tonearms and Dynavector
None of the Triplanar owners that I know use any dampening fluid.

Scale?!? We don't need no stinking scale! :)
Ha! Speak of the devil. :-) Ok, so at least the three of us agree on the Triplanar with no AS.
I'm not sure I understand. Did you mean to say that your friend visually observed total harmonic distortion?
Lewm, those of us who are removing our AS do not experience any distortion from one channel vs. the other. HOwever, I believe this will be cartridge dependent. It probably has to do with centering of the coils. This discussion is regarding the Triplanar. Other arms, YMMV. Even with the Triplanar, YMMV.

There is no right or wrong answer here, and I don't think this proves anything about HW's position on the need for AS. As Jonathan Carr has told us, the forces are there and they are acting on the stylus. The fact that some of us may prefer the sound with no AS doesn't mean it isn't needed.

As I stated, all cartridges I have tried on the Talea for example do sound better with a slight amount of AS, well below the VTF setting. I'm talking AS in the range of 1/3 to 1/2 gram. Anymore and the sound collapses.

My experience. YMMV, FWIW, etc.
Thanks, Glai. I misread the USB oscilloscope. However, I am not sure I agree with everything you've stated because what we hear without the AS mechanism is an increase in detail, not less as would be the case if there was indeed some distortion taking place. The imaging and placement of artists in the soundstage tell me things are working very well. But I am not arguing that every Triplanar owner should do this. Some may like it, some may not.

I do agree with you that all of these adjustments are in relation to each other. I do not disengage AS to set the other parameters as has been recommended for many years. The more I listened and tweaked and learned I found I was getting just as good if not better results by taking them all into consideration at once.
I measure a lot also, but more from my crossovers and horns. I've about finished on that end so maybe I'll join you at some point measuring the source end. :-)
Pradeep! Good to hear from you!. Alas, that Orpheus L was truly hard to beat.

I think I put two small o-rings in the hardware kit for you. That is what I'm using for AS weight now after recommendations from Joel and a few other owners. This was about the time I shipped the arm to you so I'm not sure of myself. One, two, or three o-rings, and it seems related to the mass of the cart. When it's right the sound becomes fuller, much like when azimuth is correct. Too much and it collapses back again.
Larry, that's what we've been discussing. Some of us ARE removing the AS mechanism completely from our Triplanars. Not much surgery really. Just a single cir-clip and set screw holding the thread.