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65.24.12.101
I don't know why I care about this but... I'm using the HFN test record to calibrate the antiskate setting on my Morch UP4. With my old cart (Dyna 10x5) this was okay... I got it through the tracks without too much effort. However, with my new cart (Lyra Argo) I have to use a ridiculous amount of antiskate to get it to come close to passing track 6. Ridiculous as in so much antiskate that when I swing the arm out the spring pulls it all the way back. That can't be right can it? Do I have some much more nefarious problem or should I just learn how to do it by ear?
Follow Ups:
By turning off all antiskate, and undoing the arm's counter-weight so the arm is completely free to float? Does the arm hover freely at any spot over the playing surface? Most antiskate problems center around the arm not being completely balanced and free to move in the horizontal plane. Too often, in typical audiophile fashion, a bubble-level is used on the table itself with the assumption that this will neutralize the gravitational forces placed on the arm. This is bad science.If the arm doesn't float without movement, shim the TT until it does- even if the TT looks out of level. Usually the TT not being set to 'true' level this way is the cause of most antiskate problems.
In the relationship of arm to TT, the tail (arm) must wag the dog!
Based on past threads and personal experience...the stylus shape used on Lyra cartridges tends to have quite a bit of drag, hence the need for additional anti-skate. I had to add addition weight to my anti-skate mechanism (NA Spacearm) while using both a Lydian B and a Helikon, in order to compensate. Otherwise when the stylus touched the record, it would skate inward. This approach was recommended to me by Tom Fletcher of NA. as that is what he did when using a Helikon. This seems like a common problem when Lyra's are used with lower mass tonearms.
It may need more break in time. My Grado was aweful for the first 85 hours or so when it came to setting bias.If you have adequate break in time, you may have a cartridge arm mismatch. You may need a different wand.
and forget it! These test records'll have you nuts!
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
nt
q
Yeah, the instructions are clear but for one misleading contradiction:" Band 9: Bias setting (anti-skate) -300Hz tone L+R, +18dB. Same as above but a real torture track! Please note that if your cartridge tracks bands 6, 7 and 8 satisfactorily, then for all practical purposes you should have no problems tracking any record. The last track is really an ultimate test of cartridge suspension design."
Remember; bands 6 through 9 are supposed to be "bias setting (anti-skate)" tests, yet the instructions suddenly veer off into tracking ability testing and torture tracks.
I think this is the cause of all the confusion. People are trying to "pass" the tracking obstacle course while setting anti-skating at the same time.
That's why it's important to find the point where your stylus just begins to mistrack and go no further. Otherwise, you'll get far too much groove drag and end up with a huge excess of bias compensation.
Doesn't have any.
unless you change the Horiz. eff. mass...which is always too high, too much higher than V. eff. mass on all linear arms. There are no carts with high V compliance and low H compliance, so mechanical interface will never be right w/linear arm.
I have a UP-4 too, and after loosening the anti-skate watchspring screw to release all the tension, I usually only need to re-tension the watchspring wheel around one full turn (by hand) to get the anti-skating lever travel in the ballpark for most of the cartridges I've tried.The bias tracks aren't some kind of tracking challenge. It's not about getting through an obstacle course, but finding the threshold where the stylus just begins to audibly lose its hold on the groove so one can determine which channel is letting go first . The only reason there are four tracks of gradually increasing difficulty is that different arm/cartridge combinations have a different threshold where the stylus begins to mistrack.
The idea is to balance the buzz equally on both channels; that's all. Don't try to get rid of the buzz. That will only result in way too much bias compensation, which is why the HFNRR test LP gets a bad rap with those who don't understand how to use it.
Once you get it set at that point, fine-tune it over time by ear using music.
Good post indeed. Even after a couple of years of wasting my time here i learn something.
"The torture never stops"
nt
I had to get my dealer to come back and make adjustments after purchasing. Initially, when a vinyl side was begun, it would skate across a few songs. Once adjusted correctly, it is a killer. Best of luck.
My Argo done the same,but not as drastic,as soon as you lowered the stylus dragged on to the 1st track and this was set up by a dealer.Adjusted the bias myself,now ok.
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