Tracking Force To Damage Vinyl

Alexandrovieh showed how a shibata tipped line contact stylus is capable of creating a unique type of damage if the tip itself is damaged.

Tracking force to damage vinyl.

When you set the tracking force too high it puts extra weight on your records. That may result in wearing down your records or damaging the records from the excess drag. If the weight of the stylus on the record is too light you have a chance that the force from the grooves will throw the cartridge up and the needle will skate across the record. The research showed that spherical styli with their limited contact to the record groove walls produced the least damage to records under lighter tracking forces.

Yes hi force wears the record more rapidly but too low will damage thegrooves in a profound way. Ive read that the stylus presses on the vinyl at about 40k psi. Too little tracking force is a formula for severe vinyl damage as this will lead to severe mistracking. Too much tracking force could do damage to records if the suspension is bottoming out on the loud passages.

This can shorten the lifespan of the stylus specifically the tip cantilever and suspension but also accelerate groove damage to the records. How to adjust tracking force. Note that the at3600l moving magnet s stylus has a recommended tracking force between 2 5 to 3 5 grams. If you apply too much tracking force you will hear distortion a reduction in detail and booming bass.

Using the same technique mr. 3 grams is not a gross amount. If the cartridge stylus manufacturer recommends a tracking force range from 2 grams to 5 grams try setting it around 2 5 or 3 grams and do a listening test. The stylus tracking force control will indicate the weight applied to the vinyl groove.

Too much tracking force is especially risky while using a worn stylus which can create unnatural stylus tip edges and scour the surface of the groove. This will lead to the music skipping and potentially scratching the vinyl. You possibly did a little damage here and there to some records but maybe not. Slamming into them so to speak.

Physical vinyl ploughing damage is a risk from excessive tracking forces. Remember setting the tracking force too high will wear out your vinyl faster. When too low vtf is set the stylus is the accellerating between grooves and striking the oncoming surface at greatly increased velocity and pressure.