Setting up your first turntable

A new turntable sounds only as good as its set-up. Most problems people bring to us, from distortion to skipping, come down to three adjustments that take ten minutes to get right.

First, level. Put the deck on a solid, flat surface, away from the speakers, and check it with a small spirit level on the platter. If the table wobbles, the needle will feel every footstep. A heavy wooden shelf fixed to a wall is better than a cabinet on thin legs.

Second, tracking force: how hard the stylus presses on the record. Too light and it skips and distorts, too heavy and it wears the grooves. Every cartridge has a range; ours is 1.8 to 2.2 g. Balance the arm first so it floats level, then set the counterweight. A small digital scale costs about ₹900 and is worth having.

Third, anti-skate, which stops the arm being pulled towards the centre. Set it to the same number as the tracking force to begin with. If one channel sounds harsher on the inner tracks, adjust it a little. If you buy a deck from us in Kolkata, we do all of this in your home. If you are elsewhere, book a video call and Arijit will walk you through it with your deck in front of you.