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TriPlanar Tips

The manual that comes with the TriPlanar Mk VII tonearm is fairly complete, but there are a few things I’ve learned only by living with the arm. Note: I do not know which if any of these would apply to previous versions of the arm. My only experience is with the Mk VII.

1. NEVER raise the cueing lever while the arm is locked in the arm rest. This pressures the damping cylinder and could cause a silicone leak. For this reason and also for safety, whenever the arm is in the arm rest the cueing lever should be DOWN. This is backwards from most arms and takes some getting used to.

2. If your Tri-Planar doesn't cue straight down there's a quick fix, which may be included on some new arms. The problem is insufficient friction between the arm tube and the hard rubber cueing support bar. Just glue a bit of thin sandpaper to the underside of the arm tube. Make it big enough and position it so it hits the cueing support bar at all points across the arm’s arc. (Note: after doing this you will need to adjust the cueing height, see Tip #3.)

3. When adjusting cueing height (instructions are in the manual) always do so with the arm in the UP position. This adjustment is VERY touchy, since the cueing support bar is so close to the pivot. Be patient and be careful of your cartridge. (Note: after doing this you may need to adjust the anti-skate initiation point, see Tip #4.)

Chris Brady of Teres told me of a way to improve cueing even more by re-shaping the cueing support. Moving the cueing support point farther from the pivot improves its mechanical advantage and makes the cueing height and speed adjustments less touchy. This mod is easier than it sounds and requires only a length of coat hanger (!), but I don’t have pix and haven’t yet done it myself.

4. Changing the cueing height affects the point where anti-skate kicks in. (Yes, it's weird.) Once cueing height is satisfactory, adjust the short pin that sticks out of the front of the cueing frame. That pin controls where the anti-skate dogleg first engages the knot on the string.

5. The Tri-Planar comes with three counterweight donuts of differing masses. Many cartridges can be balanced using either of two. The arm usually tracks best with the heaviest donut that will work, mounted closer to the pivot. Of course this also reduces effective mass, which may or may not be sonically desirable depending on the cartridge. It also leaves more room for Tip #6.

6. For fine VTF adjustments don’t futz with the counterweight, there’s an easier way. Set the counterweight for the highest VTF you think you’ll need (ie, close to the pivot). Pick up some 1/4" I.D. O-rings from Home Depot. To reduce VTF a bit just slip an O-ring or two on the end stub. Thin O-rings reduce VTF by .01-.02g, thick ones by .04-.05g. Quick, cheap, effective. (For safety, always lock the arm down while adding or removing O-rings.)

7. When adjusting VTA, always bring the pointer to the setting you want by turning it counter-clockwise at least ¼ of a turn. This brings the arm UP to the spot you've selected, which takes up the slop in the threads. You can easily feel this happening.

Hope someone finds these useful. If you know any more, please bring ‘em on!
dougdeacon
mikelakers's avatar
mikelakers
11 posts
 
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Hi Doug,

There may have been a semi-loose or cold solder joint on the cartridge lead that is causing the hum. Because as I know it, most(if not all) of the tonearm wires in the arm tube are braided/twisted together internally.

What I did was "very lightly" twisting 4 leads together(4 to 5 turns) and connect to cartridge before I apply the rubber cement. No hum or crosstalk that I can detect of. One thing I always do for verification is after every cartridge alignment/setup I measure the output of the cartridge using a 1 kHz test tone(test LP) and check for channel separation.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
JCarr, And I responded to your post by stating that I did not think the Triplanar headshell had any "edges" that could inhibit the choice of cartridge. I was looking for that post in order to eat crow. You were absolutely correct. I never noticed the problem until I tried to mount this Colibri. I found an aluminum piece that Herb Papier gave me for simulating the mounting hole to stylus tip distance of a phono cartridge. If I remove the pin he used to emulate a stylus tip and grind on the aluminum horizontal piece a little, it will work for what I need; it about exactly fills the inset between the edges of the headshell. I don't know why the headshell is designed as it is, but probably for strength, so the headshell cannot be bent up or down in the vertical plane.
dougdeacon OP
3,338 posts
 
Mike/Dan,
I thought it was odd too, since as Mike says the wires are often braided (and certainly touching) inside the arm.

I understand it's for mechanical damping, that's why I tried it. Maybe I'll try again, or in pairs as Dan suggests. We have zero problems otherwise so a bad solder joint doesn't *seem* too likely...
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Dougdeacon:

So in a moment of haste, I popped off the c-ring, took off the anti skate entirely and the little "string".

You're right. Similar as the trough, but more subtle. I don't seem to miss the antiskate...I do like the added quietness. I may go back next weekend and double check...seems very easy to install the antiskate back on the arm...
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Lew, from what I understand the Colibri does not use the standard 1/2" mounting holes. Is that the case? Tri mentioned to me one time that that is why setting up the Colibri on his arm was so difficult. That was several years ago- the problem may have been corrected in that time.
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