Have you ever had to change the counterweight due to a new cartridge?

Johnny Vinyl · Nov 23, 2011

Someone on another forum said that his dealer told him he needed a heavier counterweight to accomodate a Sumiko Pearl on a Pro-ject Debut TT. Since I have never had to change the counterweight on any TT I've owned due to a cartridge change, this information came as somewhat of a surprise.

Have you had to change your counterweight for a similar reason? Have you heard of this being done or recommended?

mullard88 · Nov 23, 2011

One of my friends needed a heavier counterweight on his Black Widow tonearm so he bought a second Black Widow counterweight and used the two counterweights together on the same tonearm.

vinylphilemag · Nov 23, 2011

Yep, especially before I removed the body of my Parnassus.

garylkoh · Nov 23, 2011

Oh yes, definitely. Sometimes it's because of the high mass of the cartridge (like the Lyra Parnassus), other times it's the low compliance of the cartridge, and more mass is needed on the arm.

The Rega arms are notorious for needing more weight because the VTF is a spring that lifts the arm requiring. That changes the vertical resonance of the arm depending on the setting. For the Rega arm, I like using the Mitchell Technoweight, dialing in the VTF at around 3g, and then setting the correct VTF by moving the weight. Depending on the cartridge (sometimes cartridges have different vertical and horizontal compliances) adjusting the zero point may reduce a brittle/hard sound or tighten up a fat bass.

puroagave · Nov 23, 2011

if you're a denon dl103 user you're probably used to swaping counter weights or adding an addirtional weight if its a low-mass arm. the mass should be as close to the pivot as possible, if the weight is too far aft it may amplify warp wow among other negatives. I have an ikeda cartridge which is heavy, along the lines of the London/decca or koetsu onyx. i use a high-mass arm tube in additon to the larger counter weight. I believe ralph karsten of atmosphere fame offers a kit in the form of an armtube wrap installed before the pivot accomplishing the same thing by increasiing the effective mass of the arm.

garylkoh · Nov 23, 2011

Yes - you're definitely right. Adding mass as close to the pivot as possible sounds far better than adding a penny (NOS pre-1983 US penny) to the headshell and then moving the counterweight aft.

However, Soundsmith does a great mod of the Denon 103R to raise the compliance and shorten the cantilever.

microstrip · Nov 23, 2011

The Zeta tonearm came with several rings that could be bolted to the main counterweight. I do not remember any more the exact distance, but the manufacturer specified an optimum position for the counterweight - if it was too far from it I would add or take out some weight and re-balance the arm.

The Sumiko MDC800, also called The Arm, was supplied with several counterweights - you had to use one that matched your cartridge. Eminent Technology also supplied some lead extra-weights in order to keep the center of the gravity of the moving system close to the bearing zone - it was critical to get the proper operation of this tangential air bearing tonearm.

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Have you ever had to change the counterweight due to a new cartridge?

Johnny Vinyl

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mullard88

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vinylphilemag

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garylkoh

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puroagave

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garylkoh

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microstrip

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