How to Balance a Turntable Tonearm & Set Tracking Force - Vinyl 101
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Adjusting your tonearm tracking force is one of the most important aspects of setting up your turntable.
You need to apply the correct amount of downward pressure so the stylus can accurately track your records.
Failing to set this correctly can result in poor sound quality, or worse, damaged records.
Thankfully, balancing a turntable arm and adjusting the tonearm weight correctly is a straightforward task that anyone can do at home. Follow our step-by-step guide, and you'll be spinning those lovely records in no time.
Resources & Links (Contains Amazon Affiliate Links - AAF):
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Tracking force gauge (AAL): geni.us/tracki...
Test Record (AAL): geni.us/hifi-n...
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#vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #audiophile
Thanks for watching! 🎶🎧 Do drop your comments and questions below. If you'd like to support the channel, check the video description for many DISCOUNT CODES codes to enjoy money off various products and feed your vinyl habit! (I earn a small commission - no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
Brilliant and straightforward for any who are a little unsure or new to the game. I use exactly the same method. One thing I think I missed there is first make sure the deck is pretty much level in all directions. Really helps with that anti-skate adjustment and general playback thereafter 👌
Great point added. Glad you liked the video!
Great video but the background music is annoying.
Upgraded the cartridge on my turntable, and needed to rebalance the tonearm. Thanks to this video, I made light work of it. Thank you, looking forward to many more hours of happy listening 😊😊
Great! I'm glad the video helped. Enjoy the new cartridge and happy listening!
Unreal, man! I've been putting this off because I can't buy the calibration equipment right now. This was too easy, I appreciate it
Glad it helped! Happy spinning 🎶🎧
First step, balance the recordplayer itself.
Best video I’ve seen so far simple, easy and accurate 👍
Glad it helped! Happy spinning 🎶🎧
Just found this.... Thank you, I've been bought a Garrard AP75 and an amp as a gift, however it skates and bounces so your video will be a great help especially as I don't know anything about HiFi
Love it!! Super clear and simple. Thanks a ton!!
Glad it helped and thanks for watching :)
100% important. Especially when your invisible roommate moves the weight, and also messes up your heater thermostat. 😆 Otherwise skipping records will drive you absolutely nuts.
Thank you for your helpful information , as I’m about to purchase a Ortofone 2M bronze for a pioneer turntable. Keep it up sir 👍
Just seen your comment: how is the 2M Bronze? Good? Happy spinning
What's the background track? I want to play it for when I want guests to leave.
Lovely simple explanation. Now i know....
Glad it helped! Happy spinning
Nowww I got it. Great video thanks!
Really glad to help. Enjoy the music
@@soundmatters with everything dialed in properly and correct VTA it sounds awesome. Makes a big difference!
Very helpful video…truly appreciate it !!!
Great! Always nice to hear. Enjoy the music!
Love it!! Super clear. Thanks a ton!
Great to hear! Happy spinning
Thanx for very good instructions.
Glad it was helpful! Happy spinning 🎶🎧
Could you do a video on the old jam turntable please and on how to adjust the arm and such?
I think those turntables come pre-set from the factory if I'm not mistaken
Rad , thank you!
Thanks for the advice.
so useful cheers
Glad it helped 🎶🎧
Thank you.
Great video
Is placing a penny on a needle arm a good idea?
That one was good .
I can't get my tone arm to sit horizontal - it clicks either too far back or too far forward at a certain point, and doesn't work as a screw back and forwards?
Could it be I'm using different head shells Ortofon Concorde - from standard, so the weight at that end is different?
Thank you
Glad it helped 🎶🎧 - enjoy the music
Ok Marc thank you! I'll bet the sound playback from my new Fluance RT85 would benefit from the fine tuning and especailly the anti-skate test. I purchased the scale and test record as you suggested. Once I receive them I will let you know how it turns out. Also, the test record has many more features for testing here is what is listed: Side 1: Channel Identification, Phasing, Channel Balance, Bias setting
Side 2: Tracking ability, Cartridge & Arm, Lateral & Vertical Resonance, Cartridge alignment, Residual System Noise, Full Range Frequency System Check. Can you or have you done a video explaining these? My next challenge is properly cleaning the records.
