How much difference if the tonearm is mounted 5mm

Dear Dangcao: Japanese " loves " that S geometry with foundation in that the climax , normally in classical music, happens at the end of a LP side and those clemaxes are recorded at higher velocity and at the end/inside part of the LP the forces are harder for the stylus/cartridge to track it.
So, the S  geometry " helps " for the " normal " distortions ( other than the geometry alignment ) be at " minimum in that part of the recorded area but we have to pay for it because only in that inside part ( few mm. ) distortions are lower but in all the LP area just from the begin the distortions are way higher tahn in other kind of geometry alignments.

Several of the vintage topnearm designs came from Japan.

At the " end of the day " in almost any tonearm you can make the tonearm/cartridge set up with the alignment of your choice. I don't know yet one tonearm that accept one and only one geometry alignment kind.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Stringreen: Some tonearms comes ready for the offset angle if you mount it according the manufacturer advise but if you want to change it then sometimes you need to twuist the cartridge to have the right offset angle.
MANY TIMES YOU HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE YOU NEED THAT THE CARTRIDGE CANTILEVER BE STRAIGHT TO THE PROTRACTOR LINES WHERE SEVERAL TIMES THE CARTRIDGE CANTILEVER IS A LITTLE OFF POSITION WHEN BUILDED BY THE CARTRIDGE MANUFACTURER.

The tonearm/cartridge set up is a extremly critical set up where there is no " land " to even minimum errors/mistakes because fraction of mm. change for the worst the distortions levels and where those distortions happen.

I posted here that for the same cartridge/tonearm set up the difference between Löfgren and Baerwald alignment is less tha0.5mm on overhang staying the offset angle almost the same and if you go to the links I posted you will see in the charts how changes the distortions for both aslignments.

This kind set up permits CERO tolerances if we want minimum distortions. CERO tolerances is almost imposible to achieve  so we have to have extremly care to make this kind of set up everywhere in the " circuit of the set up ".

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

To ME....a little off means the cartridge goes back to the manufacturer.  I can not condone the lightening of the wallet to the tune of thousands (or even hundreds) of dollars.  I can not accept sloppy manufacturing.  A little off means I cannot trust that cartridge to be what I purchased.

5MM no problem if you like crappy sound.

ebm,

You are correct if that is what the final setup actually measures. That the position of his actual arm is 5mm out of the correct spindel to pivot dimensions for the length of his actual arm. 
5mm off is 5mm off!  But what is implied from the beginning of this thread is that there is 5mm difference between the the information given to make this setup and what the actually set became!  One of the two options is right and the other was wrong.  Is it the final position of the arm that is wrong?  The owner of the arm says it sound terrific in its current location.  This location is 5mm off from what was stated for it to be positioned.  Because 'crappy sound'  has not become the outcome of him moving the mounting hole over by this 5mm, then I would say that the spindle to pivot distance number he has been given was incorrect. His is not incorrect to have set up his arm correctly, only incorrect for not using the numbers supplied.  If 'not crappy sound' is what his goal was, then what he did was correct.  If following supplied dimensions  was his goal, the he was wrong.  I would prefer the 'not crappy sound' outcome over the following of supplied dimensions!
regards,