Dear Moonglum: Thank's to brought here again the AS critical and misunderstood AS subject.
I know that you started this thread because the worry of stylus wear but over and behind the stylus wear subject the AS issue has more critical implications.
Like Nandric pointed out: we can deny Newton laws that apply to the AS subject as Tonywinsc posted.
Some of us audiophiles said that we hear better LP performance quality level with out AS but this is only a subjective point that we can't really prove in any ways other that " I like it that way " that for the overall subject research means almost nothing.
That old Audio article you linked is a learning one ( for say the least ) on the AS subject that kill all and for ever different " myths " about and against AS.
Between other things we can read there the importance to the AS aplication that the cartridge/tonearm overhang stay in precise/accurate way according the geometry set up alternative we choosed ( Löfgren, Baerwald, Stevenson and the like. ) and here we have to remember that each one we make changes on VTA/VTF we are changing too overhang and we have to re-set because that overhang change affect the AS force and tracking cartridge habilities/tracking distortion.
According with that AS study and by common sense AS aplication improves tracking cartridge habilities that means more recovery music information from the record grooves with lower distortions and this sole/unique fact makes that AS parameter must be aplicated always in a pivoted tonearm that has offset angle characteristic.
IMHO, AS is not something that we use it if want or not, I repeat it is a must to. Now, maybe some of us heard no improvements through the AS aplication because that AS force aplication is not very well aplicated by the tonearm design but not because AS is useless: no, it is not.
The PUA 237 is a clever idea on the tonearm AS use and if we look to the AT 1010/1100 tonearm designs we can confirm what the study showed: that differnt stylus shape needs different AS use.
The AS overall subject as many other audio subjects is not solved yet at 100%, so we have to expect that things on AS use improves in the near future.
I for onece will be to re-set all my tonearm/cartridge I use according with what we are learning here, this means using AS in the more precise/accuarte way I can with the tonearm /cartridge I have because one of my main goals in my audio system is to lower distortions at each single audio link in the system chain and improving cartridge tracking is a primary way to achieve that target.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
