Left Channel LP Distortion

Lewn...damping - to use it or not...is not an indication that your tonearm is right for the cartridge you use. Some cartridges require some, some cartridges require none, and some require lots. I have a Benz on a VPI, and indeed some damping makes the cartridge sound better...too much is harmful to the sound, too little and it can be improved. Experiment and listen. Having more VTF is usually better than too little. It sounds as though you have too little

Stringreen, I spoke to Mr. Grado several times about his cartridges, headphones and tonearm. He always took my calls and was there on the job. He was very outspoken and dynamic in his beliefs in his work and his designs. Certainly nothing wrong in that. The midrange quality of his designs were a direct reflection of his vocal skills. Tom

Stringreen, Thanks for the reassurance. Thankfully also, I did not need it. I agree completely with your statement about how to use damping and what it does to the sound, good and bad. I was just trying to say that some of the advice given on this forum is a bit too rigid, if read and absorbed by a newbie who has no backlog of personal experience.

Doug, You made an interesting point re anti-skate. But notwithstanding the imperfect way in which it is applied, isn't the end result supposed to be the minimizing of forces that throw the stylus tip against either side of the groove (not just one side vs the other)? Thus AS per se is not an evil to be avoided; it's a tool to be used judiciously. Maybe that's what you meant.

I think Lewm has brought up a valid point that I neglected to mention. Fortunately, Doug covered it well. The method that works best is exactly as he describes. Add ONLY as much AS as is needed to stop any right channel distortion.

My XV-1s is much heavier than the Universe that Doug uses. I find that I need a bit more AS. Maybe as much as 1/2 a gram more. I've always believed that this is due to the additional weight. The XV-1s is almost 13 grams, compared to about 9 for the Universe. I believe that the Urushi is around 9 grams also, so I'm perplexed as to why Lewm finds it necessary to apply so much more force. I don't know the compliance specs for all three of these cartridges but this is probably a clue. As is how VTF is applied. Here again the approach that works best for me is to apply just enough VTF to prevent mis-tracking.

A light-handed approach to VTF and AS does help keep these parameters on our side and does not allow them to cross over the line to the evil, dark side. Pun intended.

AS per se is not an evil to be avoided; it's a tool to be used judiciously. Maybe that's what you meant.

"Judiciously" is the word. A/S isn't evil in theory. But every real-world A/S device produces unintended and evil consequences, as I described.

How "judicious"? We're down to one tiny O-ring on our A/S device. That's a 96% reduction from the metal weight supplied with the tonearm.

How does this effect tracking? Last night Swampwalker brought over a copy of the supposedly difficult-to-track new Norah Jones LP, "Austin City Limits". After warming up with a few other sides we played it, making no special adjustments. The entire side played cleanly.