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Why are tracking force and anti-skate important?



https://blog.fluance.com/tracking-force-important-turntables/

http://blog.fluance.com/what-is-anti-skating-on-a-turntable/

Tracking force. Anti-skate. Two very important specs on your turntable, and in this video, we're going to tell you what they mean. 

Tracking force refers to the weight your cartridge sits on the record. If it's too light, your stylus will not make proper contact with the grooves and the sound quality will suffer. It can even skip or bounce off the record. If it's too heavy, it can put unnecessary wear on the stylus and the record. The cartridge manufacturer will give an ideal range for their cartridge. More often than not, the range usually falls somewhere between one to three grams. We recommend aiming for the middle of that range. So, if one and a half to two and a half grams is the recommendation, we would recommend about two grams. 

You can learn more about how to set the tracking force on Fluance turntables in our setup video. The process involves balancing the tonearm and then rotating the counterweight. Similarly, you could also purchase a stylus scale.

Anti-skate refers to the inertia that pulls the turntable tonearm towards the center of the record when playing a record. The tonearm naturally wants to move closer to the center of the record. Anti-skate counteracts that force by pushing the tonearm away from the center. When it is not set properly, the stylus will favor one side of the groove, which will prematurely wear down the needle on one side and not give you that proper stereo separation. When it is set properly, your stylus will sit in the middle of the groove for perfect stereo playback. 

In Fluance turntables it is set using a dial. On some turntables, this is accomplished by hanging a weight off the back of the tonearm. Both tracking force and anti-skate are related, in that, when you set up one of our tables, the tracking force, and anti-skate will be the same. For example, if you set your tracking force to two grams, the anti-skate will be two.