My thoughts on cartridge/arm set up

PeterA

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I have written a few posts about this topic in various places and would like to move those posts here for reference. I will delete them from other threads which took some of those discussions off topic. I am always willing to learn more from those with different ideas or more experience than I have. I welcome any comments and information relating to this topic, and please do not hesitate to correct my ideas if they are wrong.

I wrote this post a few months ago on a different sight in a discussion about VTA adjustments. I thought I would post it here to see if people have similar findings about the relationship between VTA and VTF.

I own the Audio Additives Stylus Force Gauge that Michael Fremer recommends in the Analog Planet link that Myles posted. I just calibrated it using the 5.0 gram weight and did some testing. As expected with my SME V-12 arm, if the VTF gauge is resting on the platter and not on varying thickness LPs, the VTF does change as I raise and lower my tonearm, changing the SRA.

I use a range of six arm height settings in 0.5mm increments from 16.0 mm to 18.5 mm covering the LPs in my collection. The Audio Additive scale is designed to test the VTF for an average thickness LP when placed on the platter. This is an approximation as we know that LPs vary in thickness by over 1mm (see table in this link: https://www.vinylengine.com/turntabl...p?f=41&t=93648) So, I set my arm at 17.25 mm, the average arm height for the LPs in my collection. I set the VTF, using the gauge, to 2.000g (see photo above) because this is centered within the range of 1.9 - 2.2g, according to the manual of my MySonicLabs Signature Gold cartridge. I then proceeded to measure the VTF at each of my arm height settings. Here are the results:

16.0mm: 2.019g
16.5mm: 2.011g
17.0mm: 2.005g
17.5mm: 1.993g
18.0mm: 1.988g
18.5mm: 1.970g

Interestingly, it is not precisely linear, but the scale is so sensitive/finnicky that each time I placed the stylus on it, the value changes by up to 0.003 or so. The range of VTF for my arm height settings is 0.049g (2.019-1.970g) or roughly 1/20th of a gram. If rounded to two places, it is 2.02g - 1.97g. This may or may not even be audible. The tracking force range of my cartridge (1.9 to 2.2g = 0.3g) is much greater at six times that 0.49g VTF range when I raise and lower my arm. And remember, this is with a fixed stylus height because the VTF gauge is sitting on the platter, not moving up and down with different record thicknesses. Arm height changes often correspond to different record thicknesses (if the original cutting angle is the same), but not always, and if the arm height increases by the same amount as the record thickness increases, VTF does not change at all. So, this change in VTF is within a 1/6 band in the center of my cartridge's recommended tracking force range, and even less when taking into account that the stylus is actually moving up or down as the LP thickness changes, causing even less change in VTF.

In real use, the VTF range with my varying arm heights may be within a much smaller band of the recommended tracking force range of my cartridge. Because the VTF gauge height is an approximation, the stylus on my thinnest LPs will be measured closer to the platter, and the arm will be much lower. Same with the thickest LPs, only in reverse. So, if one removes the two extreme cases of the 16.0mm and 18.5mm arm heights because the arm will be lower with thin LPs and higher with thick LPs, then the VTF range is only 2.011g - 1.988g or a 0.023g range. This is 13 times less than the tracking force range of my cartridge and within a tiny band of 23/1000 of a gram.

The LP thickness chart indicates that a 110g LP is 1.0mm thick and a 200g LP is 2.0mm thick, roughly. That is a range of 1.0 mm in typical LP thicknesses. However, my arm height changes cover a greater range of 2.5mm. So, I am raising and lowering my arm more than the differences in the record thicknesses in my collection. Either, the cutting head angles are all roughly the same and I am over adjusting my SRA settings by ear, or this increased arm height range reflects the varying cutting head angles in my LP collection. It could also be a combination of the two.

Fremer wrote that a 1mm change in arm height with a 9" arm roughly equals 0.25 degrees of SRA. My 12" is even less, say 0.2 degrees of SRA. So, my 2.5mm range in arm height corresponds to roughly a 0.5 degree of SRA change. (0.2 X 2.5 = 0.5). It is easy for me to imagine the cutting head angles vary in my records by 1/2 a degree or more. If Fremer recommends an average SRA setting of 92 degrees, a 1/2 degree variation means an SRA range of 91.75 to 92.25 degrees. This seems certainly possible. These numbers are small.

