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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jul 18, 2014 10:26:04 GMT -5
i heard keith L talking about how turntables in the old days had a lot or maybe even too much tracking force. I would have quoted him and asked the question on that thread, but I forgot where I read it. I currently have the music hall MMF-2.2 turntable with the supplied music hall tracker cartridge/stylus. it has a recommended tracking force of about 1.75 grams. I was told that damage to vinyl occurs more often with too little tracking force, so I switched mine from 1.89 grams to 1.99 grams. does this sound about right? (I also heard that there is different tracking force recommended for different cartridges, but I'm not sure if this is true. it seems like the vinyl itself would desire a certain tracking force no matter what the cartridge.)
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Post by autiger on Jul 18, 2014 10:40:31 GMT -5
Google turntable tracking force. First, I'm no authority, but: The amount of tracking force is based on the cartridge. Tracking force effects the vibration/flexibility of the cantilever holding the tip. The vibration from the cantilever generates the current used to create the music. To little or to much tracking force doesn't allow the cantilever to vibrate/perform/move as it was designed. Hope this helps.
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KeithL
Administrator 
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Post by KeithL on Jul 18, 2014 11:46:48 GMT -5
You are indeed correct.... Most cartridges come with a recommended tracking force range - which you should follow. In general, you should contact the folks who made your cartridge and choose a value within their recommended range - unless you have credible expert advice to go outside that range. With a turntable that is working properly, anything within this range should both work fine and sound the best, and should cause the least wear on the stylus and your records. Going heavier will put extra wear on the stylus and the record, and shouldn't improve anything else. Going lighter may reduce the wear slightly, but increases the likelihood of the stylus mistracking - which can cause damage to the stylus and the record, and also increases the chance of the stylus bouncing right off the surface - which can cause even more damage. (If they gave you a specific value and not a range, I wouldn't personally worry about going 15% over it, although I might worry that going 15% under might cause mistracking.) You should only go significantly outside of this range if you have a specific reason and know precisely what you're doing. In general, the "appropriate" tracking force is determined by things like the shape of the diamond stylus, the springiness of the cantilever that it is mounted to, the squishiness of the attachments inside the cartridge, and certain characteristics of your tone arm and of vinyl itself. (It's actually a rather complex mechanical system.) Most of these are best known by the manufacturer of the cartridge, although some turntable manufacturers may also make recommendations (like "we've found that cartridge XYZ tracks better on our particular turntable if you stay to the heavier end of their recommended tracking range".) While all of these factors may cause undue record wear or damage, most audiophiles are more or less careful to get things right. With used records, the main risk is the fellow who plays his albums on a "record player", with a steel "cactus needle", cleans them with a scouring pad when the dirt becomes obvious, and piles a few nickels on the end of the arm when it won't stay on the record. (OK, a slight exaggeration there - although not always as much as we might hope - but a record can be damaged very severely without it's being visible to the naked eye.) i heard keith L talking about how turntables in the old days had a lot or maybe even too much tracking force. I would have quoted him and asked the question on that thread, but I forgot where I read it. I currently have the music hall MMF-2.2 turntable with the supplied music hall tracker cartridge/stylus. it has a recommended tracking force of about 1.75 grams. I was told that damage to vinyl occurs more often with too little tracking force, so I switched mine from 1.89 grams to 1.99 grams. does this sound about right? (I also heard that there is different tracking force recommended for different cartridges, but I'm not sure if this is true. it seems like the vinyl itself would desire a certain tracking force no matter what the cartridge.) |
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jul 18, 2014 13:51:31 GMT -5
i just heard back from roy hall himself via email and he said: "you can safely track between 1.5 and 2.0 grams. 1.75 is the optimal tracking force". so, folks, based on this should I keep at at 1.99 or move it back to 1.89 or maybe just put it at 1.75? I want to get this correct for the long term survival of my vinyl.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230 
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Post by novisnick on Jul 18, 2014 13:53:59 GMT -5
i just heard back from roy hall himself via email and he said: "you can safely track between 1.5 and 2.0 grams. 1.75 is the optimal tracking force". so, folks, based on this should I keep at at 1.99 or move it back to 1.89 or maybe just put it at 1.75? I want to get this correct for the long term survival of my vinyl. Posts like this are smut to me,,,,,,,,  Thanks!!!!!! |
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jul 18, 2014 13:58:59 GMT -5
i just heard back from roy hall himself via email and he said: "you can safely track between 1.5 and 2.0 grams. 1.75 is the optimal tracking force". so, folks, based on this should I keep at at 1.99 or move it back to 1.89 or maybe just put it at 1.75? I want to get this correct for the long term survival of my vinyl. Posts like this are smut to me,,,,,,,, Thanks!!!!!!ok "novisnick", didn't mean to smut you up...carry on...as you were... |
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Post by mshump on Jul 18, 2014 17:52:33 GMT -5
i just heard back from roy hall himself via email and he said: "you can safely track between 1.5 and 2.0 grams. 1.75 is the optimal tracking force". so, folks, based on this should I keep at at 1.99 or move it back to 1.89 or maybe just put it at 1.75? I want to get this correct for the long term survival of my vinyl. I would set it as they suggest, optimal setting of 1.75G |
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jul 18, 2014 20:28:23 GMT -5
I got it set at 1.77 and that's it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2014 5:22:47 GMT -5
I got it set at 1.77 and that's it. ! It depends on how stiff the spring is!   |
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Post by frenchyfranky on Jul 21, 2014 13:19:30 GMT -5
I got it set at 1.77 and that's it. ! It depends on how stiff the spring is! It must be the perfect cartridge for playing this type of vinyl.  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 16:43:19 GMT -5
About this much...  |
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