analog gurus, please help, cartridge too light?


dear gurus, i recently purchased a rega p25 tt with the rb600 arm. the tt was also purchased with a benz micro mc20e2 cartridge which i understand later is a very light cartridge with a weight of 4 grams total. my problem is that i cannot get the arm to balance even with the counterweight all the way forward and tracking force and the antiskate setting to zero. the arm still goes up quite a bit. should i change to a heavier cartridge? i am hoping not as i already paid for this one with the understanding that this cartridge is compatible with this arm. should i just set the tracking force and antiskate to zero and just use a stylus gauge and set the tracking to 2 grams as recommended? i read somewhere that the rega arm can be set to the max tracking to relieve some spring inside and then adjust the tracking force by the stylus gauge?with my setup right now, is the expressimo heavyweight out of the question? thanks for any comments. yes, i am a newbie. curtis.
curtis
While this sounds like a VERY funky situation, you can always add mass if necessary. The key to doing so is to try and keep it as balanced and evenly distributed as possible. I know that Music Direct carries some type of tonearm wrap and there is always "blu-tack" type stuff. Someone that has run into this situation may be able to help you out or pass on some first hand info as to what works best. You might also want to contact Rega and / or Benz and see what they have to say. If you are afraid to tinker with weighting the headshell or arm, you either need a different cartridge or a more versatile arm. Sean
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I agree with Sean, this seems wierd, but first make sure the turntable is correctly leveled. Just increasing the tracking force to compensate is not the proper way to address the probem, since the static balance of the tonearm will not be correct. Now that I think about it, check to see if your counterweight is put on facing the right way. Most weights have a bevelled edge on them that faces front, and you could have it on backwards. Also, check that the cartridge is correctly mounted, using an alignment guage. The cartridge may be mounted too far back in the headshell, and if you can move it forward, it may balance. If you have to increase mass, try using tungsten cartridge mounting screws(sorry, don't know where to get them), as this is less likely to affect the sound than tonearm wraps(unless you need a tonearm wrap). Also, there are headshell weight shims that bolt between the cartridge and headshell, and will require a VTA adjustment. If all fails, contact the mfr.
Other than the above, it may have the "wrong" counter balance on the arm.