When VTF is measured at a fixed point like from the stationary scale resting on the platter, it does change very slightly with changes in arm height. However, if one considers that the stylus tip is also moving slightly up or down with changes in record thickness as one adjusts arm height, VTF values change even less, or not at all, as when the arm tube angle does not change with adjustments in height.

It is astonishing to me that with numbers this small, minor adjustments in SRA are audible.

Were the test records which show intermodulation distortion cut with the same angle as each of the LPs in one's collection? Are the test records the same thickness as each LP in one's collection? If not, then VTF will be different which might affect tonal balance.

When arm height is adjusted to correspond to different record thicknesses, VTF does not change, because SRA/VTA does not change. It is precisely when one does not change the arm height for different thickness LPs, that SRA/VTA does change which in turn effects VTF. I happen to adjust VTA for what sounds best to me for each LP, not to match specific record thicknesses per se, because, matching the original cutting head angle is really what reduces intermodulation distortion. I understand if others don't want to go to the trouble, even if they understand and hear for themselves that it is audible.

This is really a topic for a thread about analog set up.

I'm getting back to this discussion after a day or so. Ack, What do you mean by "adjust your own records"? I have been discussing adjusting tonearm height to better match SRA/VTA for different cutting angles and/or record thicknesses. I happen to listen for timing errors, or I suppose distortion, and the relationship between the fundamental of a note and its harmonics. I adjust the tonearm height accordingly to what sounds best for each LP and record the setting so that I can refer to it for later playings.

It is self evident that if you do not adjust the arm height for different LPs, then the overhang and VTF will change if the LP being played is of a different thickness (height) than the one used when originally aligning the cartridge. In other words, a thin LP will give a particular arm a different effective length and overhang as well as a different VTF than will a thicker LP, if the arm is at a fixed height. So just playing different thickness LPs will change the set up parameters of the arm/cartridge. One is simply finding the best compromise of the various parameter settings when he uses his alignment jig and sets up the cartridge.

The overhang, VTF, and SRA/VTA are set for a particular alignment jig at a particular height above the platter surface. How high is the platform on the scale when measuring VTF? Is it the same height as all of the records in one's collection? Surely not. I set my VTF by setting up the measuring platform of my scale at the same height as the average LP in my collection. That is a compromise, simply because some LPs are thicker or thinner than the average. When I play ones different from the average, VTF will be different unless I move the arm up or down to compensate. If one does adjust the height of the arm for different LP thicknesses, or more properly, for different original cutting angles, then at least the parameters of VTF and and SRA/VTA will remain the same. That is because as LP thickness goes up and one raises the arm by the same amount, the angle of the arm remains constant, so SRA/VTA remains constant, and VTF remains constant. Overhang should remain the same also if the angle of the arm remains constant.

I would argue that by not changing arm height, you are actually creating more intermodulation distortion every time you play an LP which is of a different thickness than your test LP which you used to set up your arm/cartridge by listening for intermodulation distortion. Of course, that is your choice, as it is inconvenient to constantly change the arm height for different LPs. But if one's goal is to reproduce accurately the information on the recording with as little distortion as possible, one would be well served by adjusting the height of his tonearm for different cutting angles and/or LP thicknesses. The proof is in the listening, as Al M. has experienced. One does not need to own a vinyl source to hear this and appreciate what it does for a more accurate rendition of the recording.

Tomorrow when Al visits you to hear your system, you should play for him a thin LP like Beethoven's Appassionata, D2D 45 rpm on RCA and a thicker reissue like Heifetz' "Kreutzer" Sonata or the Janaki Trio. Let us know if you hear the same lack of intermodulation distortion on each LP without changing the arm height. VTF, VTA, SRA, and overhang will all change when you play these two LPs and don't change the arm height, simply because they are different thicknesses, and the tonearm angle, relative to the surface of the LP, will necessarily be different for each one.

