My wife bought me a second hand turn table for my 100's of records that I haven't played for years. Trouble is I don't know what to set the tracking force to. Cartridge is an Empire 200LTD. If you don't know the manufactures suggested tracking force is there a recommended way to adjust it? Thanks for any help.
What you need to worry more about is how old the cartridge is and whether it is aligned correctly. Setting the tracking force at 2 grams is a good place to start if the cart is properly aligned. Too heavy will not hurt the grooves if it tracks right but too light will cause damage. If the cart is really old(Ten yrs or more) get rid of it and spring for a new one. I would set it at 2 grams for now and listen then adjust it up or down .10 of a gram either way and see if it sounds better or mistracks. Use an older record for this. I use an empire MC that does very well at 2.2 grams but I am not familiar with yours. Try looking on the vynill sites; they will have detailed instructions on how to set up the cart in the arm. There were several posts on this site earlier listing good turntable sites. Just do a search and you should be set.
Thanks for the reply. I've seen some of the online instructions for cartridge alignment, and it all makes sense until they say "set the counter weight to the manufacturers recomended tracking force", or similar. Not knowing what this was I was kinda stuck. I will follow your suggestion and set to 2g and go from there. By the way wheen you say use an older record do you mean one that is well used (worn in) or do you mean one that I don't mind beating up a bit while I fine tune the tracking force? OInce again, thanks for the help. Colin
Yes; while you are making these adjustments I would suggest using a record that you will not miss if there is a bad tracking error. Also I did not mention that you cannot always trust the setting on the tonearm. They can be off by a little so I would purchase a shure tracking force indicator. It is a see-saw type device that is very accurate at measuring the tracking force and costs about 10$. good luck. BTW did you say which table you have? I looked the cartridge up you have and they call for between 1.8-2.2 grams tracking force. I would stay with the 2 gram unless you hear it lock in at a lower setting. J.R.
The table is a Pioneer PL-540. As I say the wife got it for $2 and it seems in good condition. I haven't listened to any of my records since the late 80's for various reasons and of course the minute she walked in I was itching to get them cranked up again. Once I've saved up I hope to get a more modern table but until then I'm hoping this will do. Thanks, again, for your help, Colin
If that TT is the belt drive model I remmember it is a good table. Clean out the bearing well with alchohol and a q-tip then use some mobil 1 motor oil as lubrication. Clean the belt with alchohol and level the table. These steps should provide great sound on that unit.Enjoy!
colinhester Messages: 1349 Registered: May 2009 Location: NE Arkansas
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That's so cool your wife picked a TT for you, so you could play the 100's of LP that you have sitting around taking up space Like you, I have not played an LP in years, but I just don't have the heart to pitch them. Sounds like your wife is a keeper....Colin (BTW, I like your screen name)
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Like you, I have not played an LP in years, but I just don't have the heart to pitch them. Sounds like your wife is a keeper....Colin (BTW, I like your screen name)
