What digital scale do you use?

[Tea24]

For VTF of course. Personally I use the Canrong one ( which is also sold under the Roksan, Pro-ject and several other names) which is not a bad little beast but it is difficult to get it to measure the exact same reading time after time.

Do any of you have any experience of the Clearaudio or Ortofon ones; are they any better in this respect? The Clearaudio looks as if its platform might be a bit narrow if you have a cartridge with a stylus which wasn't well forward.

The Cartridge Man and Winds ones are almost certainly the best but very expensive - a little too rich for me methinks.

Would love to hear what you clever chaps use and how good you find your chosen one.

[bogle111]

Hi Julian,

I still use the old faithful Technics though have been tempted to get a digital one, as it seems there are some about at reasonable prices. I have found though that identical carts can have different characteristics that require a slightly different force.

Regards
Pete

[Beobloke]

DIGITAL scale??? I'll have you know this is the Analogue section, good sir. :doh:

Consequently, Pete's Technics is perfect, or else you should be using one of these -

[Tea24]

I have a Garrard but I do like a little more accuracy.

[StanleyB]

I use my old and trusted mechanical Shure scale. The fine tuning is down to my ears, using the musical scale.

[worrasf]

I use my old and trusted mechanical Shure scale. The fine tuning is down to my ears, using the musical scale.

+1 for the Sure scales. They are easy to use and very accurate when measured against digital scales reading to 4 decimal places :eek:

Steve

[Tea24]

I have the Shure scale also, but with Parkinsons & fading eyesight I do not find them easy to use

[AlexM]

Main problem with my Shure gauge is that it is magnetic!. Not good with my Benz ACE SM - unless the cantilever is right on the edge of the seesaw, the magnets put massive strain on the cantilever - very scary!..

I also use a digital weighing scale (£10 from eBay) with a bent strip of plastic in a 'z' profile to lower the effective height of the gauge to record level. I make a pin prick to securely locate the stylus and stuck the strip to the weighing platform with bluetac. This seems to be very accurate, cheap, and repeatable!.
Regards,
Alex

[MartinT]

I use one of these, but it's unbranded and cost about £25 from eBay.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/images/main/Roksan_Digital_Stylus_Gauge_649.jpg

[Tea24]

That's the one I use Martin & the one I am 'complaining' about.

Nobody here use the Clearaudio or Ortofon? Must be someone, surely amongst you fanatical lot:ner:

[MartinT]

No complaints here. I also have a Shure balance to double-check the readings.

You could always lower the arm onto your finger and if the stylus draws blood you've probably set the tracking weight too high ;)

[hifi_dave]

DIGITAL scale??? I'll have you know this is the Analogue section, good sir. :doh:

Consequently, Pete's Technics is perfect, or else you should be using one of these -

I also use the Garrard SFG3 and have done since it's introduction, way back when. .:wheniwasaboy:

I also have many other gauges to play with including digital scales, Transcriptor bubbles, Shure, Ortofon etc, etc and I can tell you that not only is the Garrard as accurate as the expensive digital scales but it is far easier to use. I wouldn't swop it for anything.

[Spectral Morn]

I use the Shure, The Project 'Weigh It' and the Roksan one but these days I favour the digital ones over the scales.


Regards D S D L

[Tea24]

Well, if Hifi Dave uses the Garrad then that's good enouhg for me! I must get mine out and recalibrate it. I have to agree with him that it is simple to use and the readout scale is clear even for my eyes.

So (as so often in life) the old technology is as good as & less fiddly than the modern equivalent. That's why we love vinyl as has been said by others here.

Disagreeing views welcomed:sofa:

[Pete]

I use one of these, but it's unbranded and cost about £25 from eBay.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/images/main/Roksan_Digital_Stylus_Gauge_649.jpg

I have the same type digital gauge, bought it from SoraSound for about $50.
No complaints, very sensitive in its readings.

[pure sound]

I use one of these.

http://www.121wholesale.co.uk/121zc/digital.scales/myco-mz-100-digital-pocket-scale-0-01g

Works very well.

[hughmc2]

I'm a bit late spotting this one but there might be some poor people like me out there that would appreciate this -

I recently received some digital scales that I ordered off Ebay to check my stylus pressure. they cost £6.29 inc' postage.

