Why the order is not negotiable
The four adjustments depend on each other. Tracking force is not measured but counted from the balanced arm: first the arm floats level, then the ring is set to zero, and only then does one turn of the counterweight mean a defined value. If anti-skating is not at zero while you do this, it pulls on the arm and the balance is off — and with it every value built on top of it.
That is why turning a single dial because the needle skips gets you nowhere. Raise the anti-skating without knowing the tracking force and you are cancelling a force whose size you do not know. If you are not sure where the arm stands, start at step one — it takes five minutes and is the only route on which every value fits every other at the end.
The four adjustments
Each has its own dial or screw — and its own symptom when it is wrong.
| Setting | What it does | How you can tell it is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking force | How firmly the stylus sits in the groove — set at the counterweight | Too little: skipping. Too much: distortion. The manual names both as consequences of a wrong value. The right one is in the cartridge's data sheet; for the PLX-500's supplied cartridge it is 3.0 to 4.0 g. |
| Anti-skating | Cancels the force that pulls the arm inwards during playback | If the stylus skips with the tracking force right, this is the next item on the troubleshooting list. The value is the same as the tracking force; for scratch the manual allows adjusting it to suit how you play. |
| Arm height | Whether the arm sits parallel to the record | With any cartridge other than the supplied one it no longer fits. Look from the side: if the arm rises or falls towards the stylus, release HEIGHT ADJUST, adjust, lock again. It is on the list of skip causes too. |
| Overhang | How far the stylus tip sits ahead of the tonearm mount | 53 mm on the PLX-500, measured with the supplied gauge and set at the cartridge screws. It is only wrong after a cartridge change — and then you hear it as distortion towards the end of the side, not as a skip. |
The number comes from the cartridge, not the turntable
Tracking force is a property of the system sitting at the front of the arm. The manual says so in as many words: the value is to be set „according to the cartridge“, and the 3.0 to 4.0 g apply to the one supplied. Anyone mounting a different cartridge — a Concorde, say, or a system built for scratch — takes its data sheet. And anyone fitting a cartridge under 5 g needs the supplied headshell weight, according to the manual, or the counterweight will not reach.
The same goes for arm height and overhang. Both are right from the factory for the supplied cartridge — arm height at zero, stylus tip 53 mm from the tonearm mount. A different cartridge is a different height and a different length, and then neither is right any more. For the overhang the deck comes with an alignment gauge; the arm height is set by eye parallel to the record and secured with the lock.
Setting up the tonearm in 5 steps
The order is the manual's. Before you start: amplifier off, deck on a level surface free of vibration, as far from the speakers as possible — that is in there too.
Anti-skating to zero, free the arm
Stylus guard off, arm clamp open, lift lever down. Then the ANTI-SKATING dial to zero — otherwise it pulls on the arm while you balance it. Do not touch the stylus tip and do not let it land on the platter.
Bring the arm level
Lift the arm off its rest and turn the counterweight at the back until the arm floats almost horizontal — neither tipping forward nor rising at the back. That is the zero point from which the tracking force is measured.
Set the ring to zero — without moving the weight
Arm back on its rest and clamped. Then hold the counterweight with a finger and turn only the tracking-force ring until its zero lines up with the black centre line on the rear arm shaft. If the weight moves with it, the balance is gone — back to step 2.
Dial the tracking force to the cartridge's value
Now turn the counterweight — the ring turns with it and shows the value. For the cartridge supplied with the PLX-500, AlphaTheta gives 3.0 to 4.0 g. For any other cartridge its data sheet applies, not this number.
Match anti-skating, check arm height
ANTI-SKATING to the same scale value as the tracking force. Then lower the stylus onto a record and look from the side: the arm should sit parallel to the record. With the supplied cartridge the arm height is right at zero; for a different one release the HEIGHT ADJUST lock, adjust, and lock it again.
Mistakes that cost you stylus and records
Leaving anti-skating set while balancing the arm
Then a force is pulling on the arm that is about to disappear — and the balance the tracking force is counted from is off. That is why the manual puts the „to zero“ step first.
Turning the ring and taking the weight with it
Ring and counterweight sit on the same axis. If you do not hold the weight with a finger while zeroing the ring, you undo the balance you have just set and then read off a value that is not one.
