Quick Guide to Turntable Acronyms:

Technical jargon and industry shorthand can be intimidating and confusing when you are just becoming familiar with a hobby—and hifi has PLENTY of it! We thought we would save you a trip to your google-machine, and spell out what some regularly used acronyms mean when talking specifically about your vinyl set-up! 



ASF (Anti-Skating Force)—

This is the equal but opposite force that turntables use to counter the frictional vector force that pulls the tonearm towards the center of the record (also known as “skating”).


VTF (Vertical Tracking Force)—

The amount of “weight”, or downward force, that the cartridge stylus exerts on the grooves of the record. This force can be measured by the stylus force gauge, and adjusted by sliding the tonearm’s counterweight forward or backward to achieve a specific weight range specified by the cartridge manufacturer.


SRA (Stylus Rake Angle)—

the angle at which the stylus is raking the record grooves. The optimal SRA angle is the angle at which the record grooves are cut (in most cases 92 degrees). 


VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle)—

the angle at which the cartridge stylus sits in the record’s grooves when viewed from the side of the tonearm (this in turn, determines the SRA). 


PRaT (Pace, Rhythm, and Time)—

This is often used to qualify how good or realistic audio equipment is at sound reproduction. Does it make you move? Is it toe-tapping? 


For more information about turntable-related terms and turntable set-up in general, check out our Complete Turntable Set-Up Guide!


Dealer Spotlight: Adirondack AV / HiFi Loft

By Amy Hansen

If you ever find yourself in the beautiful foothills of the Adirondacks, just South of Lake George, a stop at Adirondack AV in Queensbury, NY is a must.  Adirondack AV opened its doors in 2008 and initially only specialized in custom installations.  Jason Tavares came on board in 2009 while teaching at the college level and pursuing his PHD in European History. In 2010, Jason decided to become part owner and added to their already successful custom integration division, a HiFi division which he has managed to grow 20% year after year.   This success comes as no surprise, as Jason brings his passion for keeping the thrill of music alive to the business every day.  

I had the pleasure of visiting Adirondack AV recently where the peak foliage outside added to the good vibes felt on the inside.  When you step through the doors of Adirondack AV, you will find yourself immersed in a two-channel heaven with walls adorned with artwork from Jason’s talented wife.  You will find brands such as Magico, Triangle, Harbeth, Klipsch Heritage, Luxman, Clear Audio, Tsakaridis Devices, Grandinote Silva, and of course Nordost, just to name a few.  Walk through the shop to enjoy the various sound rooms with products that have synergy, but, as Jason describes, are not “all vanilla”.  Some of the brands you’ll see at Adirondack AV are a result of another one of Jason’s passions: travel.  With frequent trips to Romania to visit family, Jason has the opportunity to expand his repertoire of quality gear with brands that are not well represented outside of Europe, such as Soulines turntables which he picked up during a side-trip to Serbia.  After meeting the owner in Belgrade and listening to music, things clicked, and he became a distributor for the first time. 

Now, if you’re more of a city slicker, then you cannot miss a visit to their urban location, HiFi Loft; a true boutique experience with the same gear that offers the best in music reproduction. The NYC location started in Manhattan in 2015, moved to Brooklyn when it outgrew that space, and will soon be returning to a much larger location in Manhattan in January 2021.  Like the Brooklyn location, which was equipped with an intimate stage for live performances, Jason has every intent to keep live music a part of the mix in their new Manhattan home.

At Adirondack AV and HiFi Loft, Jason and his staff will give you an experience where the accuracy and emotion of music comes through, conveyed by their experience and love of music.  As Jason said it so very well, “in the end, it’s the music.” 

Adirondack AV

1048 State Route 9

Queensbury, NY 12804

518-792-3528

Record Store Hours:

Tuesday through Friday,

10:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Hifi Store Hours:

By Appointment Only

HiFi Loft

Opening soon in Manhattan

What’s the difference between Earth, Signal, and Chassis Ground?

If you have gone through, or are currently in the midst of, constructing your ideal sound system, you have come across the term “grounding”. Achieving a clean reference ground is postulated as the holy grail when it comes to having the ultimate high-end audio system. However, it is important to understand that when talking about “grounding” you could potentially be referring to three separate things: earth ground, signal ground, and chassis ground. Here, we are going to look at all three ground variations, to clarify the differences between each one, and hopefully help you identify which “ground” you need to address in your home system.


Earth Ground refers to a direct, physical connection to earth, or an electrically neutral body. By connecting a ground wire in your system to “earth”, whether it be directed to an artificial ground or natural ground, you are providing a path for extraneous current. When earth ground is being addressed, you are effectively draining the system of unwanted, “spurious” current that is circulating through the circuit and adding noise to the background. In order to confront problems with earth ground in the system, Nordost offers two solutions: the QLINE and the QKORE (specifically the QKORE1 and the primary side of the QKORE6).


A signal ground is an analog or digital ground that is attached to every signal being transmitted between devices in a system. Since these devices are usually powered separately, it is inevitable that there will be small differences between their potentials, causing small currents to circulate in order to compensate. These currents add to the background noise, obscuring low-level detail in music reproduction. Furthermore, as there are usually multiple signal ground paths in a system, those ground paths can pick up on each other’s interference. Nordost’s QKORE3 and the secondary side of the QKORE6 attract those currents, leaving a clean reference point for the signal ground.


A chassis ground refers to the connection that establishes an electrical link to a metallic enclosure. Describing chassis ground can be confusing because, when speaking about audio equipment, a chassis ground can differ depending on manufacturer. A chassis ground can be connected to the earth ground if it’s meant to prevent electrical shock, or the signal ground when intended for shielding. It can also connect the earth to signal ground, or it can even float. No matter how the chassis ground is connected to the earth and/or signal ground, the previously mentioned products and solutions offered by Nordost will help your system address the chassis ground. Additionally, Nordost’s Tonearm Cable + can help address the chassis ground, depending on how the ground whip is implemented.   


For more information on grounding, download The Importance of Electrical Grounding in Audio Systems today!


Nordost Playlist – November 2020

Nordost is happy that we can continue to make our time spent at home a little more enjoyable with the gift of great music. Our products aim to allow you to enjoy your favorite performances as they were intended to be heard. Like you, we here at Nordost are music lovers. Each one of us has our own style… we listen to a wide variety of artists and genres but, in a way, we appreciate them all. We thought that we would share a few of the songs on our own personal playlists with you each month. Some may be classics, some may be brand new, some may not even be to your tastes, but we hope that there is something here for everyone. 

Here are some of the songs that we will have on rotation this November.


You can now listen to our monthly playlist here:  TIDAL  | SPOTIFY  |  QOBUZ


  1. Run—Joji—Nectar
  2. BULL$HIT—Evann McIntosh—BULL$HIT
  3. Bluebeard—Cocteau Twins—Four-Calendar Cafe
  4. anything—Adrianne Lenker—songs
  5. The Court Of The Crimson King—King Crimson—In The Court Of The Crimson King (Expanded & Remastered Original Album Mix)
  6. Are you going to tell her (feat. MC Zaac)—Tove Lo—Sunshine Kitty
  7. Cry Everything—Kindness—Something Like A War
  8. Lost without You—Freya Ridings—Freya Ridings
  9. Spend Some Time—Amaarae, Wande Coal—Spend Some Time
  10. Avril 14th—Aphex Twin—Drukqs