Tracking Force of Cartridgesas
Hi
I like the Ortofon Concorde design very much so lately I purchased the Concorde Pro S.
As I have been a Shure fan and all Shure cartridges I track then either 1 or 1.5.
The Ortofon recommends 3 to 4 for the Concorde Pro S. I not comfortable with this tracking force as I feel it might dig the groves.
Suppose I track the Ortofon at 1.5 to 2 will it be OK?
I mean besides skip/jump of tracking what is the real reason for the recommened tracking force by the manufacture.
Would appreciate your enlightment on the same
Thanks
Hi
I like the Ortofon Concorde design very much so lately I purchased the Concorde Pro S.
As I have been a Shure fan and all Shure cartridges I track then either 1 or 1.5.
The Ortofon recommends 3 to 4 for the Concorde Pro S. I not comfortable with this tracking force as I feel it might dig the groves.
Suppose I track the Ortofon at 1.5 to 2 will it be OK?
I mean besides skip/jump of tracking what is the real reason for the recommened tracking force by the manufacture.
Would appreciate your enlightment on the same
Thanks
So you bought a DJ cartridge while you don't need one. More, the Pro S has a spherical stylus and is likely to sound, erm, not very good.
Here's what I suggest: buy a replacement stylus assembly from Ortofon's OM series. It should fit the Concorde body.
With the stylus of, say, an OM20, you'd end up with an elliptical stlus and a tracking force of only 1.25g.
But hurry, as Ortofon recently discontinued the OM series and did not announce a compatible replacement. It's all 2M now ;-)
Here's what I suggest: buy a replacement stylus assembly from Ortofon's OM series. It should fit the Concorde body.
With the stylus of, say, an OM20, you'd end up with an elliptical stlus and a tracking force of only 1.25g.
But hurry, as Ortofon recently discontinued the OM series and did not announce a compatible replacement. It's all 2M now ;-)
Low tracking force may cause not perfect stylus-to-groove contact, especially when the arm/cartridge is misaligned, or the antiskating is not properly set. In this case the stylus may "bounce", mostly at higher groove modulation and at low frequencies. This bouncing causes audible distortion and groove damage. On the other hand, higher tracking force ensures better contact between the stylus and the groove. The abrasive effect will not increase much, contrary to the common belief. One should not worry below 5 or even 8 ponds.
FYI tracking force in ponds is equivalent to tracking force in grams and the term seems to have come over from German or something... Have never seen it referred to this way except on sites translated from German. Could be I missed something. 
As a generalization most cartridges track best at the upper end of their recommended tracking range, and mis-tracking due to insufficient tracking force for a given cartridge causes damage much more quickly than do high tracking forces.
The biggest problem with record wear in the past was usually due to worn styli, nothing ruins a record quicker than a worn out stylus. Old enough to remember what an issue this was.. Spherical sapphire styli on ceramic cartridges were pretty common into the late 1970s anyway- and stylus life could be as little as 25hrs of play. I checked mine with a stylus microscope religiously until I got my first diamond tipped (still spherical) magnetic cartridge (and a table that could use it) around 1974. I still remember purchasing my first new TT, a Garrard SP-25 MKIV (4 pole motor with idler drive) with a Goldring cartridge with a real elliptical tip at the culmination of a summer job in 1975!! (Brussels, Henry's Radio - HiFi floor) Surely a POS by today's standards, but I was over the moon at the time..
As a generalization most cartridges track best at the upper end of their recommended tracking range, and mis-tracking due to insufficient tracking force for a given cartridge causes damage much more quickly than do high tracking forces.
The biggest problem with record wear in the past was usually due to worn styli, nothing ruins a record quicker than a worn out stylus. Old enough to remember what an issue this was..
Spherical sapphire styli on ceramic cartridges were pretty common into the late 1970s anyway- and stylus life could be as little as 25hrs of play. I checked mine with a stylus microscope religiously until I got my first diamond tipped (still spherical) magnetic cartridge (and a table that could use it) around 1974. I still remember purchasing my first new TT, a Garrard SP-25 MKIV (4 pole motor with idler drive) with a Goldring cartridge with a real elliptical tip at the culmination of a summer job in 1975!! (Brussels, Henry's Radio - HiFi floor) Surely a POS by today's standards, but I was over the moon at the time..
oshifis said:
kevinkr said:FYI tracking force in ponds is equivalent to tracking force in grams and the term seems to have come over from German or something... Have never seen it referred to this way except on sites translated from German. Could be I missed something.
As a generalization most cartridges track best at the upper end of their recommended tracking range, and mis-tracking due to insufficient tracking force for a given cartridge causes damage much more quickly than do high tracking forces.
The biggest problem with record wear in the past was usually due to worn styli, nothing ruins a record quicker than a worn out stylus. Old enough to remember what an issue this was..
Thanks for the explanations guys, I am new to vinyl and have actually been experiencing some of that distortion, mainly during heavily populated passages of music. I have my cartridge set to the low end of its recommended tracking force, because in my mind that equalled less friction. However, I'll put it towards the top of it's recommended tracking force and see if that improves it.
-Justin
SI or the MKS (meter/kilogram/second) system measures inert mass in grams and pushing/accelerating force in Newtons. You are right that pond and kilopond are obsolete. 1 kilopond is the weight force of 1 kg mass at the equator. It is changing wherever you take that mass (or your cartridgekevinkr said:FYI tracking force in ponds is equivalent to tracking force in grams and the term seems to have come over from German or something... Have never seen it referred to this way except on sites translated from German. Could be I missed something.
). Also the legacy imperial system results in such animals as psi (pound per square inch) for measuring pressure 
that is funny for us metric people (pound is not the same as pond, just to increase confusion)
Over The Top!