Taking the tracking force from the internet
A value that applies to a different system is wrong for yours — and one that is too high grinds the groove down without you hearing it straight away. The number comes from the cartridge, not from a forum.
Looking in the software first when the needle skips
Calibration, buffer size, threshold: all settings that do not explain a skipping timecode. The manual lists five causes, and all five are on the turntable — tracking force, record, dust, anti-skating, arm height.
Handling the headshell with the amplifier on
The manual requires the amplifier to be switched off when attaching or removing the headshell — at high volume the speaker can be damaged. That applies to changing the stylus and cleaning the tip as well.
Before every gig on somebody else's decks
In the club the decks are the ones the last DJ left behind. Two minutes before the soundcheck are enough to spot the gross errors.
Anti-skating sits at the same value as the tracking force
Two dials, one glance. If one is at zero and the other is not, somebody only set half of it.
The arm sits parallel to the record
From the side, with the stylus down. A visible angle means the wrong cartridge for the arm height that is set.
The stylus tip is clean
A clump of dust on the tip is on the manual's troubleshooting list — and it turns a correct tracking force into a wrong one. Soft brush, back to front, amplifier off.
PHONO/LINE matches the mixer input
The switch on the back panel. LINE into a phono input is prohibited by the manual; PHONO into a line input sounds thin and quiet.
The deck stands level and away from the speakers
The feet underneath can be turned until the chassis sits level. And a turntable right in front of the bass bin picks the bass back up — the manual asks for as much distance as possible.
⚠️ Where this page gets its numbers — and where it does not: every value and the order come from the AlphaTheta PLX-500 operating instructions, which we have read in full. They apply to that deck and the cartridge supplied with it. For another turntable or another cartridge we claim nothing — the reliable figure is in its manual and data sheet. The manual also rules out MC cartridges; the deck is built for VM and MM systems.
Frequently asked questions
What tracking force should I set?
The value your cartridge maker gives — not one from the internet. AlphaTheta specifies 3.0 to 4.0 g for the cartridge supplied with the PLX-500; any other cartridge has its own data sheet, and that is where the figure that counts is. Too little force lets the needle skip, too much wears groove and stylus. The manual names skipping and distortion as the two consequences of a wrong value.
What value does anti-skating go to?
The same scale value as the tracking force — that is what the manual says. Anti-skating cancels the force that pulls the tonearm inwards during playback; without it the stylus rides the inner groove wall and skips more easily. For scratch playback the manual explicitly allows setting it differently to suit how you play.
Why does anti-skating have to be at zero while balancing?
Because otherwise it pulls on the arm while you are levelling it. The manual gives the order explicitly: anti-skating to zero, then turn the counterweight until the arm floats level, then align the ring with zero, then set the tracking force — and only at the end bring anti-skating up to match. Swap the order and you are balancing against a force you are about to remove.
The needle still skips with the right values — what else?
The manual's troubleshooting table lists five causes in this order: tracking force, a warped or scratched record, dust on the stylus tip, anti-skating and arm height. The second and third are the ones people forget while adjusting: a warp lifts the stylus every revolution, and a clump of dust on the tip turns a correct tracking force into a wrong one.
Where does the low hum during playback come from?
The manual's first suspect is electrical equipment near the connection cable — a neon lamp or its power cord — and it advises moving it as far away as possible. The second classic is on the back panel: the PHONO/LINE switch has to match the mixer's input socket. A turntable set to LINE feeding a phono input is expressly prohibited by the manual; the other way round you lose level and sound quality.
Does this apply to my turntable if it is not a PLX-500?
The order and the logic, yes — anti-skating to zero, arm level, ring to zero, tracking force, anti-skating to match is the same mechanism on any tonearm with a counterweight. The numbers, no. Tracking force, arm height and overhang are in your deck's manual and your cartridge's data sheet, and that is where they can be looked up. We have read this one manual in full and make no claims about the others.
Be able to play first
A well-set arm plays no transition for you
Five minutes at the tonearm save an evening full of skips. The craft that comes after saves nothing — it is what you set the turntable up for.
Start for free