Don't you just hate it when you cannot detect where the post ends and a signature line begins?
Alex.
According to the nutcas... er audiophiles at www.better-records.com, they sometimes spend hours on end adjusting their VTA. Makes me wonder what consequences that relentless replaying over the same grooves might afflict the poor LPs that are used as guinea pigs?
Don't you just hate it when you cannot detect where the post ends and a signature line begins?
Alex.
to be fair some cartridges like the 2m black need the vta setting properly to get the best from them,if that fuks up 1 record i couldn't care less,with that cartridge just setting the tonearm level just wont do it.
My System
John Wood KT88 Amp.
Paradise Phono Stage
Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
Sony X555ES Cd Player
Yamaha NS1000m Speakers
Location: Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland
Posts: 533
I'm stuart.
Changing VTA for every record is bonkers unless the record is of uniform thickness and ruler flat
Location: Southport, Merseyside
Posts: 157
I'm Nigel.
I thought the correct vta is usually when the bottom of the cartridge is running parallel with the LP surface. It doesn't matter if the tonearm is also parallel.
Location: Coventry, England UK
Posts: 534
I'm Simon.
I usually make sure the arm is parallel with the platter and leave it at that. There is no way I'm faffing with it for different record thickness, I've got loads of different ones and even 180g might not always be the exact same thickness. I've never gone too far down the rabbit hole on VTA but I do wonder if it really matters as much as some claim. Like mentioned above by Stuart, the record itself will need to be ruler flat anyway, a slight warp or dishing throws it all off.
I've always thought too that surely the cart suspension helps with this, to make sure the stylus sits in the groove properly and creating the angle it needs - of course you'd need to be in the ballpark to begin with.
The housing of many cartridges is such that the bottom of the cartridge is not parallel with the top. In that regard the stylus rake angle (SRA) is a better parameter to measure, but is much more difficult to do so, and depends on the VTF.
The VTA is the angle between a notional line running from the cantilever pivot point (itself ill-defined) to the point of contact of the stylus with the groove wall (again not exactly defined), and the record surface. It has nothing to do with cartridge body or housing.
Barry
Location: Queensland Australia
Posts: 61
I'm Hugo.
Regardless of how you feel about the guy and his opinions, Roy Gandy's VTA factsheet is pretty convincing.
I usually just set it to "doesn't look too ridiculous" and settle on that. Never done any blind tests though
not to me its not or every other 2m black owner who will tell you their cartridge sounds much better tail down.
My System
John Wood KT88 Amp.
Paradise Phono Stage
Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
Sony X555ES Cd Player
Yamaha NS1000m Speakers