Rega P3 upgrades

Im going to try it this weekend, I dont know if I spun enough LP's to see a difference? I think it must have been 7-8 so far.
Silly question though, for all the people that watch the Audio Advice youtube videos and set the anti skate to 1.75 and leave it this way, what is the possibilities that it is very wrong? just curious.

 

Hello mate you ok.
Thought this subject was already covered for you?
Just set at 1.0 & listen if it sounds right then trust me...it is because you'll hear distortion if it's not. If you're not sure what distortion sounds like,this means you're not experiencing it.

I've NEVER had to use a mirror on any of my turntables or my friends that I helped to set up & he's got a P2 & a P6.

-evo777

 

Ok, just was worried, dont want it to be at the wrong setting. I can use my ears and try 1.75/1/0
I dont hear any distortion now to be honest. thanks

 

Good if you don't, don't worry really, you won't break anything.

If some feel the need to use a mirror at any point I'm not saying anything against it, it's just that I've NEVER had to use one.

Cheers
-evo777

 

Check the stylus before playing anything, and then again after playing a few sides. Reason being, if it is a new stylus, it may slowly center after a few days. But long term use w/ too much or too little anti-skating will eventually take a toll on the suspension and then you'll start to see a more permanent "set."

So check it before hand, then play a few sides and check it again, and adjust if necessary.

In terms of how likely the 1.75 is very wrong, I'm uncertain. If that value is close to the tracking force being used, it should be fairly close to what is actually required. When manufacturers of tonearms offer anti-skating adjustments, they do so in a way easy for users to grasp. So "1.75" on an anti-skating mechanism translates to whatever the manufacturer feels is an appropriate value for 1.75g of tracking force.

That is, the values on the anti-skating device are there for reference only, 1.75 on your anti-skating mechanism may translate into .3g of compensation out at the stylus, or .2g, anything really, and only the designer of the tonearm typically knows (it can be measured, rarely does anyone do this).

But the actual amount of force required depends on many factors, like the degree of modulation in the grooves, how polished the stylus is, the coefficient of friction of the vinyl which can depend largely on not only composition but how clean the record is, etc.

The more the designer knows (like what kind of stylus will be used), the better he can do at calibrating the way the anti-skating mechanism works. But there are still pitfalls.

As an example, I'm including an image from an anti-skating article you can read here:

Antiskating.pdf



The image is from work by Kogen. The purpose of the graph is to provide an estimate of the anti-skating required on: (1) An album made of vinyl. (2) At a radius of 3.75-in. (3) Using a .35 x .7 elliptical stylus. (4) At 33-RPM.

If you draw a vertical line from the desired tracking force (I'm using 1.75g here), and a horizontal line where that intersects either the peak or unmodulated lines/ranges on the graph, you will find the skating force observed by Kogen in his experiments.

I've drawn two rectangles, one in red and one in blue. The red one shows us we'd expect approx. .33g of skating force at 1.75g of VTF in unmodulated groove. In the case of my tonearm with a 9.18" effective length, that would required a 3.03g weight applied 1" behind the pivot.

In the case of the blue one, we see approx. .36g of skating force, requiring a 3.3g weight 1" behind the pivot, for my tonearm.

BUT, I can tell you that either of those values is way too much for my .4 x .7 elliptical stylus, and will cause the cantilever to appear to deflect towards the spindle, and eventually the suspension will take a set reflecting just that. In addition, loud passages/transients will cause distortion in my left channel when the anti-skating is that high. In addition to that, I will hear distortion in my left channel when using the bias test tracks on test albums.

In my case, to keep my cantilever centered, I need a 2.25g weight 1" behind the pivot, for 1.75g of VTF on a .4 x .7 elliptical. That translates to .25g of skating force compensation out at the stylus. I can play hours of vinyl (and I often do) and when I'm done if I check my cantilever, it will still be perfectly centered. In addition, I can pass all but the acid bias test track using this method (and this is with a cheap .4 x .7 elliptical!).

So (this is getting long and boring, sorry), why not just use the test record? Well, I can pass those bias test tracks with weights of 2g (.218g out at the stylus), 2.25g (.26g out at the stylus), and 2.5g (.27g out at the stylus). But using 2g or 2.5g weights will cause a little deflection away from the spindle or towards the spindle (respectively) in time, and everything sounds a tiny bit (it is subtle but it is there) better at 2.25g. So it seems keeping the cantilever centered in the assembly provides about the final word in this setting, and should provide maximum stylus life as well.

I hope that helps.

 

Nobody has to use a mirror, but many of us have them, it takes ten seconds, and it will certainly dial things in better.

And you don't have to worry about something like this down the road:

 

Ok think I'll just use one for shaving for now,but cheers.

-evo777

 

Hey all! Just wanted to chime in as a fellow Rega owner that's also run into some issues and/or had some questions, but wanted to offer an experience I've had with determining where to set bias/anti-skate.

So, I, too, had heard to set it low on the Planar 3 and 6 (I have a 3 with upgraded subplatter, neo, fono mc pre and ania cart). Anywho, I bought the HiFI News Test LP primarily just to try and dial in the anti-skate. In any case, I couldn't pass the last test, but was able to pass all the others, but it required setting the anti-skate to as high as it goes, maybe a *touch* below it. In the past, I had heard debates about how using a blank lp, the stylus should remain mostly in the same position if the antiskate is set properly, but heard others say this isn't true. In any case, I didn't do that, just used the Test LP. But after getting it as close as I could to pass the tests, I tried placing it on a blank LP just for the hell of it, and it remained almost completely still (it had slight pull, I forget in which direction though, I'll have to check again later).

So, idk, take it with a grain of salt, but that was my experience. I've always had an unnerving feeling that the antiskate isn't set right, but it sounds good, passes the tests, and there isn't much that can be off given I'm using the 3 point system with the rega cartridge/arm combo, so... yea.

So that's my experience, but of course more than happy to hear any suggestions. I have the constant upgrade bug but don't think there's really much else I can go from here outside of a new table, which won't be for a lonnnnnnng time, if ever (or unless landing a far better job, winning lottery, etc)

edit - oh, and regarding the static issue: I dealt w/ the same, likely living in the northeast w/ tons of humidity. It persisted even with a RCM, anti-static sleeves, etc. In the end, I got tired of the mat sticking to all my records, and purchased a cork+rubber combo mat (I believe off amazon for about $30) and couldn't be happier. No major change in sound -- maybe slightly better if anything, but likely in my head -- but it's mostly resolved my static issues; at least the most annoying parts of it

 

Thanks for the input. believe it or not, I havent had much time to play with it or do proper testing/changes (will soon) but first! its a bit of a good thing I havent, because the few LP's Ive played, it seems to me the left speaker is louder than the right.
It was finally pretty much confirmed to me yesterday, as I was listening to Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, there is a part where the line is sung on the left channel and then on the right. When it played on the right it was barely audible.
I know there is different masterings, etc, but I then played the same song on flac and I can clearly hear the line on the left then on the right as it should be. All that too say, I had my suspicions before, but I thought I was crazy maybe. So I will be bring it back to get it checked first.

As for the static, cant recommend the Zerostat enough, works great! no more static issues so far.