Lesson learned. Weird that I needed it. Hey anyone want a gently used WallyScope? Lol.
So I bought a WallyScope...
It's a very nice microscope and the software that comes with it, while I assume off-the-shelf, is excellent.
But here's the thing. At the end of the day, you are still basically eyeballing your VTA setup, and the instructions for the WallyScope have you do two separate observations to reach your conclusion. The first is the angle by which your stylus hangs off the cantilever, and the second is the angle of the cantilever versus the record surface.
I understand why this is done. It's so that you can measure with the record moving to get the dynamic rake angle instead of static, so that's one error that the method corrects for. But at the cost of introducing the compounding observational errors by taking two measurements and then combining them to calculate your angle.
I was very patient with this process. I spent many hours over several days. I even dismounted the scope from its frame because I found a better way to line it up for taking measurements.
And after all of that, I adjusted VTA by listening. Which achieved better sound. This came to me as a revelation, although it shouldn't have.
I don't regret the purchase, but it's a lesson that we can and should trust our ears.
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I have two USB microscopes, one better than the other for this job. My experience is similar to yours: I can spend ages adjusting, measuring and finally getting it 'right' - but then realising that 'right' is just the starting point as listening always makes me move things around a little more until it sounds the way I want. I think the advice that generally came from cartridge manufacturers was probably an easier way of getting there: set the base of the cartridge horizontal/parallel to the record surface when the stylus is resting on the record, and then adjust by sound. |
I do not have a Wally scope, though I do have a microscope. For me, it is a tool to get close as well as see where the final by ear adjustment leaves the angles. Cartridges of the same type (model number) from the same manufacture can have differences, especially in the alignment of the diamond on the cantilever. It also helps to observe any changes over life of the cartridge. |
@woofhaven1992 , I appreciate your comments though I wish you had reached out to me for support before coming to a conclusion. Perhaps you did, but I don't recall helping someone who didn't feel like they'd arrived at a final setup they were most happy with. I offer technical support pretty much 7 days a week to all WallyTools owners. The WallyScope is a fantastic tool that can give inaccurate results if the many setup variables are not controlled for. I am not implying that you messed up. I could not possibly know whether there is room for improvement or not until I start to see some of your images - which is what I hope to do for you. Please feel free to send them to me for any feedback I may be able to share with you. Lastly, I know from the analysis of hundreds of cartridges in my lab that MOST cartridges need more SRA/VTA correction than you would want the arm to perform for you (though few can). When the arm is too far out of level, vector forces at play around the arm bearing start to change for the worse. This is why I offer in the WallyTools instructions to send out corrective shims when needed. This may apply to you, maybe not but I can say that I am surprised that I don’t get more requests for compensation shims than I do. It really has me concerned that people are not getting the most out of the WallyScope. I also rarely hear about people using USB microscopes for the same effort complain about this but I see the need for more than 3 degrees of SRA/VTA correction with great regularly. I have never had a cartridge analysis client claim to get better sounding results by raising/lowering the tonearm after following my instructions for even very extreme SRA/VTA corrections. Maybe some have, but I’ve not heard about it yet. I would certainly want to hear about it if so. Lastly - and this is something that I haven’t discussed much outside of my seminars - BOTH stylus rake angle and vertical tracking angle are each important for different reasons and they each have their target ranges that are determined by the MEAN alignment targets used on Neumann and Scully Westrex lathes for cutting rake angle and vertical modulation angle, net of lacquer springback. If I knew what the WallyScope had to say about your SRA and VTA (dynamically measured) then I could help you balance the two goals since it is rare to have both in the ideal ranges. Our research team have put in several hundred hours of research so far this year. We have been learning so much so fast that I can certainly say there is A LOT we still don’t know about vinyl playback. I’ve been wrong before and I am sure I will be wrong again but I am pretty confident about a few things and one of them is that most cartridges need much more correction for SRA and VTA than the tonearm (or even the cartridge body) will allow. I hope to hear from you and would enjoy an opportunity to help you get more from your cartridge. Be well. |
@wallytools Thank you for the post, J.R. My original submission was not intended to suggest anything deficient with the WallyScope itself or your support -- which you are correct, I did not take advantage of. It was more of a comment of the repeated refrain in this pages of measurement vs. listening. I.e., are one's ears ultimately the best measuring tool? That said, the proper way to answer that question is to be sure to use the measurement tools correctly, which I undoubtedly did not do here. Unfortunately, I did not save my photos. I will, however, take new ones when I have a chance and circle back with you. |
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