Here we go again. You'd think people who advocate pre-setting SRA to some arbitrary number would explain why we should bother.
Before asking HOW to do something, ask WHY to do it. What is the goal? Does a recommended method meet that goal? In this case the answer is an unequivocal "no". Setting SRA by eye is a waste of time, so asking which tools to use is pointless.
1. The only correct SRA is the one that conforms the playback stylus to the grooves of the LP you're about to play. This is the only SRA that matters.
2. Each LP's groove SRA is different. Everyone knows groove SRA varies with record thickness. What the set-by-eye crowd forgets, if they ever knew it, is that groove SRA varies MUCH MORE by record label, cutting plant and the era in which the LP was made. The SRA of a 180g Decca is nowhere near the SRA of a 180g Mercury, or RCA, or Erato, or...
3. Since each LP's groove SRA is different, any pre-set SRA is arbitrary. It won't bear any relation to the SRA of the next LP we spin.
4. Spending time or money pre-setting some arbitrary number that we have to change anyway is pseudo-science for the naive.
So, make the cartridge roughly level by eyeballing. That's as good as any other arbitrary number, it's where most manufacturers design cartridges to play, it doesn't cost any money and it takes all of 10 seconds. Adjust by ear from there.
Example:
Last Saturday I joined some other audiophiles to play with some gear, including an Ortofon A90. The A90 has the hardest-to-see stylus I've ever met. We wasted an hour trying to set SRA by eye per the manufacturer's inadequate instructions. After giving up in frustration we came to our senses, levelled the damn cartridge and began spinning LP's.
As I do with any good cartridge I adjusted arm height for each LP by ear. Even though I was in a strange system using tonearms I don't own, it took no more than 30 seconds per LP and cost zero playing time, since the tonearms were adjustable on the fly. The A90 is extremely sensitive to SRA, yet I dialed it in easily. Presetting it to ninety-something degrees, even if we'd been able, would not have helped a bit and trying to do it was a waste of time. You'd think I'd have learned by now... ;-)
