Is extremely accurate "VTA" adjustment necessary?

Well, I think I am certainly convinced now that my next table/arm combo will have the appropriate facilities for adjusting vta. After all this discussion I really need to try it for myself. There's nothing better than experiments, theory is not always a good substitute. I am note sure though whether I will get really obsessive about it, since I usually prefer to just listen without tweaking.

Doug, you really brought up another good argument earlier, although I think it is a very good one FOR vta adjustments if done properly. I also think that there is a chance that the cartridge alignment is off due to the slightly changed geometry when adjusting vta. However, for minute adjustment in VTA with a well-executed tonearm mount and vta adjuster, this should not change the geometry more than putting on a record of different thickness. This also would mean that we should certainly adjust for different record thickness to be true to the changed geometry.

Also this makes me really doubt the cheaper vta devices for Rega arms like expressimo and incognito. When you loosen the arm, change vta and then retighten, everything could have changed: The tonearm could slightly shift around in the mount changing cartridge alignment completely, you might hit an unstable thread on the mount, etc. Not the best method to get reproducible results. The bottom line is: If you want to bother about vta, you better do it right with a well-executed mechanism.

I really have to thank everybody here again. I thought the discussion was really helpful and really brought out some of the usually hidden issues in adjusting vta. And I do have to agree:

You can't ignore it but you don't need to worship its altar.

Again best wishes,

Rene

A used 1200 will let you know if on the fly VTA is for you.

Restock,

There are very high dollar VTA on the fly implementations that require loosening and retightening. The difference in the ones I have seen is that the tolerances are much more exact and reduce the amount the arm can move on its own while loose.

Also this makes me really doubt the cheaper vta devices for Rega arms like expressimo and incognito. When you loosen the arm, change vta and then retighten, everything could have changed: The tonearm could slightly shift around in the mount changing cartridge alignment completely, you might hit an unstable thread on the mount, etc. Not the best method to get reproducible results.

True, and they're also sort of a PIA to use.

The bottom line is: If you want to bother about vta, you better do it right with a well-executed mechanism.

Are you sure you're a physicist? That sounds more like an engineer to me. ;-)

It's important to reiterate that we were driven to this by the demands of our ears. It was not theory driven nor, as Gregadd so aptly put it, a case of worshipping at some idol of theoretical perfection. It was only after we realized we could hear the differences that we went out, chased down the theory and sought out possible solutions.

That's important in this hobby I think. Hear as many different things as you can, talk to others and try to figure out if what they hear is what you hear. Then choose solutions that best execute your mix of priorities within your budget. As Twl so wisely pointed out on Artar 1's cartridge thread, chasing perfection for its own sake is endless, futile and ultimately sterile.

Yesterday Paul sent an email to a couple of friends describing a listening day with our new cartridge. Not a word about techniques or technology. He simply attempted to convey in words the intensely satisfying musical day he had experienced. :-) His unbridled enthusiasm and joy were utterly unlike his normally reserved self.

That's what I was hoping for when we came back to analog after 15 years in the RBCD wasteland. Twl told me this could happen and he was right. His passion and that of other early Teres adopters helped us rediscover ours. Your path and mine to that passion may differ and perhaps they should differ. After all, the only way to truly hear live musicians in your home is to host live musicians. Short of that it's important to remember, at least when talking here, that stereo is just an illusion.

But when the record spins and the eyelids close (mine do anyway)...

Certainly, 180 and 200 gram records are unusually thick, but there are not great differences among other records. Finding the right vta thus is not entirely dependent on which record you are playing. Some time ago when I had a Wheaton arm with calibrated settings, I went to the trouble of assessing about 50 LPs. Most had the same setting or very close to the same setting.