TriPlanar Tips


The manual that comes with the TriPlanar Mk VII tonearm is fairly complete, but there are a few things I’ve learned only by living with the arm. Note: I do not know which if any of these would apply to previous versions of the arm. My only experience is with the Mk VII.

1. NEVER raise the cueing lever while the arm is locked in the arm rest. This pressures the damping cylinder and could cause a silicone leak. For this reason and also for safety, whenever the arm is in the arm rest the cueing lever should be DOWN. This is backwards from most arms and takes some getting used to.

2. If your Tri-Planar doesn't cue straight down there's a quick fix, which may be included on some new arms. The problem is insufficient friction between the arm tube and the hard rubber cueing support bar. Just glue a bit of thin sandpaper to the underside of the arm tube. Make it big enough and position it so it hits the cueing support bar at all points across the arm’s arc. (Note: after doing this you will need to adjust the cueing height, see Tip #3.)

3. When adjusting cueing height (instructions are in the manual) always do so with the arm in the UP position. This adjustment is VERY touchy, since the cueing support bar is so close to the pivot. Be patient and be careful of your cartridge. (Note: after doing this you may need to adjust the anti-skate initiation point, see Tip #4.)

Chris Brady of Teres told me of a way to improve cueing even more by re-shaping the cueing support. Moving the cueing support point farther from the pivot improves its mechanical advantage and makes the cueing height and speed adjustments less touchy. This mod is easier than it sounds and requires only a length of coat hanger (!), but I don’t have pix and haven’t yet done it myself.

4. Changing the cueing height affects the point where anti-skate kicks in. (Yes, it's weird.) Once cueing height is satisfactory, adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame. That pin controls where the anti-skate dogleg first engages the knot on the string.

5. The Tri-Planar comes with three counterweight donuts of differing masses. Many cartridges can be balanced using either of two. The arm usually tracks best with the heaviest donut that will work, mounted closer to the pivot. Of course this also reduces effective mass, which may or may not be sonically desirable depending on the cartridge. It also leaves more room for Tip #6.

6. For fine VTF adjustments don’t futz with the counterweight, there’s an easier way. Set the counterweight for the highest VTF you think you’ll need (ie, close to the pivot). Pick up some 1/4" I.D. O-rings from Home Depot. To reduce VTF a bit just slip an O-ring or two on the end stub. Thin O-rings reduce VTF by .01-.02g, thick ones by .04-.05g. Quick, cheap, effective. (For safety, always lock the arm down while adding or removing O-rings.)

7. When adjusting VTA, always bring the pointer to the setting you want by turning it counter-clockwise at least ¼ of a turn. This brings the arm UP to the spot you've selected, which takes up the slop in the threads. You can easily feel this happening.

Hope someone finds these useful. If you know any more, please bring ‘em on!
dougdeacon

Showing 19 responses by dan_ed

Thanks for these great tips, Doug! And thanks also for bringing this thread back to the top so I don't have to search for it. My Triplanar is back from Galibier along with the armpod. Now I can get the arm mounted and tweaked up.
I was wondering if that might happen with the wires twisted together. Did you braid them all together or in +/- pairs? To my mind this tweak is more for mechanical damping. Maybe just a loose twist of all four to keep them together and make a stiffer bundle to eliminate vibrations?

I do have some very small tie wraps. A few more tenths of a gram down by the headshell. ;-) Maybe the heavier XV-1s would like that.
You get red or basic black. No color coordination options at present. :-)

It is certainly safer to remove the cart and arm from the table, no argument about that. :-)

The trick is to use medium-high heat, aim the gun over the headshell towards the end of the finger lift so the hot air is blowing away from the cart. Takes less than 2 seconds. The finger lift and headshell never even warm to the touch. But, everyone should assess their own tools, aptitudes and risk tolerances.

I completely agree with regards to the AS, it does depend on several parameters. I guess if I keep going back and forth I should conclude that AS isn't needed in my setup.
Doug, I've recently added a double thickness of shrink wrap, about 3/8" long, to the finger lift. It is butted up against the headshell end. At the time I added this it did seem to clear up some inner fuzzies. Whether this is due to damping or the additional few tenths of a gram I can't say.