My Akai AP D2 with Audio Technica AT92ECD rig never seemed to track properly until I went over the top of the cart's 1-1.5 Gram range to around 1.8 Grams. I can rationalize the extra .3 Gram as error on the turntable's tracking force scale on its counterweight or an unknown cause. Ironic as it may sound, I get far less accumulation on my stylus at the 1.8 Gram force, as well, leading me to believe that the higher tracking force is finally allowing the stylus to track properly. Is the extra .3 Gram anything to be concerned about?
My Akai AP D2 with Audio Technica AT92ECD rig never seemed to track properly until I went over the top of the cart's 1-1.5 Gram range to around 1.8 Grams. I can rationalize the extra .3 Gram as error on the turntable's tracking force scale on its counterweight or an unknown cause. Ironic as it may sound, I get far less accumulation on my stylus at the 1.8 Gram force, as well, leading me to believe that the higher tracking force is finally allowing the stylus to track properly. Is the extra .3 Gram anything to be concerned about?
Sounds like some mis-tracking was going on from what you describe. The definitive answer on what your actual tracking force is can be answered by an inexpensive stylus force gauge from eBay or the like. Less expensive arms often had very inaccurate tracking force settings so it is possible that the accuracy of your tracking force adjustment is off by 20% or so.
It is possible that there is a significant amount of bearing friction due to dirt/age which might impede tracking on slightly warped records. (Or in the horizontal plane any record...)
If this an old cartridge it is possible that the elastomers in the suspension have hardened up and the compliance has dropped requiring a higher tracking force to track properly.
If none of the above is true then I guess the only question is what sort of effect the higher tracking force has on the suspension - and that can only be answered over time.
Were it me I would probably either replace the stylus if the issues described are of recent origin or choose a replacement cartridge that is a good match to the arm.
YMMV..
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Actually the post-60's fuss over complex stylus geometries was much overblown and some highly respected cartridges (Denon DL103R for instance) produce fine results with spherical styli.
I hated to go in there and do it, but I think I forgot to properly dress the pickup leads between the rear of the tonearm and its bearing post last time I had it apart, adjusting and lubricating the bearing post. Removing the arm and putting a little properly dressed slack in those leads at the rear of the arm took care of the mistracking problem. Thanks.
Agree. More advanced stylus shapes are better, but a good conical can give pretty fine sound.
The key to setting the proper stylus force is that stylus force can be thought of as Class A bias on a tube... there is a center range +/- that puts the tube, or in this case the stylus/cantilever in the middle of its linear range.
It's pretty easy to see it with the eyes and a good light. Or a magnifying glass (if you need it) or strong reading glasses and a light.
As you set the stylus down on the record you will see deflection.
Too little deflection and the stylus sits high and doesn't move much.
Too much deflection and the stylus looks very low in the upper well...
You can find these two points pretty quickly - and then visually see where the cantilever "wants" to be... it looks pretty obvious once you do this and look at it
a bit... around that center point you can dork + or - ...
I never use a stylus force gauge... no need.
_-_-bear
It's pretty easy to see it with the eyes and a good light. Or a magnifying glass (if you need it) or strong reading glasses and a light.
As you set the stylus down on the record you will see deflection.
Too little deflection and the stylus sits high and doesn't move much.
Too much deflection and the stylus looks very low in the upper well...
You can find these two points pretty quickly - and then visually see where the cantilever "wants" to be... it looks pretty obvious once you do this and look at it
a bit... around that center point you can dork + or - ...
I never use a stylus force gauge... no need.
_-_-bear
Interesting Analogy!
Cool! By your method, the reaction of the stlyus' compliant suspension is the tracking force gauge!
Cool! By your method, the reaction of the stlyus' compliant suspension is the tracking force gauge!
Interesting idea, and probably completely reasonable based on the empirical observation of the physics involved, but I think this is the province of the extremely experienced - I seriously doubt I could set the tracking force of a cartridge this way.. I would rather rely on a reasonably accurate gauge than on my fallible powers of observation - for me this would end up being too imprecise without me then vetting the setting with a stylus pressure gauge. It would be interesting to see whether the technique works well for the garden variety tweaker..
The best tracking force for an arm/cartridge combination is determined by the dynamic mass, compliance, and frictional drag of the moving system. Frictional drag should be negligablel with any reasonable tonearm. Dynamic mass and compliance are a function of the design type and intent. Cartridges designed for DJs where they will be abused will need strong cantelevers that aren't easily damaged. This means lower compliance and higher mass.
Of the two most popular systems, moving magnet and moving coil, the actual principle is eactly the same, a magnetic field is cut by coils of wire which generates an electrical current in the wires. The only difference is that in one the magnet is fixed and the coil moves, in the othere the coil is fixed and the magnet moves. Because very powerful precisely aligned and precision machined magnets were possible in the 1960s it was possible to make styli with very low dynamic mass and high complance using the moving magnet principle and get much higher output than with a moving coil design. This requires less preamplifier gain and less tracking force. This is by far the better of the two principles. However, among audiophiles, they prefer moving coil cartridges. These often have a high frequency peak and require more force but the peak may make them sound more attractive to some.
The best way to determine optimum stylus force besides following the manufacturers instructions is to use a test record such as the Shure Audio Obstacle Course. Use the least force necessary to track the level 4 tests without distortion.
Inadequate force results in tracking distortion and accelerated record wear because the stylus loses contact with the groove when it's heavily modulated only to come crashing back down on it and damage it. More force equals more record wear because the stress (force per unit contact area) is higher. Once it exceeds the modulus of elasticity of the plastic disc, it will deform it permanently. The best moving magnet cartridges should track well at under 1 gram. (Empire 999VE tracks well at 3/4) Moving coil cartridges rarely track well at less than 1 1/2 to 2 grams.
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