PLATTER & PLINTH

How to Set Up a Turntable

Eight steps from box to first record. None is hard, but the order matters — and getting tracking force right is the difference between great sound and worn grooves.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we pick

A turntable is a precision instrument — a diamond tracing a groove a fraction of a millimeter wide — so a few careful adjustments make a big difference to both how it sounds and how long your records last. The good news: none of this is hard, and it’s mostly a one-time job. Do it in order and even a modest deck will perform above its price. Getting tracking force wrong is the single most common mistake, so if you take one thing seriously, make it that.

You’ll want three cheap things on hand: a small bubble level, a tracking-force gauge (about $10), and a printed alignment protractor(free to download). Here’s the full sequence.

The step-by-step

  1. Place and level the turntable. Set the deck on a solid, stable, level surface away from the speakers to avoid feedback. Use a small bubble level on the platter and adjust the feet (or shim the surface) until it reads level in both directions. A tilted deck skews tracking force and alignment.
  2. Fit the platter, belt and mat. Install the platter on the spindle. For a belt-drive deck, loop the belt around the motor pulley (usually reachable through a hole in the platter) — this is the step most often missed. Add the mat on top.
  3. Mount the cartridge (if not pre-fitted). Attach the cartridge to the headshell with the two screws, connecting the four colored wires to the matching pins. Leave the screws slightly loose so you can slide the cartridge for alignment in the next step.
  4. Set overhang and alignment. Use a printed alignment protractor (a Baerwald protractor suits most listeners) to position the stylus so it sits correctly over the two null points. Slide and angle the cartridge until the stylus lines up, then tighten the screws.
  5. Balance the tonearm to zero. Set anti-skate to zero. With the stylus guard on and the arm free, turn the rear counterweight until the tonearm floats perfectly level — neither dropping nor rising. This is your zero point.
  6. Set the tracking force. Without moving the counterweight's position, rotate its numbered ring to read zero. Then turn the whole counterweight to your cartridge's recommended tracking force (e.g. 2.0 g for an AT-VM95E). A cheap tracking-force gauge confirms it exactly — this is the single most important adjustment.
  7. Set anti-skate. Set the anti-skate dial to match the tracking force (2.0 g force, 2.0 anti-skate is a safe start; 80-100% of the tracking force is the accepted range). This counters the inward pull on the arm so the stylus sits evenly in the groove.
  8. Connect the outputs correctly. Decide where your phono preamp is — the deck's built-in stage, an amp's PHONO input, or a separate box — and connect accordingly, using only one. Attach the ground wire to the amp or preamp's ground terminal to eliminate hum. Then play a record and enjoy.

After setup

That’s it — you’re playing records. From here, the two habits that keep it sounding good are cleaning your records before you play them and keeping the stylus clean (see how to clean vinyl records). Re-check tracking force every so often, and any time you change the cartridge. If you ever upgrade the stylus or cartridge, you’ll repeat the alignment and tracking-force steps — by then they’ll take five minutes.

Frequently asked questions

What tracking force should I set?

Use the cartridge's specified figure, not a guess. For example, the Audio-Technica AT-VM95E is 1.8-2.3 g (2.0 g standard) and the Ortofon 2M Red is 1.6-2.0 g (1.8 g recommended). Too light and the stylus mistracks and wears the groove; too heavy and it grinds. A $10 gauge sets it exactly.

What is anti-skate and how do I set it?

Anti-skate counters the inward force that pulls the tonearm toward the center of the record, so the stylus presses evenly on both groove walls. A safe starting point is to match it to your tracking force (80-100% of that value), then fine-tune by ear if needed.

Do I need to align the cartridge with a protractor?

If your cartridge came pre-mounted and pre-aligned by the maker, you can often skip it. If you fit the cartridge yourself, yes — a printed Baerwald protractor lets you set overhang and angle so the stylus tracks the groove with minimal distortion.

Why does my turntable hum?

The most common cause is a disconnected ground wire — attach the deck's ground lead to the ground terminal on your amp or phono preamp. Hum can also come from running two phono preamps at once, or from a Grado cartridge near an unshielded direct-drive motor.

How do I connect the turntable to speakers?

Route the RCA output through a phono preamp (the deck's own, an amp's PHONO input, or a separate box — only one) and into your amplifier or powered speakers. See our 'do I need a phono preamp?' guide to find out which you already have.

Sources

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