Adjusting SRA using macro lens vs microscope

Hi Glai, which usb microscope did you buy?

The scope is good to see what your ears are telling you. SRA is more important with some stylus's than other's. Doug, it may be fun to see where your SRA is at with a few albums just to see.

Interesting read which I am sure some of you have already read.

http://durand-tonearms.com/Support/Support/vta.html

As Raul said everthing changes when SRA is changed. Some tonearms moreso than others.

Brad

I have the Dino am413T with flex stand. It is one model up from the 313 used in Fremer's article. The magnification is the same but the camera has more pixels. The web site said measurements would be more precise because of this. It is only$40 -50 more.

Interesting video from Ortofon about the SLM process.

With all the talk about SRA and the A90 and getting to 92 degrees. It is interesting to see that in this video the A90 / tonearm is parallel.

http://www.ortofon.com/technology/slm-manufacturing-technique

Wntrmute2,

It's not clear who you were referring to when you said people "dismiss" anti-skating, but as one who currently plays without it I thought I'd address your question.

Playing with zero A/S does not necessarily constitute dismissing it. That would be true if one played this way (or recommended that others do so) without actually investigating what level of A/S is optimal. I've never done that, nor do I know anyone who has. What I and others recommend is experimentation: train your ears to recognize what A/S value works best on any given rig.

I analyze and adjust A/S the same way I do VTF or SRA or azimuth - by listening. I tweak VTF and SRA for virtually every LP. With some cartridges I've had to do the same for A/S. With one cartridge I tweaked A/S on an individual LP basis for months and heard the difference that even the tiniest change makes. This is not "dismissing" A/S, it's just the opposite: developing a full understanding of it.

It's true the optimal A/S value for my present cartridge happens to be zero. Further, since the A/S device itself feeds noise into my tonearm I've removed it. But a different cartridge might well need some value greater than zero, in which case I'd reinstall the device. Not dismissing; listening, analyzing and adjusting.

Downunder, nice video - thanks for the link. As for the A90 mounted and shown in action on a tonearm parallel to the record surface - I can shine a light here.
Ortofon's own test records are cut with the highest cutting angle in all cutter heads - thus the tonearm has to be parallel with standard mount cartridge in standard headshell.

In general and in any case - I do not want to spoil any "search-for-perfect-SRA-party", but finally it is always about the position of the polished area of the stylus towards the groove walls.
And this position is a variable one - not fixed, unless you only play records all cut with the same angle (i.e. - one manufacturer and one time period).
Since there are a wide range of cutting angles in records past and present, we either settle on a good compromise (which in turn is optimal for only ONE specific cutting angle) or adjust the position of the stylus to each cutting angle.
Those discussions have been made before and the two schools will never settle nor unite, but it is at least pretty clear that there is no such thing as a universal perfect SRA nor VTA.
Not in this world of record cutting angles differing by up to 8 degrees.
The stylus have to be aligned "groove-compliant".