Thank you very much, Bob. I wish you a Happy Easter too. I should clarify a couple of points. When one uses an alignment jig and a specific scale for measuring VTF, the results are dependant upon certain factors: the thickness of the jig and height of the scale platform on which one places the stylus. Those should be approximately the same height off of the platter surface as height of the average LPs most listened to in one's collection. This helps to reduce the variance caused by different thickness LPs. Imagine if the alignment jig is a thin piece of paper? If the overhang is set to a null point or arc, it will change as soon as one puts that stylus on a 1.5 mm thick LP. Same with VTF. If one is truly interested in the accuracy of the arm/cartridge set up, one should make every effort to optimize the use of the tools. Ack is correct in observing that the tiniest variances matter and are often audible. These tools serve as a starting point and later final adjustments by ear can improve things further. These comments are only based on my own experience with set up in my own system and based on what I have read.

Thank you for clarifying this for me, Tasos. I misunderstood how you were using the test LP. I had thought you used it while adjusting your arm height to that specific LP and listening for lowest distortion. If it is an ear training tool, that makes sense. You then must adjust by ear the arm height while listening to a different record for the lowest level of distortion which you learned by hearing the test LP. This LP becomes the reference for your collection. This makes sense. So now, perhaps we are on the same page. I think, essentially, we do the same thing. The only difference is that you do it for one LP (not the test LP), and I do it for most of the LPs in my collection so as to reduce the variance of VTF, SRA/VTA, and overhang resulting from a fixed arm height.
 

microstrip

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Peter,

What is the height corresponding to the exact horizontality of your 12 " tonearm? Are you setting the VTF using the spring system of the SME?
 

awsmone

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Peter

did you do this over the platter of the SME?

are you aware that a 2 mm record will decrease the magnetic attraction between the cartridge and the platter, compared with a 1 mm record ?
 

BruceD

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Peter

did you do this over the platter of the SME?

are you aware that a 2 mm record will decrease the magnetic attraction between the cartridge and the platter, compared with a 1 mm record ?

Sheeeesh? A ---that's outa left field :rolleyes:

BuceD
 

PeterA

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Peter,

What is the height corresponding to the exact horizontality of your 12 " tonearm? Are you setting the VTF using the spring system of the SME?

microstrip, Are you asking how high the arm is above the platter when it is horizontal? Or something else?

I use the dynamic tracking force, or spring dial. I have tried the static balance, but I prefer using dynamic balance.
 

PeterA

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awsmone, did I do what over the platter of the SME? No, I was not aware that there was a magnet attraction between the cartridge and the platter. How much do you think it affects the VTF measurement? I could weight the cartridge over the platter and again over a wooden table to see if there is a difference. I think my scale's platform is about 3mm above the surface on which the scale is placed. When measuring VTF, I actually raise the arm higher than usual to compensate for the fact that the scale is 1.5mm higher than the thickness of my average LP.
 

rockitman

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With the SME 3012R, I set the VTA for the cart in question with a 180 gram record. Still sounds great with 150 and 200 gram records with no re- adjustment of VTA. Since there is no VTA option on the fly for this arm, that is what I do. It simply is not worth the time and effort to adjust for every record. If I am playing a record with a Graham arm, I will make the adjustment since it’s on the fly, quick and easy to do and there is a reference spirit level to keep VTA consistent from record to record. For some reason, the Graham is more sensitive to VTA changes on different thickness records and the SME is not.
 

PeterA

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I'm not surprised, Christian. My SME is not easy to adjust, though it is easier than the 3012R. Arms like the Graham, the Triplanar, the early Durands etc are designed for frequent, repeatable VTA adjustments, and I think some users take advantage of that. I have heard that the 3012R is not as sensitive to adjustments, and that they are less necessary. That is good as it saves you the hassle. Some cartridges seem also to be more or less sensitive to SRA changes. The important thing is to know your gear, use it the way in which it makes the most sense for you, and to simply enjoy the music.
 

miniguy

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Two facts should be pointed out in discussions like this one.
1. Dynamic balance is a misnomer when applied to tonearms. This is a term used to describe the balancing of a rotating system while under rotational motion, such as balancing a tire/wheel combination. Using a spring to apply VTF metely employs the stored energy in the spring to that end. The alternate way of applying VTF is to use gravity by unbalancing the tonearm with its counterweight. It’s unfortunate that the term dynamic balance has worked its way into the audiophile lexicon over the years.

