Phantom Supreme to 4Point-14?

Of course I meant degrees, not percentage, but I appreciate the correction.

Whether 92 degrees is correct or not is actually beside my point, which is that some angle IS correct on any LP, in that it replicates the cutting angle. The physics that care nothing for our fetishes do care about that angle and whether the stylus is in position to extract the info as it was cut. And yes, FWIW, I believe you to be a good person, too. :)

But once one admits that 92 degrees is not necessarily optimal, then it becomes a matter of adjusting SRA to please yourself.  The fussiness of doing that would detract from my listening pleasure much more than does the possibility that each LP is not sounding its absolute best at my chosen fixed VTA.  I usually choose an LP of average thickness, adjust for that LP, and then forgeddaboudit.  If there was something "off" about SQ on a particular LP, I suppose I would play with VTA among other parameters in order to cure a perceived problem.

Right, in the end it’s largely guess work, probabilities, and subjectivity. And our approaches are not so dissimilar. I know my VTA dial settings for 180 gram and 140g LPs; I split the difference for 160, subtract that split from 140 for 120g, add it to 180 for 200. It’s a momentary mental exercise. I can approximate the weight of the LP by its flexibility via a quick shake when I take it out of the sleeve. It takes all of three seconds to set VTA with most of my arms, and I do so before I play the LP. None of this is rigorous scientific practice, but its close enough. Then I sit and enjoy the music. Like you, I’ll tweak it if it sounds off, but I usually do not need to. If I want I can check my work on my 2 Grahams because they have bubble levels. Most of my carts like the arm level--or I’ve conditioned my ears to believe that. There’s actually very little fuss in my process, and it lets me relax into the sound. As I mentioned, though, if I forget to change, I usually notice.

That hypothetical 92 degree ideal setting is not even that.  As the Wallytools people point out, one has to set the 92 degrees when the stylus is actually dragging when the record is in motion.  They utilize a special microscope and take measurements with the surface in motion. 

I prefer setting VTA by ear after first getting the body of the cartridge close to parallel to the record surface.  I too utilize a typical thickness record and don't bother to make changes for different thickness records.  

There is one extremely rare version of the linear tracking Air Tangent arm that provided for VTA adjustment on the fly using remote control--that would be the ideal way to set VTA for each record (there is a numerical readout, so one could record the number for each record once that is done by ear).  I am actually glad I don't have this kind of capability because I really don't want to bother with that kind of fiddling around.

@larryi , I think the 92 degrees in motion is why Fremer sets his to 93 static. Your approach to VTA, like lewm’s, is utterly reasonable. As an experiment, I’m going to set my tonearm to the average record, which in my scheme would be 160g, and see how long I can go without changing it. Might take me a few days to fully detox! If I can live with it, the door is open to the 4P-9 or even, gulp, Safir!