Be very careful with the heat gun if anyone tries this. Don't point it towards the cartridge leads or anywhere in the direction of the cartridge. It is quick and easy to set the shrink wrap, just be careful and think about where the heat is being directed.

Also, I'm still going back and forth on some AS vs. no AS.
Hi Mike! Nice to hear from a fellow edgarhorn-er. ;-)

Thanks for that bit of verification. I fell back to the shrink wrap after deciding not to try to force the tiny screws, and more importantly for me, did not want to give up the finger lift.

Nice tip on the wires. It makes good sense to address the leads.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. No, we all only have one AS weight, but a good number of us aren't using any AS either. Personally, I'm still going back and forth between no AS and a tiny bit, but not for tracking issues. Sometimes I think a tad bit of AS helps the weight of the music. YMMV and all that. :-)
I don't think I'm getting my meaning across, Nandric, so I'll stop with this last OT post here. ;-)I'm not talking philosophy, but perhaps tradition is a good word. I suppose I'm talking about the difference between intellectual tradition and street tradition. I used to joke "I speak southern, I jest cain't hep it." So you see that even in different parts of America expressions are different and can mean different things to the locals. I understand this is true all over the world and not just with English.

When I studied languages in college, this was pointed out by most every instructor. Although most of Latin America speaks Spanish, many of the dialects don't translate as one might expect if they translate at all. This is the point I'm trying to make about spoken languages. Usually what is taught in schools is not what is spoken on the streets. Unfortunately, you have come across a non-intellectual American. :-)
I understand Nandric, and I am not saying it is your fault, or anyone's fault. It is the international learning curve. ;-) It is what little direct contact I have had with some Europeans that caused me to realize that certain grammatical phrases can take on a completely different tone than what one may have intended. Sometimes just by changing the order of a few words. Live and learn.
Paperw8, did you TRY listening to the TP with that trough removed? Atmasphere posted that he also has removed the trough, or did you miss that?
What is obvious to me, Paperw8, is that you have had your TP for a few months, we're going on many years of our own experiences with the TP. I have had my TP for five years and I know that is far less than the length of time Thom and Doug have owned their arms. I see that you are relatively new to Audiogon, so maybe we all need to get to know one another a little better before we go poking sticks, or tapping, in other people's faces.

Tapping on a Rega to find resonance points is one thing, tapping on a Triplanar is plain foolish and will not reveal the differences in nuance that these tips address. The vibrations created at the cartridge are entirely different from the vibrations you created by tapping on your arm. Your empirical observations are completely irrelevant to what happens in the cart/arm during playback. And let's not forget that the particular cart in use will have an impact on the vibrations the arm sees.
Paperw8, while you're experimenting with removing the trough, here is something for you to ponder about. The equation you cited for estimating the resonant frequency of the system formed by the arm/cart is just that. An estimate. Real measurements of a given arm/cart often give different results. This equation should be taken as nothing more than a sanity check of the particular arm/cart pairing being considered. If the numbers are close you are probably ok but nothing more. If the numbers are off you need to find another combination.

You are on the right track with this tonearm resonance issue. It is very much a result of the amount of energy a cart is allowed to impart back into the arm. This is not only a function of the compliance, but also the damping of the cartridge itself. Some cartridges are notorious for transferring relatively significant amounts of energy into the arm. At that point it becomes the problem of the arm designer to deal with these vibrations. Again, we're talking about the small (small to us, but potentially devastating to our delicate arm/cart system) amount of energy generated in the cantilever and cartridge body. I hope from this that you can see why tapping is akin to driving an amp into saturation. It really doesn't say much at all about what happens during normal playback.

I have no formal arts training either, but do have degrees in EE and CS, so maybe we can find a common line of reasoning.
Doug, please make a call on this. This is turning into a much deeper, and much more intelligent, discussion on this topic of arm/cart resonances. While it is relevant to the thread topic it will venture in other directions. We can discuss here, or take it to another thread.
That's ok, Ralph. I don't get the whole, Atmasphere thing either. Same rave over your amps. I don't hear anything special.
As Dertornarm stated before those are
mechanical matters and mechanics don't care about our subjective preference. But according to you and some others it is nearly impossible to get AS right. But whay bother then?

