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VTA and HTA overhang

I was adjusting VTA on my tonearm tonight and out of curiosity decided to check how it effected the overhang according to my MINT LP protractor. To my surprise, very small changes to VTA on my 12" arm are quite noticeable when trying to align my stylus to the arc on my alignment protractor.

My question is to all of you who change VTA for each LP. How do you compensate or adjust for the resulting change in Horizontal Tracking Angle (HTA) or overhang each time you change your VTA setting?

Besides the hassle of adjusting VTA for different LPs, this is another reason I don't fuss with VTA once I have found a good setting for the majority of my LPs. I wonder if those who attribute sonic differences to VTA changes are not also hearing slight changes to alignment which surely effects the sonics.
peterayer
sarcher30
596 posts
 
Peter, What happens when you use a taller record than the one you used to set your alignment? A taller record will push the stylus forward a bit. By adjusting VTA up the correct amount you compensate for that. So adjusting VTA for different height records preserves the correct overhang as long as you adjust it the correct amount.

Sounds like you just made a case for VTA adjustment not against it. ;0)

Unfortunately there is no way to account for record warps as they will surely change overhang as well. Even clamping and or vacuum hold down will not remove all the warps.

Sean
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I'd rather listen to music and compromise on "ideal playback" than adjust my tonearms for every record.

Life's too short IMO.
actusreus
733 posts
 
Sarcher30

Actusreus, your fork analogy does not work. If you could lift the rear of the fork straight up without letting it move forward as you lift it would pull the front back. This is quite easy to test with your tonearm. Just setup your alignment protractor and play with VTA. It's easy to see.

Sean and Peter,
Remember that you're not actually moving the tonearm, but the VTA tower or essentially the column that is supporting the tonearm. So in my fork example, if you threaded the back of the fork and inserted a screw that would allow only vertical motion, you could move the back of the fork without pulling it in or out.

I will adjust the VTA today on my table just of out curiosity. I know Doug adjusts the VTA for each record so it'd be interesting to hear his opinion on the matter.
sarcher30
596 posts
 
Audiofeil, I'm with you there. I don't personally adjust VTA for every record either, but I think it is important to know how different adjustments effect things. Especially when setting up a cartridge.

If you don't adjust VTA for different height records then make sure you set your alignment on a medium thickness record. Unless you mostly listen to 120 or 200 gram pressings. This is what I do.

All that said I can understand why someone might want to adjust VTA for different record heights. Most people don't have the time or patience to fiddle with it. Myself included.
sarcher30
596 posts
 
Actusreus, The only way the offset would not move when adjusting VTA up or down is if the tonearm post was curved. Lets use your fork as an example. If you lift your fork without moving the front at all it will trace an arc in the air. Turn the fork on it's side and put it on a piece of paper. If you attached a pencil to the end and rotated it keeping the tongs centered, it will trace an arc. Unless the tonearm post can trace that same arc it will effect overhang when adjusted.
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