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An easier way to set VTF/VTA/SRA? Perhaps....

I've occasionally advocated the need (over at Vinyl Asylum) for an additional alignment parameter in order to more easily find the desired tracking force (VTF) and stylus rake angle (SRA) interaction and easily adjust for changes in suspension elasticity. I refer to it as Weighted Cantilever Angle (WCA) which is the angle of the cantilever (from horizontal) where the manufacturer intended the cantilever to be positioned within the cartridge generator. (This would of course require manufacturers to provided the intended WCA for each cartridge.)

To align for WCA, a small angle gauge would be placed on the record surface to determine the cantilever angle as tracking force and tone arm height are adjusted to keep the headshell/cartridge body level. When the combination is found whereby the cartridge body is level and VTF and VTA/SRA provide the recommended WCA, then the optimal vertical cartridge alignment should be very close and only need fine-tuning.

The weighted cantilever angle could be easily checked periodically to see if there have been changes in the suspension.

Do you think this idea has merit? If not, what are the flaws in my thinking?

Tom
tketcham
tketcham OP
291 posts
 
There's on-the-fly arm height adjustment so it'll be set it and forget it once things are dialed in, just as I'm doing now. I understand the merits of adjusting for the various record thicknesses to keep SRA near optimum but I guess I'm not serious enough about this to make it a priority. Now if a tone arm manufacturer came up with a way to have preset arm heights available with the click of a handy dial, and still maintain the structural rigidity of the arm assembly, then I might be interested.

I'm going to try to measure cantilever angle just for shits and grins, and I'll be very careful so as not to end up just saying 'shit'. The idea of using a photograph to measure the angle is worthy since I'd have to fabricate some type of gauge otherwise. Digital images are a snap to take and process.

But I should probably just abandon the whole notion of using cantilever angle as an alignment parameter. Obviously it isn't something anyone is using and you've been kindly dissuading me of the idea from the start. '-)

Tom
tketcham OP
291 posts
 
Oops. "There's no on-the-fly..." nt
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
Regarding SRA and the adjustment to meet the cutting angle of a given record. ...
This was widely done in the late 1980ies first among the initial collectors of the audiophile quality early stereo records (DECCA SXL, Mercury SR, RCA LSC, EMI ......).
The difference in a 9-10" tonearm "relative height" ( or resulting SRA...) between the cutting angles of say a modern day Opus3 and a 1959 Mercury or EMI ASD/SAX were 1/2" (12-13 mm).
I am serious - these are not marginals.
The differences are huge.
Widely - if sadly .. - neglected and forgotten by todays audio writers and magazines.

God - as well as the tiny devil - lives in the details.
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