Neoteck Digital Turntable Stylus Force Gauge 0.01g/5.00g with Orange LCD

Summing up — A well-made and highly accurate electronic scale that's a breeze to use. It will be the best investment in sound you will ever make for less than the price of an LP. Optimal interaction between record grooves and stylus is at once crucial and delicate. Tracking force, the weight with which the stylus rests on the record, is a key driver. Too low can cause distortion on bass notes and even skipping of the stylus along and across the grooves. Too high will impact the high end of the audio spectrum and cause unnecessary wear to LPs and stylus alike. Even though you can dial in this tracking force on your tone arm, a stylus scale measures the actual weight the record sees, taking accuracy up a notch. This scale is well constructed. While not a Swiss watch, it has the look and feel of a quality device. The cover protecting the scale when not in use fits perfectly and will not come off. The large numbers on the bright, backlit LCD present in high contrast and read easily. The three buttons (On/Off, Zero, and Units) have a positive feel. And the soft storage case that comes with the scale is a nice touch. It is very stable. Repeated measurements of the included 5.00gr calibration weight lead to identical results within 0.01 gram, even after several months. This is quite an achievement for such an inexpensive device. And it is plenty accurate since tracking force is usually specified in quarter gram increments. Lo and behold, weighing a new penny comes in at exactly 2.50 grams as it should. This forms an independent check on the calibration weight and the scale's accuracy. You rest your stylus on the little white disc with a black dot in the middle to sharpen your aim. This disc is made of soft plastic so is gentle, another nice touch. It is part of a metal cantilever. The outer edge of this cantilever sits slightly higher than the inner edge, as another reviewer pointed out, but this is essential to its proper functioning. It is powered by three included AG12 alkaline button batteries, inexpensive and widely available. If ever your batteries die you could use AG10 cells if you happen to have those lying around. Those are slightly thinner so add a tiny ball of aluminum foil to hold them in place. But you won't be needing new batteries for quite some time since this scale shuts down automatically after a brief period. The calibration weight stores inside a square piece of pliable foam. This insert also has cutouts for the battery cells and fits inside the cover so you won't lose it, a clever touch. When storing the scale for a longer time it is better to remove and store the batteries so any leakage will be harmless. The little instruction booklet is written in unusually clear English and five other languages, more telltales that suggest the manufacturer cares about its audience. You cannot go wrong with this elegant stylus scale. It is a delight to use.

I have two Technics SL-1200 turntables, and have always used the manual method of zeroing out the tonearm, then dialing in the required tracking force using the rear counterweight and its numbers. Recently, I upped my game a bit, and bought more expensive cartridges (Denon DL-110, AT-440Mlb, AT33Mono, etc) and became just a little more cognizant of what the tracking force and VTA were. I am confident in my manual method, but always wondered if the weak link was the counterweight / numbers, and how fine pitch the threads on the tonearm were - or in other words how accurate was the counterweight. I bought this scale to verify the TF, and learn if my counterweight was accurate. Out of the package, the scale turned on fine after installing the included batteries, and out of the box it measured the expected 5g using the included calibration weight. Then, I put it on my turntable mat and tried it out - I like it! Very easy to use. I also like the fact it turns off after a short time so battery life stays high. Better news is my manual calibration method was fairly accurate too - with my manual method on both TT's, I am able to get within 0.1 - 0.2g accuracy range - I never would have known that without the scale to verify. What the scale did was help me dial in my "zero" point when balancing the tonearm, before adding the weight. It helped me find the right spot, and now my manual method is even better thanks to the scale. I will double check periodically to ensure everything is in order with the scale.... Five stars, for the money it does what I wanted it to do, and I am sure the accuracy is fine. The only question mark is how long it will last, and will it maintain accuracy. It has a calibration weight included, and can be calibrated, which is a plus. If your expectations are not too high, and the product comes working I don't see how it can be anything other than five stars The only thing that will affect that rating will be if it dies in a shorter than expected period of time. Thanks for reading. Pic included: Scale, batteries, instruction manual and calibration weight - I received this all in a nice pouch well boxed. The pouch is not included in the pic - it is just a cheap pouch with a velcro closure, nothing special but a nice touch.

Simple and a little flimsy but very sensitive and works well. Obviously much more accurate than the marks on your counterweight!

This is a good scale for the price. Like many cheap Chinese goods, this appears to work and get the job done, but it's clearly not a finely and highly crafted device with expensive design, workmanship, and price. A good example of this is the plastic housing is thin and the dust/safety lid is not easy to put back on because the plastic is thin. That's OK, again, for the price. I was able to successfully use this to weigh both the included 5 gram calibration weight my tonearm. Seeing the tonearm weight allowed me to adjust the tonearm weight to almost exactly 2 grams which is the number I was shooting for. It had been about 1/4 gram too heavy. The scale comes with three "AG12" button batteries but I only needed to install two. The instruction manual and scale do not tell you which way to install the batteries, but you install them with the skinny side in first. The scale includes a small vinyl case with a velcro closure, but the pouch does NOT include space for the extra battery or calibration weight. The biggest problem with this scale is that the decimal point on the digital display is hard to see. It is there, but it's very small and located at the very bottom of the display. This is a poor design. In practical use this is not too much of a concern because the user should realize numerically where the decimal point is located. For example if you weigh the included calibration weight, the display reads "500" and you should know that this is 5.00 grams, not 500 grams. Again there IS a decimal point, but it's small. I have shown this in two photos. So overall this is a good scale but be aware of its shortcomings.