Hey Dan. A video on test records would be good actually! I'll add it to my list. Lots of content on the channel and site about cleaning records - just let me know if you have any specific questions :)
Here's a link to the full record cleaning guide, by the way:
www.yoursoundmatters.com/clean-vinyl-records/
Hope it helps
@@soundmatters Well I got the scale and dialed that in perfect to 1.8 (grams - 180 mg) now I have the test kit and it is quite confusing for a novice. First I need to assess the cartridge alignment with the enclosed protractor. There are three test parameters. The first one is Two Point technique suitable for 9" arms. This would be irrelivant since my tonearm is 224 mm or 8.82"; The Next one Universal technique. Suitable for all tonearms: Here is were I have a question: The settings are 30 to 140plus and I need to align the cartridge headshell parallel with the vertical lines printed according to specified by the tonearm manufacturer. The Fluance manual doesn't indicate any such specifications relative to this assessment - any thoughts? I did the third one Linear Offset and it seems quite accurate if I am looking for the correct things.
@@soundmatters Yes I have that link saved. I am thinking that the stronger G3 and rinse might be necessary for older albums that I might purchase.
Hi Marc, I played for over an hour with the HiFi Test LP and still unsure of the anti-skating tracts and which way to adjust the anti-skating value up or down? On Side 1 Track/band 1-5 were self evident and spot on. Then the Bias Settings also referred to as (anti-skating) Track/Band 6-9. I did hear a little distortion on the right channel during playback on Band 6, so do I adjust the value higher or lower? or would I play all the tracks/bands taking notes on which ones I hear any instability then make the adjustments on the first one noticed? The last one? Then there is Side Two with Tracking ability test? Is that the same as anti-skating? And many more question because as a novice the instructions on the LP are a totally different language. Example on Side Two Band 2 it states that generally a resonant frequency of between 8-15Hz is considered ideal from a a point of view of a cartridge's ability to track pressing warps and handle rumble? Huh? How do I assess this? Then Band 5 on Side Two tests for Cartridge Alignment? Is that what the protractor was for? I appologize for so many questions and thank you.
@@HeroicCoachDan Hey Dan. No worries at all. I'd like to go more in-depth with this with a full article, but for now I will say this:
Turntable setup can be a polarizing topic as a lot of it is about compromise. Because of how a tonearm pivots from the outside of a record to the center, it can only line up perfectly with the groove in a couple of places. In very simple terms, this is just a law of physics. Records are cut using a linear cutting stylus.
Fluance recommend a Baerwald method protractor, here:
support.fluance.com/s/article/Which-type-of-protractor-is-used-for-cartridge-alignment
As for the anti-skating, this is a much-debated topic also, but in short, the blank space on the test record is there for you to set the "zero point" just as I did with the blank-sided single in this video. From here, you can fine-tune to setting using those test tracks. Because there is groove modulation going on here, this is likely to give you a more accurate reading.
As you're hearing distortion in the right hand channel, it would suggest that the anti-skate (bias) is too strong. This is because the grooves closest to the outside edge of the record are the right-hand channel.
Hope this helps as a starting point. It's best to get your alignment checked first, of course, to make sure this isn't influencing the result.
Do you need to change the tracking force with every vinyl or just with every cartridge replacement?
Just the first time you set up a cartridge 👍 though it is a good idea to check it from time to time. Just in case of any movement
As much as I try to follow all the tutorials, it seems the only way I was able to get tracking pressure (according to the cartridge spec, VM95e) is to use the scale and directly adjust the counterweight so the scale shows 2.0g...it sounds good to me, but still curious what step I did wrong that I can't just set the dial to 2.0 and achieve the final result.
Good job
Thanks! Glad it helped. Enjoy the music!
Thank you!!!
I have an old Realistic Lab 55 turntable and am unsure as to how to adjust the tone arm pressure. It is not obvious. I got it years ago from a friend and am just now wanting to dial it in. I am clueless.
