Text: Tracking error is an expression describing a less-than-optimum angle of the phonograph cartridge with respect to the record groove as the arm glides across the disc. Ideally, the cartridge should always remain perfectly tangent to the groove; practically, this is impossible because the arm does not move across the record in a straight line but in a slight arc as it swivels on its pivot. The deviation from the position of true tangency at any point on the record is called the tracking error. It is expressed as the angle between the true tangent to the record groove and the length-wise axis of the cartridge. The geometry of a well designed tone arm - its curves and dimensions - is carefully calculated to reduce the tracking error to a minimum and to keep it minimal all the way across the record. A low tracking error reduces distortion, particularly at the inner grooves of a record, where the mechanical problems of reproduction are particularly aggravated by the smaller arcs encountered.

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Source: 103