2. analog
  3. 155976-5251

VTA on the fly

Of the four tonearms I own, they all have VTA on the fly.  Several months ago I had a small club meeting at my house for Classical music with LP's. 

Now this is really interesting, one of the attendees claims to have a 30,000 LP record collection.  This gentleman in his mid 70's is very familiar with the Boston Symphony Hall and orchestra.  When I played a Boston Symphony record that he brought, he claimed there should be more bass.  While the record was playing I turned the micrometer one half turn clockwise, and there was according to him the right amount of bass.  He then asked me what I did, because he seemed startled, and had no idea.

Think of it, an audiophile that loves and has been playing LP's for over fifty years, but had no idea of the advantages of VTA on the fly.  
128x128vv32bl
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
My Micro Seiki MA505LS arm on my 401 has VTA on the fly that is very easily and gently moved while a record is playing. It also incorporates a very secure locking method.
Check the arm out on vinyl engine or similar to see how this VTA on the fly works, it is a basic inbuilt feature of the arm design and not a later add on type of system.

While my ears are not as finely honed as drrsutliff, I can easily hear the changes depending upon the quality of the cartridge being used at the time.
The Koetsu Black Goldline and the Ortofon Black Cadenza were very audible to my ears with VTA on the fly change.

Vintage MM carts definitely not so much so.
larryi
3,791 posts
 
I am in agreement that small changes do affect the sound.  My final adjustments are always smaller than 1 mm.  I know that, if you do the math, this represents a ridiculously small change in VTA/SRA, but, this can be heard in the way millercarbon described.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,656 posts
 
But, it may also mean that the tonearm is not being held as rigidly as possible or that the VTA adjustment mechanism will become a source of unwanted resonant behavior.
@lewm The Triplanar is pretty good in both departments. It has a knurled screw you can use to lock it into position. The main adjuster is also very precise. Most of the 'on the fly' VTA towers used today are copies of the Triplanar design which was the first to have it. 
best-groove's avatar
best-groove
833 posts
 
So if the back of the tonearm goes up there are more bass, if the back of the tonearm goes down there are less bass or is it the other way around?
If I'm not mistaken, the high frequencies should also increase or decrease ... is this correct?
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,591 posts
 
Tail up is brighter.
More to discover