Claim what you want to...

Posted by EdAInWestOC (A) on July 19, 2017 at 10:30:23

In Reply to: Scare Tactics? posted by frankwm on July 19, 2017 at 08:45:37:

Tracking at the lower end of manufacturers specs is not a great thing to attempt. The cartridge has a recommended tracking force range for a reason and that reason is not ours to discard.

The VTF range is arrived at after lots of experimentation and engineering on the part of the people who design the cartridge. The VTF range includes, as part of its reasoning, the location of the coil, magnets, actuator within the magnetic field. This is effected by the VTF and the recommended VTF setting has much to do with optimum positioning of generator parts in the cartridge.

Trying to make the cartridge track at its minimum VTF is asking for problems you really do not need. If you succeed maybe you can brag about it but I'm not in this hobby to brag about what VTF setting I track at. Also, at the lower end of the VTF range invites mistracking issues, which I mentioned in my last post.

Keeping the stylus in firm contact with the groove walls is important from too many aspects to mention and top quality musical reproduction starts with proper tracking of as much information as the stylus can extract. If the stylus looses contact with the groove walls, you are either loosing resolution or the stylus may make contact with the opposite wall of the groove and start slamming back and forth...hence mistracking.

Like I started, its not worth pushing the cartridge to try and make it track at the lowest end of its VTF range. Too low a VTF is more of an issue than a higher VTF.

I have always used the recommended setting or, in absence of that figure, mid-way in the VTF range. If the difference between the low end of the range and the middle of the VTF range is 0.5 grams, I cannot see how 0.5 grams will extend the lifespan on my LPs. I can believe it may help properly track the grooves but save my LPs? Thats laughable.

The difference between what I used to track at with the Shure V15s or ADC XLMs (I owned quite a few of those over the years) and my current LOMCs is about 1 gram VTF. I've been using LOMC cartridges for close to 40 years now without any LP wear issues.

Ed
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - New Cartridge - fstein 09:53:00 07/12/17 (17)

RE: New ADC - hifitommy 05:12:15 07/14/17 (0)

RE: New Cartridge - mr.bear 12:02:54 07/13/17 (15)

"Common wisdom regarding record wear"? - EdAInWestOC 05:56:51 07/19/17 (9)

Scare Tactics? - frankwm 08:45:37 07/19/17 (8)

Claim what you want to... - EdAInWestOC 10:30:23 07/19/17 (1)

RE: Claim what you want to... - frankwm 10:41:40 07/19/17 (0)

"Nor, in the case of [ ]Shure, should you need worry about inherent suspension degradation over many decades" - 1973shovel 09:35:18 07/19/17 (5)

That's not what Shure says. - frankwm 10:15:15 07/19/17 (4)

What sort of Racist low life are you? - coffee-phil 16:50:47 07/19/17 (1)

RE: What sort of Racist low life are you? - frankwm 17:19:36 07/19/17 (0)

That's exactly what Shure says - 1973shovel 16:00:07 07/19/17 (1)

RE: That's exactly what Shure says - rindolini 17:48:09 07/19/17 (0)

RE: New Cartridge - frankwm 16:20:08 07/16/17 (0)

Checked the V-M site, and the $49 108-DET is no longer available. nt - alaskahiatt 21:43:39 07/14/17 (2)

RE: Checked the V-M site, and the $49 108-DET is no longer available. nt - Crazy Dave 11:02:51 07/16/17 (1)

Thanks. They both sound interesting. nt - alaskahiatt 21:27:28 07/18/17 (0)

RE: New Cartridge - fstein 17:41:45 07/13/17 (0)

Follow Ups

Claim what you want to... - EdAInWestOC 10:30:23 07/19/17 (1)

RE: Claim what you want to... - frankwm 10:41:40 07/19/17 (0)

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