Tracking Force Suggestions for Stanton 500.v3 Cartridge?, DJ cart with range of 2 - 5 grams. Using for hi-fi play Options

[Knowzy]

Supposing I've got a brand new Stanton T.92 USB turntable and I'm getting ready to produce some samples.

It comes with a pre-mounted (and presumably pre-aligned) Stanton 500.v3 cartridge. As a DJ cartridge, it has a wide range- 2 to 5 grams- and no specific recommendation within.

The tonearm is balanced and the counterweight dial zeroed. What tracking force do you think I should set?

Normally the consensus is to set the tracking force near the top of the range and I'm inclined to use 4.5 grams.

However, as a DJ cartridge, the top of the range is designed to ensure stability amidst violent scratching motions, which I won't be doing. Maybe 4.5 is overkill for trackability.

So, I'm throwing the question open to HA to see if we can't come to an agreement before I began sampling.

Balanced and Awaiting a Tracking Force Figure

This post has been edited by Knowzy: Jul 8 2010, 07:09

[Knowzy]

The Short Version

• I found my tracking force: 4 grams
• The new copy of HFN002 is not defective.
• I'm not sure why I was getting the flat-top results the first time.

The Waveforms

Left: 3 grams. Right: 3.5 grams

4 grams

The Samples
HFN002, New Copy, Take 2, Trackability Test (Side B, Track 4)

• 5 grams
• 4.5 grams
• 4 grams
• 3.5 grams
• 3.25 grams
• 3 grams

The Long Version
Assuming my new copy of HFN002 was defective, I began looking for the right tracking force using my original copy of HFN002.

Before I did this, I re-balanced the tone arm. It was still floating but was riding a bit above the arm rest. I adjusted it no more than 1/10 gram and it was now floating just below the rest.

I commenced sampling at 4 grams. Nice and smooth, just as it was two days earlier.

When I got down to 3 grams, I noticed bumpy flat-tops on top of the sine wave in the right channel. They looked almost identical to the ones I saw on my second copy of HFN002.

At this point I'm wondering if the original HFN was cut a bit hotter. Maybe I just needed more force on the new HFN.

I tried new new HFN at 5 grams. Nice and smooth.

I tried it at 4.5 grams. Nice and smooth.

Then I tried it at 4 grams. Two days ago, this was causing the flat-tops shown in the previous posts. Today, nice and smooth.

I'm baffled. The re-balancing is the only thing I can think of that would remotely have an effect. But remember, I got the nice and smooth wave from my original HFN two days ago, before the re-balancing.

I tried 3.5 grams. Still nice as smooth, as it was on the original HFN.

I tried 3 grams. Back to flat-tops.

3.25 grams- somewhere in between.

Following Arnold's advice, I took the last good sample, 3.5 and added .5 to arrive at 4 grams.

I still don't know why I got such different results today. Delicate mechanical equipment can be so unpredictable!


The Right Question
Final note in an already long post: I realized I shouldn't have asked, "What tracking force should I use?" The right question was, "How do I find the right tracking force?"

I really learned a lot from your advice and this experience.

Thanks.

[cliveb]

Then I tried it at 4 grams. Two days ago, this was causing the flat-tops shown in the previous posts. Today, nice and smooth.

I'm baffled. The re-balancing is the only thing I can think of that would remotely have an effect. But remember, I got the nice and smooth wave from my original HFN two days ago, before the re-balancing.

This is a long thread that I'm not really able to properly contribute to, but I will make the point that environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can affect the trackability of pickup cartridges. If the day when the tracking was better was a warmer day, that could explain the difference.