Ah, then it is perhaps Dertonearm's agenda that you project. We get that you, he, and a few others don't like the Triplanar and prefer another arm. If I had to guess I would say it is the Phantom II, based on Dertonearm's postings. You need to understand that we really do not care what you people think and we are quite happy with the Triplanar.

Nandric, this is a thread about ways to possibly get a Triplanar working better for its owner. It is not about you getting a platform to tell us what you don't like about the Triplanar and what other arms you do like. There are plenty of other threads where that is discussed.
Nandric, you have crossed into the realm of "what I prefer", not what is necessary to produce music. I don't know Tri and have no interest in protecting him or anyone else. I don't give a crap what tonearm you buy and you are certainly entitled to your opinions, but your agenda is beginning to show.

You keep repeating this 5000 Euro price, but the Triplanar can be purchased for less than $4K US. The last time I checked that is about 2800 euro. Who is exaggerating?

You will never get a satisfactory answer from any tonearm or cartridge manufacturer about what the proper amount of AS is for any given arm/cart/table. There are just too many variables and you have mentioned the most important one. That is how do you, or I, prefer the sound. Very subjective indeed and it is no surprise to me that few tonearm makers provide multiple AS weights. They simply allow you to chase your own tail if you prefer. Some provide no AS adjustment at all. That is not my preference but it does not make them wrong or non-responsive to their customers.
Nandric, I have obviously misunderstood you. I did not wish to continue last week as I felt that my doing so would only detract further from the purpose of this thread. It is often difficult to convey ideas and meanings through written word, at least for me, and I find it even more difficult if I don't stop to consider that other English speaking people don't have the same exposure to colloquialisms as me. Some phrases and words tend to impart a bias one way or another on my thinking based on how I have learned to use English, or American if you will. ;-) Perhaps this is why I sometimes sense antagonism from posts by what I'm guessing are Europeans. I say this because I work with many English speaking Asians and have never felt this urge to say "hey, wait a minute!". In the future I will try to keep this in mind.

Back on topic. I would agree with Nandric that the TP AS weight would appear too heavy based on my experience with this arm and the XV-1s. However, the need for AS is directly related to how well one has the cartridge aligned and the stylus profile in my opinion. I say this because these seem to be the two factors that determine how much static drag there is. If this is true there is no wonder why AS could change from LP to LP, and even from inner to outer groove. I hope all of us TP owners have at least figured out that inner/outer adjustment by now. Again, it appears to be a "one size fits all" weight.

However, I have never tried to calculate what the AS curve looks like as the weight is moved out on the stub. I would expect this to be linear, while the effects of applying AS may not be due to the issues above.

As for making weights, not everything need be metal. I have even used woodworking plug cutters to make small weights out of different hard woods. (Tip: drill them before breaking out of the stock.) This method allows for many differences in mass due to wood densities between species and does provide some weights between nothing and the stock AS weight. So you do get some finer adjustment. The slight downside is that the wood can impart a hint of coloration, and I bet brass does as well. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just to be expected. Heck, I've talked to a TP owner or two who don't like the o-rings because they feel this use dampens things to much. No wonder AS is regarded as a near "mystical" adjustment.

Good to hear we have another "smart gay" in our midst. :-) :-) Sorry, that struck me as just too funny to pass up!
Paperw8, I would advise you to stop tapping and start listening. Your test, by the way, does not tell you anything about resonances during playback and that is what is important. (I'd like to find the first guy who ever started this "tapping" argument and punch him in the mouth. It proves nothing.) We don't know what your system is but I believe it is you who needs to spend time listening to your new TP to get to know it better with respect to your system and what ever cartridge you are using. If you don't hear improvements by following the advice offered hear, that's ok, but don't assume that those of us who find good improvement by reducing some of the resonant parts are hypnotized or sipping kool-aid.

If you can get up to New England I'd be glad to show just what the TP sounds like, with and without these parts installed.

Syntax, it can be said the Talea is similar to several other arms if we only take looks into account. You are correct that the Talea has surpassed the TP, and I agree with your assessment of the TP.

disclaimer, Talea dealer and TP owner