Good to go scale at a minimal cost. Used scale to verify stylus pressure set with tone arm on turn table was accurate. Turned out it was pretty exact. Had I not gotten the scale I would not be able to verify. Also, nice for making tiny incremental stylus pressure changes, not possible with tone arm adjustment. Pretty good product for the turn table afflicted, or it might make a nice gift for such a person. Cons. Poorly written and very minimal instructions (as if in some sort of code), although not terribly difficult to figure out with a little bit of tinkering. This issue could probably be easily fixed. Lastly, as usual, forced to spend money on another imported product when this thing could easily be made in the United States for the domestic market. Update (if you are really interested in this stuff)- In my case, the stylus force was originally measured using the turntable stylus force scale on the tone arm of my turn table. I then set stylus force to 1.5 grams after balancing tone arm, making sure the tone arm was parallel to the record surface (usually recommended), when the stylus was resting on the record surface. I then removed the vinyl record plus the rubber slip mat to make my next measurement, to accommodate for the thickness of the base of the Neoteck scale. This, again, made the tone arm close to parallel to the surface of the turn table, if the stylus was actually tracking a record. Doing this the Neoteck scale was pretty much in the 1.5 gram range, confirming my tone arm scale was accurate. To experiment a little, I placed the Neoteck scale on the rubber slip mat, alone, with only the vinyl record missing. I took another stylus force measurement and the Neoteck scale now said my stylus force was 1.68 grams. Then, I (again) measured with both the slip mat and vinyl record removed. Again, the weight came up at 1.5 grams, confirming the turn table scale to be accurate, when measurement conditions are the same. So apparently the stylus force changes if the tone arm is higher or lower when the measurement is taken. It reminded me how one adjustment or variable can change the results in the world of turn table adjustments, since the idea of using a scale like this (after all) is to get an accurate reading. Again, some better instructions might be helpful. For 39.00 dollars you could get the Shure SFG-2 scale, which although not quite as accurate as a digital scale, has none of the base alignment thickness issues of the Neoteck. With that in mind is the Neoteck scale actually any more accurate (or as accurate), since it is nearly impossible to get it to line up at the (exact) same level the stylus is actually tracking when you do a measurement. The Shure SFG-2 is also time tested and trusted. Also, will the battery be dead the next time you are ready to use it? The Shure does not need batteries. So, yes, I do have some doubts (after using it), as to whether it is as accurate as most people think a digital scale is. I might have had more peace of mind with the Shure scale. I am still giving it five stars based a lot on price, and in the hopes that it is accurate enough.

The Neoteck Digital Turntable Stylus Force Gauge works perfect. I used it to set tracking force on my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, and it was easy to zero, simple to use, and accurate. Measurements were consistent, which made dialing in the stylus quick and stress-free. It feels solid enough for regular use and is much easier than relying on tonearm markings alone. For the price, it does a great job and gives peace of mind knowing tracking force is set correctly. A straightforward, useful tool that does what it claims.

Works as intended

Very easy to use, really don't even need directions! This is more properly called a stylus tracking force gauge. Being a bit of an odd person, I took my coffee gram weigher and the Neoteck stylus weigher and tested both with the included 5 gram weight that came with the Neoteck, and both were identical in their measurement, so the Neoteck is accurate. This scale has spot on accuracy, there is no need to spend $130 for stylus scale like the Ortofon, or the Pro-Ject. Some forums claim these inexpensive electronic ones like this Neotech and others won't last long, this is NOT true! My turntable repair man uses the Neotech and has for quite a few years, it still works, he recommended this one to me, but he thinks they are basically clones of others, but regardless it will last a long time. Even if it only last 5 years, you would have to buy one every 5 years for 50 years before you even equaled the price for one of those $150 dollar ones! The only tiny gripe I had was the cover that goes over the scale takes a bit of finagling to get it to slide on correctly, but it's not a big enough problem to take off a star for. It has nice orange glow to it, comes with a 5 gram weight as I mentioned, a vinyl case to keep the scale in, and four batteries but it only needs two so you have two extra batteries.

Not the clearest of instructions but good enough. Easy to use and works a treat. Nice storage pack but wish it would hold the test weight and spare batteries.

De gran utilidad para configuración de la tornamesa

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Simple à utiliser, bon rapport qualité prix.

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