alpha33 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi guys, I am a bit new to TTs. I was redoing alignment etc today, after I realised that the screws on the cartridge were mounted upside down (instead of bottom up), such that things weren't attached correctly. I then had to redo the alignment, which went well, but I noticed something a bit strange when the needle touches the vinyl. It's as if the cantilever was a bit bent: it goes right down and when it "touches down" it goes sideways a tiny bit. Given that the antiskating was "professionally adjusted" to 0.8 while Rega says it should be set at about 1.75 (the tracking weight), I am now wondering if this low weight hasn't kinda bent it a bit. I've put a 2s video of the phenomenon on Dropbox; would appreciated your advice! https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2jaw0wa2p8v6c9/2017-02-19 17.51.02.mov?dl=0 (You can click on download if resolution isn't good enough) Thanks!! Francois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundfan Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I'd bet that your tracking force is set way too low if the cantilever "goes right down". Or your suspension on your cartridge is "shot". But I suspect that you need to ease off on the tracking force, and see the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdarkfish Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 1 hour ago, alpha33 said: Hi guys, I am a bit new to TTs. I was redoing alignment etc today, after I realised that the screws on the cartridge were mounted upside down (instead of bottom up), such that things weren't attached correctly. I then had to redo the alignment, which went well, but I noticed something a bit strange when the needle touches the vinyl. It's as if the cantilever was a bit bent: it goes right down and when it "touches down" it goes sideways a tiny bit. Given that the antiskating was "professionally adjusted" to 0.8 while Rega says it should be set at about 1.75 (the tracking weight), I am now wondering if this low weight hasn't kinda bent it a bit. I've put a 2s video of the phenomenon on Dropbox; would appreciated your advice! https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2jaw0wa2p8v6c9/2017-02-19 17.51.02.mov?dl=0 (You can click on download if resolution isn't good enough) Thanks!! Francois I would not worry about this. Ive had many cartridges which react in the same manner when the cantilever touches the vinyl. You should see what a very high compliance cantilever looks like when it touches down. The sidewards movement is most likely due to antiskate. Let your ears be the best judge. If there is distortion in one channel or one sounds considerably louder than the other then youve got a problem OR its simply poorly setup. Otherwise, sit back relax and enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereonut Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi Alpha33 - you mention that the AS was professionally set - so I'm wondering if the tracking force was set then and if you've recently reset or checked it - and what type of scales you've used. From your attachment I must say it looks a tad heavy for 1.75? Does the imaging sound balanced? SN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter-C Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I agree with@soundfan vtf looks set too high or knackered suspension (a bit hard to tell unless it's a side-on view, does the cantilever touch the body of the cart?)Never had that on one of my carts. Suspension will bottom out on the slightest warp.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregWormald Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 What does it look like when lowered on a rotating record? Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha33 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi, Thank you so much for all the answers!! I've set the weight with the pro-ject microgram scale (and the TT level). I've set the anti-skating, a bit weirdly I admit, by ear using a tracking test record and trying to get the same amount of distortion on both channels- this ended up being almost exactly on 1.75. I said it was "professionally set" with quotes because it came back from the shop where I'd been offered a realignment with an anti-skating of 0.8 (Rega advises 1.75 for the Elys2). Will try with turning record tonight - thanks again for the help! Francois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha33 Posted February 24, 2017 Author Share Posted February 24, 2017 On 21/02/2017 at 11:51 PM, GregWormald said: What does it look like when lowered on a rotating record? Greg Checked and looks the same. It sounds pretty good and weight is correct, so I guess I'll just ignore it until the next upgraditis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimbo Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) It looks like you have a touch too much weight on that mate. When the stylus hits the record, you want to see the cantilever just bed in, or slightly flex. Edited February 24, 2017 by Wimbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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