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In Reply to: RE: Just FWIW, 92 degrees is an approximation. posted by Ralph on June 26, 2017 at 13:25:27
The point of 92-degrees is to hopefully set SRA in the center of the bell curve. The only other valid approach would be to set SRA for each LP individually and that would be very inconvenient and time consuming. The method I use, which isn't scientific at all, is to simply set the cartridge level with the LP playing surface and hope for the best. ;-)
What approach for setting playback cartridge SRA do you use?
Thanks,
John Elison
Follow Ups:
I use something very much like what you do. Not very scientific but it seems to work really well.
I have a Triplanar which allows me to adjust the arm height on the fly. I never mess with it.
What is far more important is getting the overhang and such right. If the arm and cartridge is right then nothing you can throw at it will cause it to breakup or become strained.
Where I see the microscope as useful is sorting out if the stylus is properly mounted in the cantilever.
When you are cutting LPs, you have to expect that 99 44/100ths percent of everyone listening to the LP has not taken the time or effort to look at the SRA. Most of them have done what you and I do.
right on. starting at the level and adjusting when sound is tilted toward one end of the spectrum or the other. when setting up a 440ML, i adjusted the vta a bit and ameliorated the brightness.
...regards...tr
Now, you have to reset SRA for every LP because every LP can be different. If you think you have the best all around setting from adjusting SRA to only one LP, you're kidding yourself.
The reason for using a microscope to adjust SRA to a specific angle is to make sure SRA is set to the most common angle used by the majority of LPs. In other words, you will have the greatest probability of achieving the correct SRA for the largest number of LPs in your record collection without having to readjust SRA for each individual record.
Good luck,
John Elison
right you are john, and if you have a fine line type stylus, it IS more important. well, I won't be going back to a conical tip. maybe just an elliptical is best then.
...regards...tr
It sounds like you are making the assumption that setting the proper VTA/SRA is some sort of exercise that requires long hours of tedious experimentation. It really is not that difficult.
Your first try at VTA on the fly is not easy but it becomes easier as you become experienced. The hardest part of the whole thing is when you first mount a new cartridge. At this point all bets are off and you have to find the range that satisfies different LPs in your collection. Once you locate the range that satisfies most LPs on your shelves, the task becomes much easier.
Finding the proper VTA/SRA setting starts with setting the VTA too high so that the high frequencies are strident and have a beaming like quality. At this point you start lowering the VTA until you have a good tonal balance. Then you are almost home.
Next you pay attention to cymbals and acoustical instruments to make sure that the fundamentals of the instrument match up with the harmonics. You make final adjustments until cymbals sound much more realistic and less "splashy", acoustic guitars take on a large and organic sound quality and sound like they have some depth and body. All acoustic instruments take on a more real character and sound like you know how they are supposed to sound. Then you have it.
Different LPs make the task described above easier. The better recorded the LP is, the easier the job of setting the VTA/SRA. It is an ear opener to find how many LPs that you assume are poorly recorded are, in fact, better than you ever gave them credit for.
Arriving at the best VTA/SRA won't turn a lousy pressing into a world beater, but it will improve the LPs that you have. All of the above is worth the effort if you care about quality reproduction of music. If you spend thousands of dollars on your analog playback rig you might consider how much sound quality you are wasting by leaving the VTA set to an approximation.
It really isn't that hard to make the adjustment to the the VTA if your tonearm has that ability. And it is not impossible to add VTA on the fly to many tonearms if you are willing to do the work and invest the money.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
i would so love to have easily and accurately adjustable VTA on the fly and my ideal would be remotely controllable. every time i say that in front of my friend-David Shreve, he laughs and admonishes me.
BUT there ARE a couple of arms that actually have remote vta but they are prohibitively expensive for me.
speaking of David, he is a vta maven, and made a chart for the adjusting screws that control arm height with different positions for a wide range of labels-columbia, rca, etc. that can simplify a listening session.
i learned to do this long ago and adjust for the majority of records. when we encounter fixed arms (e.g. Rega), we use differing thicknesses of platter mat OR sometimes David will use shims under the cartridge. he is more discerning than me.
...regards...tr
It is a feature that should exist on modern tonearms and would be more affordable if someone would take it on. I was using a Riggle VTAF equipped RB-300 on a Denon DP-62L for some years. It was a nice setup for the money.
This year I upgraded to a VPI Prime and the 3D tonearm's VTA on the fly is beautifully executed. Its a unipivot and you can adjust the VTA while spinning without exciting the tonearm one little bit. That s very well done VTA on the fly.
It seems that someone could add a motor driven facility for remote control to an arm like the 3D without too many issues. It would be nice to have remote control with some memory saved presets to make thing easy.
Yeah, the arms that do have remote control VTA on the fly are in the nosebleed seats, cost wise.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Interesting. I also prefer going high and coming down.
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