Hi.

My Technics SL-D202 is equiped with a Ortofon Concorde STD. It looks like the DJ cartriges they make ( I don't need a headshell, it's all in one ), but I don't have the doccumentation, and I don't know if the tracking force I put is okay. Now it's set at 2.3 Grams. I don't know if it's low or high for that cartridge. Can someone help me about that ?

Thanks :D

1.7 - 2.3 g was the range Ortofon recommended. So you're on the upper end, but that usually isn't a bad idea anyway...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

always better abit hi than low for minimum vinyl wear.

I say you're fine. I always think of the mfgr. reccomended tracking as just that....a reccomendation. I alwyays err towards the heavier and sometimes a little more if doesn't stress the suspension. Shure had a great marketing campaign in the early 70's telling everyone that heavier tracking was bad!!! Hence all of the wonderful heavier carts out there (like the Ortofon SPU's) fell out of favor. Listen to your cart as it is. If it's aligned perfectly, your anti-skate (if you have it) is set-up perfectly, and your still having issues tracking difficult passages (like music with brassy horns, or rising strings), then add a little more tracking weight (like up to 2.5 or 2.7g) until it clears up.

Just my .02 cents worth,

James R.
(currently tracking a Grado Gold .3 grams heavier than reccommended and it sound perfect!!)

shure promoted "trackability" not "light" tracking force. thier carts tracked lite yes but were also hi complience. they advised to track at the highest force in the range for a given cart. EVERYBODY was doing it not just shure.

Thank You ! Now I know that I'm not totally destroying my records with 2.5 grams :D . I guess I can't align my cartridge, since it's an all-in-one. ( They look like... snakes ) I guess it's pre-aligned ???

shure promoted "trackability" not "light" tracking force. thier carts tracked lite yes but were also hi complience. they advised to track at the highest force in the range for a given cart. EVERYBODY was doing it not just shure.

Woah.....sorry if I ruffled some feathers with my rather cavalier statement....did you work for Shure perhaps:scratch2::D

James R.

no feathers ruffled, just getting it stated right. not a shure employee either.

In the seventies, the prevailing wisdom was that the lightest tracking force possible while keeping the stylus in contact with the groove walls at all times would result in the least wear.

This, of course, is indisputable and was the reason for the move towards high compliance cartridges. I still pretty much adhere to this philosophy and can't really understand the arguments for low compliance cartridges. I really think it's more of a rationalization for moving coil cartridges which, typically, have lower compliance.

Over the years, this idea has been misconstrued almost to the point of arguing that the higher the tracking force, the better.

I do agree, however, that usually, the upper end of a manufacturer's range is probably better than the lower end because you want to make sure the stylus doesn't lose contact which causes the most damage of all.

Doug