View Full Version : RTFM: Ever realised you've done something stoopid...?
Uhm,
just realised something?
My Rega deck came setup from the factory with fitted cartridge, so no setup required...so no need to check the manual?
Me being me,
Not long after I got it I messed about with the tracking force and anti-skate settings by ear, couldn't leave well alone.
Off work this week so messing about with hifi stuff, cleaning records with the new RCM and working out power draw for all my kit, trying to decide whether to leave my system on 24/7.
Ok with it sounding better this way, but not if its gonna cost a fortune to run when I'm out during the day.
Anyway:
Checked the Rega TT manual for the first time to see specs for the power supply and what it drew from the wall.
17 watts, which is nothing really.
Cool.
Not so cool:
I also found this section in the manual about arm setup? :doh:
https://i.imgur.com/g4QSqM1.jpg
Turns out since I messed with the arm a long time back I've had close to zero anti-skate applied to my arm...oh dear.
I'd read the markings on the anti-skate dial the opposite way I should have.
Reading the manual would have been helpful!
Worra plonker! :D
Fixed now and forgotten about.
No idea about sound, will sit down later.
Curious though, would zero anti-skate being applied have made a difference at all, arm setup vs sound quality wise?
Jac Hawk
07-04-2021, 10:17
Not such a biggy mate anti skate is best done by ear in my opinion and i'm told the markings on the Rega arms can be wildly out, when you have a couple of hours sit down with a drink and sort it.
Ali Tait
07-04-2021, 10:18
Not much difference to sound I don't think, but wrong anti skate can apply a sideways force on the cantilever which over time can torque it over to one side.
I would not be too concerned Gary, better no anti skate than too much. I run my VPI without any anti skate for years and still do and it sounds better than when I apply anti skate!:)
well that it... whole rig is buggered mate; i will take it off your hands for a small fee:ner: if it was lowering ok with it off, then its likely the antiskate is doing very little
Thanks chaps.
Way I set it before was mostly "by eye", looking for the needle lurching left or right when I set it down.
Good to know no harm done, been reading some folks prefer it without any AS, so system/preferences dependent I guess.
@Struth
Swap the rig for your whisky collection :eyebrows:
brian2957
07-04-2021, 10:43
It wouldn't be a 'collection' if you got your hands on it :lol:
It wouldn't be a 'collection' if you got your hands on it :lol:
Not fer long! :D
wouldnt do my liver any harm tho:)
If your tonearm is a Gimbal bearing then it maybe be affected more by anti skate than a Unipivot.
willbewill
07-04-2021, 10:58
I'm assuming RP10?
Here are some words from the man himself
"How do you set up anti-skate?
(Laughs) It's not critical and varies with the depth of the groove. In almost all circumstances it's not important but if you get mistracking on the right channel you need a bit more bias. Our arms have magnetic anti-skate and we provide markings on the bias adjuster to match the downforce of the cartridge."
https://www.the-ear.net/features/roy-gandy-rega-rp10
Its the newer P10 Malcolm, RB3000 arm.
Like me not reading the manual,
I've got Rega's book "A Vibration measuring machine", and still not even read THAT! :lol:
Sure there's good info in there, about time I dug it out and had a look.
Mr Gandy likes to do things differently (i.e. no VTA adjust) so all things Anti-Skate "The Rega way" is worth a browse.
From memory when fitting my last arm to my older deck, the advice of Jonny (Audio Origami) was "Set it at 1.75 and forget it".
Think I'll do that and just enjoy the records.
Ali Tait
07-04-2021, 11:35
Yeah sounds like good advice mate.
hifi_dave
07-04-2021, 12:57
Anti skate is not a life and death thing, so don't lose any sleep.
The Rega bias adjuster is always a little too much but will do no harm. Just set it a little lower than your tracking weight. If you are tracking at 2g, set it at 1.5g and relax.
Done.
Sounds better than it did with no AS set to 1.5.
happy with that, thanks Dave.
And thanks all.
Time to kick back with some LPs..
https://i.imgur.com/SVR6HSC.jpg
Anti skate is not a life and death thing, so don't lose any sleep.
The Rega bias adjuster is always a little too much but will do no harm. Just set it a little lower than your tracking weight. If you are tracking at 2g, set it at 1.5g and relax.
^^ What he said
The manual for the RP8 is slightly confusing too but using the HIFI news test record and my ears I’ve come to the same conclusion as Dave has stated above.
Beobloke
07-04-2021, 14:00
For years, I set anti-skating for minimum distortion in each channel using a test LP and oscilloscope.
Then I noticed that, about 90% of the time, the value that achieved this was just over half the tracking weight so, since then, that’s what I dial up.
Occasionally I do double check it and it’s rarely very far out.
Cheers Adam,
works for you...works for me.
thanks.
For years, I set anti-skating for minimum distortion in each channel using a test LP and oscilloscope.
Then I noticed that, about 90% of the time, the value that achieved this was just over half the tracking weight so, since then, that’s what I dial up.
Occasionally I do double check it and it’s rarely very far out.
Your experience tallies with mine - for the great majority of cartridges the anti-skating is 50 -75% of the VTA. Obviously it depends to some extent on the stylus profile, but I find that with nearly all of the tonearms I have used, the arm manufacturer's advice leads to too much bias.
walpurgis
08-04-2021, 15:39
Your experience tallies with mine - for the great majority of cartridges the anti-skating is 50 -75% of the VTA. Obviously it depends to some extent on the stylus profile, but I find that with nearly all of the tonearms I have used, the arm manufacturer's advice leads to too much bias.
That is also what I've found, I'm not too fussy about it though. The only cartridges that I found particularly demanding were Decca Blues and each one wanted a different setting.
That is also what I've found, I'm not too fussy about it though. The only cartridges that I found particularly demanding were Decca Blues and each one wanted a different setting.
Deccas are a law unto themselves, along with the huge (and unacceptable) unit-to-unit variation in quality. However get a good one and be painstaking with the setup, and it will produce results which leave all other cartridges in its wake.
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