Dear @herman : " chasing numbers like this is a fool’s errand. There are so many errors introduced in so many stages of the process that these small deviations do not matter. "
" focus on things other than getting distortions down to such ridiculously small amounts, like how it sounds. "
Clasic posts of an audiophile but certainly not a MUSIC lover.
Yes,speakers could have several dbs deviation in room frequency response but that is not the issue.
Gentlemans as you are the " market centuries bargain " for the manufacturers/designers/sellers in the audio world where almost none takes care why or what gives me the audio item I buy for the money I paid for it and manufacturers/designers know that they do not have to make a higher quality design efforts due that no one is asking for. Their customers are way " easy " customers " easy " to let satisfied ( just as you. )
That " bargain audio market " it’s conform and with no comply about quality level true performance.
Those gentlemans like you that stay in the " bargain audio market " are the ones that impedes the audio market designs truly grow-up but only " more of the same ".
Look from everywhere and you will see that the quality audio design almost is in stand-by real situation and ( again ) manufacturers are truly happy with because audiophiles today pay 10 times the kind of money for audio units that almost has no true improvements .
However, I can see that you are not using " lamp cord " for the electrical power in your system or a simple IC wire from your tonearm and I can see that you use too a TT " diferent " mat and that you or some one made for you the TT plinth and many other things. Maybe you don’t use a protractor to cartridge/tonearms alignments and many other " maybe’s ". Why took you all that time and money with your room/system modifications including the Voxativ? or why posted those silver connectors picture?. I don’t care, you are.
Now, we can’t modified what already happens in the LP whole recording process but we can take care with the playback proccess and between other several " things ". the RIAA is there.
I know that you should understand that the first main subject to exist a phono stage is because is because the grooves recorded information comes with the RIAA pre-emphasis and we need some way to have the inverse RIAA eq. to translate that recorded information in our " language ", the second main reason exist a phono stage is that we need to amplify the very low cartridge signal levels. A stupid question could be: do you know why the inverse RIAA eq. needs to do it at the very begin of that signal that pick up the cartridge and before any other stage?
What we listen at the other end of the system chain is an accumulation of several kind of distortions/noise/resonances/frequen cy deviations and the like along the room/speakers contribution about.
Why can you change the VTA or VTF or AZ in a cartridge/tonearm combination?. Well and between other things to achieve at minimum any kind of added distortions/degradations to the MUSIC signal.
Obviously that you don’t care about accuracy where it matters " th first " and maybe you don’t care because what you have is what you like it ( btw, the swing in your unit RIAA is 0.6db ) additional I can see that you are not in favor or a cartridge signal short path but the other way around. Nothing wrong with me and neither with you but for the MUSIC tht at the ends is the only subject it matters to me.
In the same way that is critical the cartridge/tonearm accuracy alignment in even more critical way is the phono stage inverse RIAA eq. accuracy. Any single minimal discrete frequency deviation in that curve ( I already posted ) affects at least 2 octaves and its developed harmonics and affects even when you have: + 0.3 or -0.3.
" they get within .01 dB " yes, absolutely I shared several times that RIAA again other phono stages RIAA and do you know how looks in aa chart both channels?.
you can only see a perfect linear line as if be only one channel instead 2. Yes, near perfection and yes I’m way demanding in the MUSIC reproduction needs and yes I know you are not. Nothing wrong with me.
lewm the swing in the RIAA is the true deviation and not only the: +.
R.