I have been using the Adikt for some time now and consider it an excellent cartridge. I have it set at 1.75 as per Linn's instruction sheet. However in an effort to get the last drop of performance from it I am wondering what the optimum VTF is. I have also set it with the arm (ittok) parallel - is that best?

Thanks for your help

Mike

Hi Mike!

Just the other day there was a post by hcl on the Swedish forum Melodik on this subject. Apparently he fine tunes the vertical tracking force (VTF) and anti skating settings in steps smaller than tiny. I'll leave it to him to explain his findings.

My findings are these: The Adikt is happy at around 1.7 g of tracking force, so I suggest starting with that setting. Anti skating is set to the same value.

The Vertical Tracking Angle, VTA, is then fine tuned, using a torque tool set to 1.6 Nm for slotless pillars and 2.6 Nm for older arms with a slot in the pillar. The tool is necessary for accurately fine tuning VTA, because otherwise the inaccuracy of the height locking screw torque will affect the comparisons. What's required is perfect consistency between each torque tightening, otherwise fine tuning other parameters becomes impossible.

VTA is evaluated by ear, using a record of medium thickness. As the thickness can vary quite a bit, it's worth checking a bunch of records before deciding which one to use. It can help making faint lines on the side of the arm pillar with a pencil, to keep track of the exact height setting. If the arm is dynamically balanced, it's important to check that it stays balanced, with the stylus tip floating at record groove height when tracking force and anti skating is set to zero.

Once the optimal VTA has been found, it's time to fine tune the tracking force. Note that the room temperature will affect this, so on a hot day, the optimal setting will be a tad lower than on a cold day. Fine tune the tracking force in very small steps and then do the same with the anti skating. My guess is that you'll end up not too far from 1.7 on both of these two.

Now that VTA is optimised (for a medium thickness record) and tracking force and anti skating is optimised (for the current room temperature), you can fine tune the torque of the height locking screw. This is done by very slightly loosening the height locking screw - without the arm coming loose! - and then re-tightening it with a lower torque setting. I'd start at 1.5 Nm (2.5 for pillars with a slot) and then gradually increase the torque one step at a time. When increasing, one doesn't have to loosen the height locking screw, just tighten it further. This makes it very simple: Listen to a track, increase the tool adjuster one step, tighten the height locking screw, listen to the track again. Repeat.

It's much simpler than it sounds. The musicians will appear more and more focused and alert, until suddenly they start feeling stressed and/or the instruments start getting slightly out of tune. Then you've passed the peak and the previous torque was the optimal one.

Thanks.

Just a question on VTA. Is better to start from low to high or high to low? Does the ideal tend to be with the pillar lower or higher?

Finally on the bias setting. I have read that the bias is slightly out on an Ittok and the it should be set slightly higher than the weight. At the moment mine seems to sound best at 1.95 with VTF 1.75

Thanks again for your help

Mike

It doesn't really matter where you start. One idea is to make it visually parallel to the record and then try small steps up from that. Does it get worse? Then go down.

I find that many cartridges "prefer" the arm to be a tad high in the pillar end. All Adikts that I've mounted have ended up with that (a slightly positive VTA).

Yes, anti skating (bias) can become a bit different from the tracking force. Using your ears works great and is more accurate than test records in my opinion.

Here's a «tool» you might want to try when setting VTA: A deck of cards between the armboard and the arm lift assembly. Just keep track of how many cards you add/remove each time,and you've got exellent repeatability! Personally I can't find any further improvements by adjusting to smaller increments than a single card,but if you wish,you can fine tune further by inserting a thinner paper sheet into the deck of cards. And,of course;you must remove the cards before listening!

Have Fun!