P-mount adjustments

[eric0108]

This weekend I set up my Technics SL-D20 with an AT3482 P-mount cartridge.
I had gotten the cartridge a few weeks ago. I setup the tracking weight and anti-skate.
Are there any more adjustments I can do? I know there are others like Overhang, Vertical Tracking Angle, Stylus Rake Angle, but are they applicable with a p-mount? I made sure the cartridge was level, and I think this incorporates VTA/SRA.

 

[SA-708]

My p-mount Technics (SL-Q5 linear tracker, and SL-BD22) don't allow for adjustment of tracking weight nor antiskate. Everything was "preset at the factory" for plug-and-play operation.

If the cartridge follows the TP4 standards, the overhang and the VTA should be good without having to adjust anything.

 

[MisterFishey]

This weekend I set up my Technics SL-D20 with an AT3482 P-mount cartridge.
I had gotten the cartridge a few weeks ago. I setup the tracking weight and anti-skate.
Are there any more adjustments I can do? I know there are others like Overhang, Vertical Tracking Angle, Stylus Rake Angle, but are they applicable with a p-mount? I made sure the cartridge was level, and I think this incorporates VTA/SRA.

I have that exact TT... great unit. No, the other adjustments are not applicable with a p-mount. I'll send you an email with the owner's manual, just send me a PM with your email.

 

[ETI_5000]

This weekend I set up my Technics SL-D20 with an AT3482 P-mount cartridge.
I had gotten the cartridge a few weeks ago. I setup the tracking weight and anti-skate.
Are there any more adjustments I can do? I know there are others like Overhang, Vertical Tracking Angle, Stylus Rake Angle, but are they applicable with a p-mount? I made sure the cartridge was level, and I think this incorporates VTA/SRA.

No - all P-mount cartridges are the same size and weight, so if the manufacturer of the tonearm/turntable has set the tonearm up correctly, it will be in the ideal position, with the ideal VTA and overhang to minimise tracking error across the record. That was the good thing about P-mount, and other systems like it - it is just plug and play, and requires no time-consuming, fiddly setup. Philips also had a similar system in the 1980's, but were the only manufacturer to make cartridges for it, and other manufacturers didn't take it up. VTA is really a compromise, as it depends on when the record was made, and who made it - a range of cutting stylus angles were used, between approximately 15 and 24 degrees. Records also vary slightly in thickness. VTA also depends on tracking weight - the heavier the tracking weight used for a given cartridge, the more the cartridge will compress the cantilever suspension. The turntable manufacturer should have set the arm up so that when playing medium thickness records at about 1.25g, the standard tracking force for P-mount cartridges, the tonearm should be parallel to the record. So all you have to do is plug the cartridge in, set the tracking weight if it is adjustable, and it should be ideal for most records.

-Don

 

[lini]

My p-mount Technics (SL-Q5 linear tracker, and SL-BD22) don't allow for adjustment of tracking weight nor antiskate. Everything was "preset at the factory" for plug-and-play operation. (...)

You should find a fine adjustment screw for +/- 0.25 g (from the preset 1.25 g) near the arm of your SL-Q5. And as a linear tracker, of course, it won't need anti-skate anyway...

As for the Technics T4P radial trackers, one can generally say the newer the model and the lower it ranges in the line-up, the less adjustment capabilities for the arm. E.g., the SL-BD22 has neither, while the SL-QX300 sports both anti-skate and tracking weight (fine) adjustment.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[SA-708]

While all p-mount cartridges are the same size and weight in theory, in practice there is some variation. I've measured it myself, in my own collection of cartridges. I've got a Audiotechnica LS580/LT that is 6.35 grams and tracks at 1.6 grams on my SL-BD22 turntable, and there's a mm or so difference in the stylus location (front to back overhang, and up and down height) out of the batch I own.

 

[SA-708]

You should find a fine adjustment screw for +/- 0.25 g (from the preset 1.25 g) near the arm of your SL-Q5. And as a linear tracker, of course, it won't need anti-skate anyway...

The Q5 is a low-end model, and doesn't seem to have that. I pulled out the service manual and it shows other adjustments, but not for tracking force.

 

[lini]

SA-708: Oops, 'scuse me, confusion - eyes read SL-Q5, but brain linked to SL-QL5. That latter one has the screw - and the SL-5 also belongs to the models with the screw.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[hakaplan]

SA-708: Oops, 'scuse me, confusion - eyes read SL-Q5, but brain linked to SL-QL5. That latter one has the screw - and the SL-5 also belongs to the models with the screw.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Aha! Finally Manfred makes a boo boo!

 

[lini]

Darn, I'm caught... ara: Uhhhm, I must go!

Grinnings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: But at least that puts me in good company, doesnt it?

 

[SA-708]

Looks like lini's main mistake was underestimating the cheapness of my Technics p-mount turntable collection.
NOBODY HAS CHEAPER P-MOUNT TABLES THAN ME! NOBODY!*

* unless someone has a SL-BD20, a step below my SL-BD22

 

[iLUVanalog]

While all p-mount cartridges are the same size and weight in theory, in practice there is some variation. I've measured it myself, in my own collection of cartridges. I've got a Audiotechnica LS580/LT that is 6.35 grams and tracks at 1.6 grams on my SL-BD22 turntable, and there's a mm or so difference in the stylus location (front to back overhang, and up and down height) out of the batch I own.

you are right SA. there is variation. not all p-mount cartridges are exactly the same weight. some are 6 grams and others are 5.9 grams, and then there are others that are lighter and others that are heavier. if you buy a turntable with a p-mount arm, you want to get one that has adjustable VTF and anti-skating. one of the tables i have is a Technics SL-Q20, and it has adjustable VTF and anti-skate. this so-called "preset at the factory" is a bunch of BS. also, 1.25 grams VTF in general is not enough, especially when you consider stylus type. a spherical or conical stylus requires more VTF to track properly. in most cases, you want to track the cartridge toward the upper end of the recommended range. example, if i have a p-mount with a recommended VTF range of say 1.25-1.5 grams, 99% of the time i will track it at either 1.4 or right at 1.5. i NEVER track a p-mount at 1.25. i always consider the stylus type to set the VTF. and then some p-mounts have a broader VTF range. one of those was the original sumiko blue point, and if you remember the original blue point was a p-mount. the VTF range was 1.25-1.75.

 

[SA-708]

The SL-BD22 is slated to be my daughter's first turntable, when she's ready for a first system. I still have the Pickering XL-28U p-mount cartridge I bought with it, and two DTL2 styluses with 0.75-1.5g tracking weight. The cart/stylus weighs a true 6 grams, and it sounds great tracking at 1.25 grams two-thirds up the range; after getting the replacement stylii and giving it a test drive earlier this year, I realized I made a good choice of cartridge to match the turntable 20-some years ago.

Instead of being able to tweak the settings on this rather basic turntable, it is a matter of finding a cartridge/stylus that match the nonadjustable turntable. Just slapping one on and expecting a good match is being naive, in spite of the "plug-and-play" promise of the p-mount cartridge.