Rega P2 Tracking Force

Recently got back in to vinyl after many years away. My current TT is a Rega P2 w/Bias cart/250 arm. Bone stock.

The question is, just how critical is getting the tracking force right?

As any Rega fans will know, they really are not to specific with tracking force settings. The counter weight is not marked in any way other than with a a pair of rubberized dots on its perimeter, 180 degrees apart. The literature tells me that a 1/2 turn of the weight = 1 gram of tracking force. They call for the user to balance the arm, then turn in how ever many turns is needed for the cart in question. With a cart that calls for 1.75 grams, it does leave a bit of room for error.

Anyway, although my dealer said not to worry, I bought a cheap Shure tracking weight gage ($20). I know that this is also not the most accurate device on the planet, but I would say it has to be better than guessing what the Rega is set for. After spending a bit of time monkeying with it, it appears I was off by maybe 1/8 of a turn on the weight (I was too heavy).

I have only spun a couple LPs with the new setting (both brand new) so I can't say of I hear a difference or not, but I sleep better knowing that I at least have a device that lets me take some of the guess work out of setting the tracking weight.

Of course, the question is, does it really matter is the weight is off by a small amount? How fussy do I really need to be?

BGL

 

As far as your vinyl is concerned, tracking too heavy is MUCH better than tracking too light. It's possible that you damaged your cartridge's suspension before you changed the force, but I doubt it.

What you want to shoot for is the perfect point that compromises neither tracking nor undue stress on the suspension. That means you want to increase tracking force so that the cartridge doesn't mistrack but not go over the cartridge manufacturer's upper recommended limit (though I sometimes do precisely this with carts that don't track as well as they should at the upper limit: I'd rather shorten the life of the cart than dig new grooves into my LPs).

A good rule of thumb would be to dial in the cart manufacturer's upper limit and then decrease the weight 1/10 of a gram at a time until you notice a drop in the quality of sound (or outright mistracking): keep the force at just above that point.

On the other hand, I assume that if your records sound really good (no distortion on transients), you're probably fine. Unless you're hearing ugly sounds from your LPs you know shouldn't be there, I'd say you needn't worry.

 

I too set the tracking force in the upper ranges. My carts max is 2g and i have it set at around 1.9, checking it with a basic (though pretty accurate) Ortofon T-Force gauge. I set it just under max to be sure that i am not exceeding the recommended limit.
There may be differences of opinion on this and many manufacturers give a nominal or optimum setting value.

 

Yep, I agree I set mine to the upper range. My cart calls for 1.75 to 2gms and I have mine set to about 1.9gms.

 

Thanks!

FWIW, when I got the new TT home, I proceeded to set the balance and tracking force. But, I misunderstood what my dealer had told me. I thought he said 1 full turn of the weight was 1 g, not 1/2 a turn as it states in the Rega Paperwork. Dohhhhh!

That meant that I was at least double the 1.75 that the Bias is spec'd for. When I dropped the needle, the sound was horrendous...I was sure that either the cart was bad, or something in the cabling or pre-amp was hosed.

I took a breath, checked all my connections again, the re-read the flier that came with the table, and realized my mistake.

Man, what a relief. I hate getting home with new gear and finding problems.

While I had a TT back in the day, in the 11+ years I have been exclusively digital, you tend to forget the importance of all the little things one must do to get good analog playback.

BGL

 

What's wrong with tracking too light (that is, if there isn't anything audibly wrong)?

Also, how would one find out the correct weight to use assuming they, say, got their turn table second hand?

 

If you track too light the stylus can "Dance" in the groove leading to premature groove damage. As far as weight goes, with the Rega if you float the tonearm then start dialing in, you come really close.

 

What cartridge do you have?.
The Vinyl forum on the AudioAsylum site is a good place to find such info, assuming you have the make/model of the cart.
Also, you've probably done this already but if you are using the cart that came fitted on a 2nd hand deck, then it's advisable to at least replace the stylus, even if it looks o.k, since you do not know it's history/use.

 

I'm using the Shure SFG-2 Stylus Tracking Force Gauge included in my VPI TNT Mk. V HR. Its list price is $25.

 

The only text on the cartridge is audio technica.

If it helps, the turntable I'm using is a Technics SL-1950.

 

In most cases, the *range* of tracking weights quoted by manufacturers is more for show than anything else. Just advertising fluff. As several folks have noted, they've found optimum tracking for their cartridge to lie near the maximum of the manufacturer's specified range, which is the norm. Shure and van den Hul are two exceptions.

The best method is to start at the maximum recommended tracking force and adjust downward with a test record. In most cases, you won't need to go very far.

In climates with a wider indoor variation in temperature between seasons, you'll likely find a change in tracking force between the warmer and cooler months yields better results. The compliance of most suspensions is affected by temperature. When I used a Glider, I tracked .2g heavier in the winter months. Sounds crazy, but the difference was clearly audible and confirmable with a test record. The suspension of the van den Hul I'm using now is more stable through the slight indoor temperature changes from season to season in Ohio.

Things like this give me a greater appreciation for CDs.

 

Without the model no. there is no way to tell for sure. I have an old Audio technica cart that has the model no. on the top, so you can't see it without removing it from the headshell. You could try checking for this, you would then need to refit and re-align it with a protractor.