Parallel? How do you set the VTA?

Dover
I have a screw gauge that slips under the arm lift.
1/4 turn of the screw equates to 1/1000 of an inch.
I can hear 1/1000 of an inch like night and day.

Apparently, it takes a 4mm change in the VTA to change the SRA by 1 degree on a 9-inch tonearm, even more on a longer arm. If you can hear a change of 1/1000 of an inch in the VTA, that means that you can hear a change of 0.00635 degrees in SRA, even less if you have a longer arm. You surely are jesting, Dover!

The issue I have with adjusting the VTA for every record and writing it down like Doug and Dover do is that you might very well not have the same setting the next time you listen to that same record even without touching the tonearm. Ambient temperatures will affect the VTF, which in turn will affect the SRA. To illustrate with an extreme example, if Dover can hear a change of 0.00635 degrees in the SRA, a change of a fraction of degree in the ambient temperature would result in a change in the sound that he could hear. I suppose you could account for that by ensuring that the VTF is the same, but that's a lot of work every time you put on a new record, in addition to cleaning the stylus, de-staticking the record and removing any residual dust particles, removing and putting the clamp and the periphery ring back on! Unless you have a listening room that is perfectly air conditioned 24/7...

Thanks for all the good ideas. I have to admit that after initial set-up I only change vta when something doesn't sound right. The arm on the Traveler is very easy to adjust on the fly but I never seem to change unless something is wrong. I listen to albums that I am very familiar with every day or two, it lets me know if things are dialed in to my liking.
At least we all agree that when it's right we can tell because nothing makes that music sound as good as stylus on vinyl.

Dear Brf: +++++ " it is all about the “best” compromise. " +++++

agree " the best compromise ". I only made what Dougdeacon posted when I', testing/comparing audio items and I need not the " best compromise " but the right setting.

I was at Dougdeacon 's place and he is extremely " dedicated " to that VTA/SRA setting but his overall process is not so dificult as we can think because as he said in each one LP he has " notes " to remember him the right VTA/SRA to each LP and he do this very fast.
Even that I normally for day by day listening I prefer " the best compromise " but the Dougdeacon " process " is not only an alternative but IMHO the right one.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Parallel is a good place to start but it's were you finish that counts. The angle that the stylus is mounted on the cantilever will determine where the VTA will end up. With the carts I have had somewhere around 92 deg SRA is best.

Gluing styli to cantilevers is a tricky business. Very difficult to get the angle the same every time. Press fit styli are more consistent IME. The two carts I am using now are polar opposites as far as VTA settings go. One requires tail high and the other tail low to get the same SRA. In some cases using a shim under the front or back of the cartridge may be required if you run out of travel on your VTA adjustment.

Just remember that if you set your overhang before you finalized your SRA you should reset the overhang as a last step. Especially if you had to move the VTA allot to get proper SRA. This is because moving the VTA up from parallel will pull the stylus back towards the pivot a little. Same thing happens when you lower the tonearm from parallel. Unless you have an ET2 with a curved VTA adjustment. ;)

The only way I could see myself doing album-by-album VTA adjustment would require ownership of a rare Air Tangent arm that allowed for motorized VTA adjustment by remote control. That way, one could actually hear the change occurring on the fly. I don't see listening, getting up to do an adjustment, then sitting down to listen to be enjoyable, reliable, etc.