This model here?
www.ebay.com.my/itm/404616630920
It seems it does have a counterweight. Is the counterweight missing on yours by any chance?
Why is my arm not going up in the air at all no matter what way I turn it ? And I'm really struggling to turn the weights is there two separate weights as when I try and twist it the whole metal thing at the end moved up and down the arm.
What if you don't have all that expensive tech to test the counter weight?
How do I do it without having to spoon out more money?
Fantastic! thank you very much. Do you know what the big ring is for. I know it lifts the whole thing up and down, but why? and what is default?
Thanks! Glad it helped. I think you are talking about VTA (vertical tracking angle). Adjusting the height of your arm will change this. A good starting point is to make sure the arm is parallel with the record. You can get an acrylic block to measure this. Does that help? And have I understood you correctly there?
@@soundmatters Thank you!. that must be it. it heightens or lower the entire arm. It helps to know what it is. Not sure about he acrylic block but I will look into that. Thanks a lot man!!
Hi I notice your cue arm is down during this process. When my arm is down (angels horn record player) the arm slides back to the rest and is not stationary. If my arm is up it will stay put but the balance is way higher than when arm is down. I don’t have a separate anti skate adjustment. Advice? Thanks!
Do you recommend using the auxiliary weight on the technics?
The auxiliary weight is only required for heavier headshells/cartridges when the additional weight would be required to balance the tonearm. Hope that helps answer your question
Also, what about vta adjustment for turntables that have vta?
I'll put a video together on this at some point. The adjustment mechanism for VTA varies from turntable to turntable though, of course
How do you set arm height?
By adjusting the VTA (vertical tracking angle). Not all turntables have adjustments for this
All perfect but, maybe, before to start it's better verify the perfect planarity of the turntable (above all the platter)
How do you adjust the height, should it be level with the vinyl
Is your turntable VTA adjustable? If so, getting the tonearm level with the playing record is a great start using one of these VTA/Azimuth blocks (affiliate link):
amzn.to/3rHNxrN
There is debate about it though. Some feel the tracking angle should be the same as the angle the records are cut at (usually 92°). To achieve that, get it level and then raise it to approximately 15°.
@@soundmatters set on 1.5 all good 👍
Mine doesn’t have a dial
Sounds like yours is factory set. What model is it?
@@soundmatters mine is a jam turntable, im not sure what model as it was a gift. do you know if its normal for jam turntables to me like this?
i’m so confused bc my tonearm is swinging towards the vinyl rather than away
i did this several times, all was going well! but only at the 2:18 step everything went wrong and it wasnt balanced at all! it was balanced at first, but after that last step, not at all.
Hard to say without seeing where you’ve gone wrong here, but it sounds like you turned the whole weight to the zero mark rather than the dial followed by the exact downward tracking force. If you have any questions, just let me know. 🎶🎧
I have one from the 60s that I'm trying to figure out 😕
Is it normal that my anti.skating is not the same as my tracking force? My stylus has a 2g tracking force and my antiskating is set at 1g to have my tonearm completely centered.
The same as tracking force is really just a starting point. To really get it nailed you have to use a test record or flat-side of an EP or single to balance central (as it sounds like you have).
I'd go off that as the final say rather than setting my numbers alone. A test record will help you listen for distortion too
If that's an LP120x I have the exact same thing. The counter weight is proper when I checked with the analog scale, but the anti-skate should have like a very slow inward bias. If I set it to 2gr it flies outwards, but I have it on 1gr.
I’m new to the game and I’m pretty sure I already broke my record player and ruined some albums because my balance was messed up 😭
Oh no! If you have any questions, let me know. What seems "broken" about it? and what record player/turntable is it?
Can't wait to see the next video... *_How to oil your buggy whip._*
God I miss CD’s😅
😂🎶
Well, at least you're not an atheist.
Soon as that f music came on i was gone.
I don't bother with that as i just stick a CD on instead!
Seriously the music in the background plus an accent made it hard to understand 😂
Your voice is too loud
Your feet smell
Do you not know what a volume button is?