2. The variation of VTF with respect to height of the stylus is solely dependent on the condition of static balance designed into the arm. Three conditions are possible, and are described as stable, unstable and neutral. In stable balance, a condition of most every arm, the center of gravity of the arm lies slightly below the vertical pivot, i.e., an imaginary line drawn between the centers of mass of the forward (cartridge) and aft (counterweight) portions of the arm passes below the vertical pivot. In an unstable arm, the CG lies above the vertical pivot. In a neutrally balanced arm the CG is exactly coincident with the position of the vertical pivot. Only in this last case is the VTF in such an arm independent of the vertical position of the stylus. I am aware of only two arms having neutral balance - the one designed into the original AR turntable and all variations of Bob Graham’s Phantom tonearms. As I said most tonearms are designed with weak stable balance, that is, close to neutral. If you disturb such an arm vertically when it is balanced with zero VTF it will tend to return to its preferred position. This means that in playing mode, any position of the stylus above the measured VTF point will cause VTF to increase, and any position below the reference point will result in decreased VTF. If you disturb an unstable arm in the same way, it will want to rotate all the way around to find its stable position, so that VTF will decrease for any vertical position of the stylus above the reference point, and increase below the reference point. The only unstable arm I am aware of is the Triplanar, though it is still very close to neutral. Bottom line is that most arms are designed with fairly weak stable balance so that variation in VTF due to thickness of discs and warp conditions are pretty small and would be difficult to discern audibly. One thing to look for when shopping for a tonearm is to notice the vertical position of the counterweight with respect to the vertical pivot, which would be an indication of its state of stable balance, or lack thereof.
 

rockitman

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Two facts should be pointed out in discussions like this one.
1. Dynamic balance is a misnomer when applied to tonearms. This is a term used to describe the balancing of a rotating system while under rotational motion, such as balancing a tire/wheel combination. Using a spring to apply VTF metely employs the stored energy in the spring to that end. The alternate way of applying VTF is to use gravity by unbalancing the tonearm with its counterweight. It’s unfortunate that the term dynamic balance has worked its way into the audiophile lexicon over the years.

2. The variation of VTF with respect to height of the stylus is solely dependent on the condition of static balance designed into the arm. Three conditions are possible, and are described as stable, unstable and neutral. In stable balance, a condition of most every arm, the center of gravity of the arm lies slightly below the vertical pivot, i.e., an imaginary line drawn between the centers of mass of the forward (cartridge) and aft (counterweight) portions of the arm passes below the vertical pivot. In an unstable arm, the CG lies above the vertical pivot. In a neutrally balanced arm the CG is exactly coincident with the position of the vertical pivot. Only in this last case is the VTF in such an arm independent of the vertical position of the stylus. I am aware of only two arms having neutral balance - the one designed into the original AR turntable and all variations of Bob Graham’s Phantom tonearms. As I said most tonearms are designed with weak stable balance, that is, close to neutral. If you disturb such an arm vertically when it is balanced with zero VTF it will tend to return to its preferred position. This means that in playing mode, any position of the stylus above the measured VTF point will cause VTF to increase, and any position below the reference point will result in decreased VTF. If you disturb an unstable arm in the same way, it will want to rotate all the way around to find its stable position, so that VTF will decrease for any vertical position of the stylus above the reference point, and increase below the reference point. The only unstable arm I am aware of is the Triplanar, though it is still very close to neutral. Bottom line is that most arms are designed with fairly weak stable balance so that variation in VTF due to thickness of discs and warp conditions are pretty small and would be difficult to discern audibly. One thing to look for when shopping for a tonearm is to notice the vertical position of the counterweight with respect to the vertical pivot, which would be an indication of its state of stable balance, or lack thereof.

Very informative. Thanks miniguy !
 

ddk

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I'm not surprised, Christian. My SME is not easy to adjust, though it is easier than the 3012R. Arms like the Graham, the Triplanar, the early Durands etc are designed for frequent, repeatable VTA adjustments, and I think some users take advantage of that. I have heard that the 3012R is not as sensitive to adjustments, and that they are less necessary. That is good as it saves you the hassle. Some cartridges seem also to be more or less sensitive to SRA changes. The important thing is to know your gear, use it the way in which it makes the most sense for you, and to simply enjoy the music.

