2. analog
  3. 1292972291

VTA and cartridge loading

I've been reading the various threads regarding VTA and how it affects what one hears. My understanding is that as VTA increases (arm is raised), there will be more emphasis on the higher frequencies and as it is decreased (arm is lowered), the lower frequencies will be more emphasized. A quicker, airier sound versus a richer, fuller sound.

Someone also told me that VTA is really an adjustment in the time domain, meaning that it affects how accurately transient information is reproduced. If it is too high, the leading edge becomes shrill and occurs too early in time thus becoming detached from the note's harmonics and if it is too low, the leading edge of a transient occurs too late and gets mixed in with the rest of the note and it becomes a bit muddy and poorly defined.

My understanding of the affects of proper cartridge loading is somewhat similar. That is, the higher the loading, the more life and dynamics one hears. The lower the loading, the fuller, richer the sound becomes.

Are these descriptions accurate and useful? Is there any relationship between VTA and cartridge loading? Which should be set first?
peterayer
stops
56 posts
 
Set the cartridge loading at 1000 to start with (MC). Set the playing weight at the center of the spec. If an optimum setting is suggested use that instead
Put a very used/scrap record on the turntable and unplug the table from the power. Rest the stylus on the record. Take Care. If you are clumsy stop!! Using a 3X3 index card level the arm by sight by placing the card on the record and sighting the arm.
Lift up the arm get a good record and plug the table back in. I use a string quartet to set VTA but any well recorded acoustic instrument will do. Raise the back of the arm in small increments till the sound stage locks in. (depth and sound). If you raise the back too far the sound will lose body and get shrill. You can repeat the exercise by re-leveling the arm and going lower in the back. The sound will get tubby and lose definition. Somewhere between you will hear it as very right!
The loading of the cartridge is a little more subtle. I use a complex passage such as an orchestra in full flight and listen for the individual instruments. A critically damped cartridge will give you that definition. Too low a resistance will reduce the highs. You are critically tuning a tuned circuit made up of resistance, capacitance and inductance. When undamped this gives the usual peak in the high frequencies seen on ALL moving coil cartridges. The resistive load you put across the cartridge (this includes the connecting cables to the preamp) helps to reduce the peak. Too low a resistance actually drops the high frequency response of the cartridge. This is another wrong case of "if some is good even less is better" This is tweaked by trial and error and depends on the cartridge and system. You cannot damage the cartridge by reducing or increasing this load resistance.

Hope this is useful.
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Peter,
Thanks for the response. How do you go about setting up a cartridge?
stops
56 posts
 
Sambar: Read my link. I hope it is clear enough. Numbers of 10 to 20 times the cartridge impedance for the load resistor are a VERY rough guide. I started with 1000 ohms so that the VTA could be set without the loading affecting the sound. You can then lower the value as I suggested after you have set up the VTA. As with all things in this hobby your ear is the final guide.
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Hi Stops, I was thanking Peterayer for his response to my inquiry, I'm curious how he goes about setting up his cartridge after it's mounted on the arm. In the original post he asked;

"Is there any relationship between VTA and cartridge loading? Which should be set first?"

I use a record of "normal" thickness, set the SRA to 92* then set the VTF at a middle setting, recheck SRA, then set the loading at either 47kohm or 1000ohm and last adjust the antiskate for audio balance. I'm finding that starting with and working around the SRA (92*) is a faster, more repeatable system and much less confusing than trying to start with VTA.
I guess I'm saying SRA, VTF and loading are all first and VTA is for very fine tuning or last. There is so much going back and forth there is no one way.
peterayer OP
1,382 posts
 
Samhar,
I start with setting the VTF in the middle of the recommended range. Then I set the arm to be level on a thin LP. Then I set alignment using a MintLP protractor. Then I set antiskate low, maybe .5-.8g. Then I try different loading values, in my case, starting at 100 ohms as recommended by both the phono stage and cartridge manufacturers and move down, then up in value until complex passages sound clear and resolved and balanced tonally. Once that all sounds good, I go back to VTA, which with the SME V arm is a bit difficult to adjust. I now listen mostly to thin classical LPs, so I start with those and don't really adjust for thicker LPs because of the hassle. SRA is too difficult to see precisely, so I just adjust VTA by ear, basically listening for proper transient timing with respect to the note and its harmonics. The SME table and arm are really set-and-forget so I stop and enjoy the music. I have heard VTA adjusted on-the-fly by experts in this area and have been very impressed with the results, but my set up just doesn't really allow for that.
More to discover