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Ideal Anti-skating and tracking force setting

Wax Buckets

New Member
I have a Dual 1258 vintage turntable. Can anyone recommend decent anti-skating and tracking force settings for me? I realize there are a lot of factors but am I mistaken in thinking something like this might be a good starting point?:

tracking- 1.3
ant-skating- same as tracking but maybe a little less, like 1.1
 
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Tracking force depends on the cartridge. Most cartridges have a range of tracking forces recommended, but in most cases, it’s best to set it near the top end of the range. For instance, where the suggested range is 0.75g to 1.5g, between 1.25g and 1.5g often gives the best tracking. So you’d set the tracking force at 1.25g or more. If the suggested range was 1.5 to 3g, you'd set it at maybe 2.5g or so. So you need to check what the cartridge you have is, before we can advise you.

Anti-skating depends on the turntable (and cartridge tracking force), but most should have anti-skating calibrated so that it should be set to exactly the same level as tracking force. There are slight differences between the levels of anti-skating for conical styli, and elliptical or line contact styli, and many manufacturers marked both on the setting dial. However, some old turntables which used a spring or magnets for anti-skating may have changed slightly over the years from the initially calibrated setting, due to loss of spring tension or magnetism, so the calibration may no longer be accurate - the only way to check for sure is with a test record. Some also use weights, with only a limited range of settings available.

Many test records (available from cartridge specialists, or used on eBay) have a test to check for accurate anti-skating, with various ways of indicating audibly when anti-skating isn’t correct. However, some older test records with blank tracks for anti-skating aren’t completely accurate, as anti-skating requires the stylus to be tracking a groove.

So anti-skating is usually a compromise to try and even up stylus and record wear between channels. The only turntables which had absolutely dead accurate anti-skating right across the record were those with electronically-damped tonearms (Denon, JVC and Sony), which calculated it accurately based on electronic sensors monitoring the tonearm to keep the stylus in the centre of the groove always.
 
WB: With the TKS45E or the TKS49S (and the original needle type on each) the tracking force should be roundabout 1.5 g. And 1.5 would also be a good point to start with the antiskating (on the elliptical scale for the TKS45E respectively the spherical for the TKS49S).

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
WB: With the TKS45E or the TKS49S (and the original needle type on each) the tracking force should be roundabout 1.5 g. And 1.5 would also be a good point to start with the antiskating (on the elliptical scale for the TKS45E respectively the spherical for the TKS49S).

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Jawohl, Manfred! Agree, the tracking force and anti-skate of equal value is where I normally start hence it is important to know the factory recommended tracking force.....then, just listen and try moving up and down by .25gr or so and see what sounds best to you. Honestly, even with my Sennheiser HD600 headphones, I am hard-pressed to tell much difference until I get above .5gr variance from tracking force. Without a really good test record you are essentially guessing, but what Manfred suggests is a very good starting point.
 
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