Thats actually untrue about the 3012-R, changes of even a couple microns to the VTA has huge sonic impact with most cartridges but I never felt the need need to continually adjust VTA/SRA when it was setup properly from the start.
david
 
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miniguy

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Thats actually untrue about the 3012-R, changes of even a couple microns to the VTA has huge sonic impact with most cartridges but I never felt the need need to continually adjust VTA/SRA when it was setup properly from the start.
david

“a couple of microns” ? Really? One micron = 0.001mm. Surely that’s a typo and not what you meant.
 

PeterA

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Thats actually untrue about the 3012-R, changes of even a couple microns to the VTA has huge sonic impact with most cartridges but I never felt the need need to continually adjust VTA/SRA when it was setup properly from the start.
david

Thank you for the correction, ddk. Do you feel that the huge sonic impact of very small variations of VTA, the kind you get when playing different thickness LPs for example, do not distract you enough from the music to make adjustments to the arm height necessary? Is it something you hear but don't want to be bother with the hassle of making the adjustments with the 3012R? As you know, I am considering adding the 3012R on an outboard arm pod to my turntable, but the lack of easy VTA adjustment is giving me second thoughts now that you say these differences have a huge sonic impact. I had incorrectly assumed that the "natural" tone of the 3012R overrides or glosses over what I thought were slight variations in sound from imprecise SRA.

For me, the adjustments I make on the SME V-12 improve the sonics and let me hear more accurately what is on the recording. I agree, slight variations in VTA are clearly audible, to me much more so than the slight changes in VTF and overhang that may or may not result from the changes in arm height. I often wonder if the usual lack of adjustment accounts for inconsistent enjoyment of a batch of LPs heard in some systems such as those at dealerships or shows where the arm has been optimized for one standard set up LP or is set up as a compromise for, or what sounds best on, a variety of different LPs.
 

PeterA

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After reading this thread, feel life’s too short to be worried about VTA.

Keith, I'm not sure that people are actually worried about VTA, but I think if someone wants to listen to vinyl, not considering VTA during the initial set-up process would be a mistake. It is one of the key variables affecting proper cartridge/arm alignment. Even if done only once and forgotten, one must pay attention to it during the initial set-up in order to get good results.

Then again, one could always just listen to digital instead and not worry about any of this stuff.
 

PeterA

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Two facts should be pointed out in discussions like this one.
1. Dynamic balance is a misnomer when applied to tonearms. This is a term used to describe the balancing of a rotating system while under rotational motion, such as balancing a tire/wheel combination. Using a spring to apply VTF metely employs the stored energy in the spring to that end. The alternate way of applying VTF is to use gravity by unbalancing the tonearm with its counterweight. It’s unfortunate that the term dynamic balance has worked its way into the audiophile lexicon over the years.

2. The variation of VTF with respect to height of the stylus is solely dependent on the condition of static balance designed into the arm. Three conditions are possible, and are described as stable, unstable and neutral. In stable balance, a condition of most every arm, the center of gravity of the arm lies slightly below the vertical pivot, i.e., an imaginary line drawn between the centers of mass of the forward (cartridge) and aft (counterweight) portions of the arm passes below the vertical pivot. In an unstable arm, the CG lies above the vertical pivot. In a neutrally balanced arm the CG is exactly coincident with the position of the vertical pivot. Only in this last case is the VTF in such an arm independent of the vertical position of the stylus. I am aware of only two arms having neutral balance - the one designed into the original AR turntable and all variations of Bob Graham’s Phantom tonearms. As I said most tonearms are designed with weak stable balance, that is, close to neutral. If you disturb such an arm vertically when it is balanced with zero VTF it will tend to return to its preferred position. This means that in playing mode, any position of the stylus above the measured VTF point will cause VTF to increase, and any position below the reference point will result in decreased VTF. If you disturb an unstable arm in the same way, it will want to rotate all the way around to find its stable position, so that VTF will decrease for any vertical position of the stylus above the reference point, and increase below the reference point. The only unstable arm I am aware of is the Triplanar, though it is still very close to neutral. Bottom line is that most arms are designed with fairly weak stable balance so that variation in VTF due to thickness of discs and warp conditions are pretty small and would be difficult to discern audibly. One thing to look for when shopping for a tonearm is to notice the vertical position of the counterweight with respect to the vertical pivot, which would be an indication of its state of stable balance, or lack thereof.

