THORENS TD 550, User Manual

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Adjusting tracking force and bias
Tracking force as well as anti-skating (bias) are to be ad-
justed according to the instructions supplied by the manu-
facturer of the cartridge. Proceed as follows:
Set anti-skating (bias) to “0” (please refer to tonearm‘s
user manual) and detach stylus guard. Move tonearm to a
position in between tonearm rest and outer rim of platter.
Lower tonearm by the lift lever. Now balance the tonearm
by rotating the counterweight either clockwise or coun-
ter-clock-wise until equilibrium has been achieved. Move
tonearm back to rest and adjust tracking force. For this
purpose the counterweight may either be turned clock-
wise (viewed from the rear) respectively shifted or tracking
force is set by a special adjustment screw (please refer to
tonearm‘s user manual).
As a rule of the thumb, tracking force is usually
set between 10 mN and 25 mN.
We advise to have the tracking force adjusted rather
towards the higher value of the manufacturer‘s recom-
mendation because this would in any case ensure a bet-
ter trackability of the cartridge, prevent your precious vi-
nyl records from getting damaged and eventually would
sound better, as many listening test have shown.
With the help of the supplied tonearm balance you can
finally check the tracking force. Put balance on felt mat
(record removed), move tonearm over it and carefully lower
the stylus onto tracking force mark on balance. If balance
shows equilibrium the tracking force of tonearm is correct.
Adjust accordingly until equilibrium is achieved.
Adjust anti-skating (bias) close to the value of tracking
force. Again, extended listening tests have revealed that
a slightly lower value than the tracking force can lead to a
better sonic rendition.
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