They told me my stylus was set at 1.79gms. Pretty good as the dial on the RB300 on my Gyro said 1.8....... Chuffed

But what if these cheap scales are wrong ? So the next morning I weighed an envelope on our company "Ohaus Pro" ??. It says 4.14gms. My cheapo scales read 4.14gms. Ta rah ! A paper clip 2.02gm. My cheapo's 2.02 Ta rah.. again !

Why would anybody spend a small fortune on specialised hifi force gauges ?

Get into "Age Concern" and spend your hard earned on some 2nd hand vinyl instead of a set of atomic scales.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Have you checked what happens if you weigh something while you suspend a magnet close above it?

[Reid Malenfant]

Have you checked what happens if you weigh something while you suspend a magnet close above it?
Good point Chris ;)

However, most of these so called cheap meters use a stainless steel mechanism that is effectively an RF transmitter. The weight of the object moves parts of the mechanism & effectively alters the capacitance & this alters the resonance frequency of the transmitter, which is how you get your reading :)

They are just about impervious to magnetic fields, if they were not then they certainly couldn't weigh anything accurately ;)

[hughmc2]

The scales appear to be made from aluminium alloy and nobody is going to convince me that the tiny magnets in my AT440mla are effecting the electronic workings of the scales.
Even if it had an effect it would be in increments seldom used outside precicison machine workshops.
If we are going to work in those tolerances then we really need to go down a different line....

get rid of all your carpets and soft furnishings in the listening room. All carpets contain dust and dust mites. When you open the door to go into the room turbulence wafts both into the air. When you plonk yourself down in your favourite chair they are propelled into the air. They float around, taking up to 2 hours to land....on your LP or equipment. Dust mites are 0.3mm across. Dust mite poo, after a heavy night out, could be 0.003mm. Remind me again, how wide is the groove on a record ?

I have looked at a lot of the pics in the gallery. Some people need to stop worrying about cryogenically frozen speaker cables and get aquainted with a hoover and a damp duster. Not your good-selves of course.

or in other words - lets keep things in perspective :)

[selfaddict]

I used to use Shure as well before I found a great deal on second hand Clearaudio Weight Watcher. This is the old silver color model. The new black one seems to be rubbish according to my friend who has it.

[The Grand Wazoo]

The scales appear to be made from aluminium alloy and nobody is going to convince me that the tiny magnets in my AT440mla are effecting the electronic workings of the scales.
Even if it had an effect it would be in increments seldom used outside precicison machine workshops.
..........If we are going to work in those tolerances then we really need to go down a different line....

.........or in other words - lets keep things in perspective :)

Well, not to be picky, but you did actually quote a reading which is purporting to be accurate to within 0.01 of a gramme. Now, if the pad that you put the stylus on were made of something ferrous, do you think that a magnet, no matter how tiny, suspended millimetres above it would have no effect on the measured result? If not, then the scales wouldn't be up to the job, would they?
If the material isn't ferrous, then that's great. I asked the question because I was interested, not because I think your scales are shite.

[Reid Malenfant]

You brought up a good point Chris, the magnets in cartridges appear to be very powerful for there size (definately in the case of MCs) so it is not only possible, but more than likely that they would affect scales with ferrous components & give a false reading.

Which actually brings up another important point, keep them away from anything ferrous when not in use on a TT ;) Preferably boxed up & safe!

@ Hugh, yes aluminium would make a lot more sense & thinking about it (rather than stainless steel) it'd have to be or I'd notice the rather heavy mass, which isn't there as it happens :eyebrows: Cheers for clearing that up.

[hughmc2]

I asked the question because I was interested, not because I think your scales are shite.

I think my version of a sense of humour does not come across very well on these forums.
All I was originally trying to do was to let people, ( who don't feel able or inclined to blow £100 on a "stylus pressure gauge" ) , know that there is an accurate enough, cheap alternative.

here is a link to the item if anybody wants it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140539432596

[Marco]

Smilies can work wonders, Hugh, in that respect... Ask Chris, he's their biggest fan! ;)

Marco.

[The Grand Wazoo]

here is a link to the item if anybody wants it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140539432596

I pretty nearly always applaud any move to prevent the habitual overpricing that's endemic in the world of hi-fi. I get to do that while justifying my position as a tight git of almost legendary renown.

.........and the advert says that the pad is made of stainless steel, so I might just get myself one because the Shure balance I've used for 20 years is as fiddly as hell to use if you're a clumsy eedjit like me.
So thank you.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Thanks for fetching this thread to my attention guys I just ordered one as well.