Thank you for correcting my notion of dynamic balance, miniguy. Great information in you post. Have you compared the sonic effects of an arm like the SME while in spring loaded mode and static balance mode? If so, could you describe what you hear and what advantages the manufacture might ascribe to a spring loaded system? I always thought the spring load presents a more stable VTF during sudden changes in VTA like those encountered during the playing of a warp. On a perfectly flat LP surface, I would think there is no sonic or practical difference between the two methods of applying VTF, but I don't really know. Another consideration may be to see which method allows for the counterweight to be more closely located to the arm's pivot point for a reduction in the arm's inertia.
 

ddk

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“a couple of microns” ? Really? One micron = 0.001mm. Surely that’s a typo and not what you meant.
No typo wrong unit of measurement, my bad. What I meant was 0.2-0.3 mm, thank you for catching it!
david
 

ddk

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Thank you for the correction, ddk. Do you feel that the huge sonic impact of very small variations of VTA, the kind you get when playing different thickness LPs for example, do not distract you enough from the music to make adjustments to the arm height necessary? Is it something you hear but don't want to be bother with the hassle of making the adjustments with the 3012R? As you know, I am considering adding the 3012R on an outboard arm pod to my turntable, but the lack of easy VTA adjustment is giving me second thoughts now that you say these differences have a huge sonic impact. I had incorrectly assumed that the "natural" tone of the 3012R overrides or glosses over what I thought were slight variations in sound from imprecise SRA.

For me, the adjustments I make on the SME V-12 improve the sonics and let me hear more accurately what is on the recording. I agree, slight variations in VTA are clearly audible, to me much more so than the slight changes in VTF and overhang that may or may not result from the changes in arm height. I often wonder if the usual lack of adjustment accounts for inconsistent enjoyment of a batch of LPs heard in some systems such as those at dealerships or shows where the arm has been optimized for one standard set up LP or is set up as a compromise for, or what sounds best on, a variety of different LPs.

I don’t hear anything off after setting the VTA for use with standard records, going to 200g vinyl would need minor adjustment but I never bought any to care.

david
 
Last edited:

miniguy

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Thank you for correcting my notion of dynamic balance, miniguy. Great information in you post. Have you compared the sonic effects of an arm like the SME while in spring loaded mode and static balance mode? If so, could you describe what you hear and what advantages the manufacture might ascribe to a spring loaded system? I always thought the spring load presents a more stable VTF during sudden changes in VTA like those encountered during the playing of a warp. On a perfectly flat LP surface, I would think there is no sonic or practical difference between the two methods of applying VTF, but I don't really know. Another consideration may be to see which method allows for the counterweight to be more closely located to the arm's pivot point for a reduction in the arm's inertia.

In my experience the difference between spring-applied VTF and gravity on not completely flat records is essentially theoretical. The increase in VTF in an arm with stable balance while traversing a warp zenith, for example, would be exactly the same regardless of how VTF is applied. Warp tracking performance, however, could be dependent on the distance of the counterweight from the vertical pivot. But the effect on arm inertia would generally be confined to a small change within, say, a 1 or 2 Hz range, and the change would not be very audible. The advantage of a tonearm designed with inherent neutral balance, like the Phantoms, is that one can spend less time worrying about all these considerations as a source of audiophile nervosa and spend more time enjoying the music. Even with well designed stable balanced tonearms, changes in VTF due to warps and record thickness are just too small to worry about, and IMO there is no need to adjust arm height to compensate for record thickness. One is better off setting SRA for average record thickness and be done with it.
 

rockitman

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With the SME 3012R, I keep track of the number of playing cards (stack) I use to set VTA on various carts. They are initially set up for mid weight LP’s...180g. If I want to maximize VTA for a 200g LP..I add a card or two to the stack and cram them in the back of tonearm while loosening the VTA hex tower lock to raise it or lower it simply by subtracting cards. It’s a simple and rather ingenious method I learned from David.
 

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