Best tonearm position for VTA?

Couple of meaningless thoughts.

#1 "WHEW"--That is ALWAYS my expression after reading a FRIGGIN "QUOTED" comment by "YOU" towards me DOUG!I'm so conditioned(probably by my third grade teacher,in her criticism)that I always think you are about to "BLAST" me when you do that!!NO PROB,though!!

#2 Rnm4--I think you are taking this Fluff thing a bit too far.Of course Strauss was a SERIOUS DUDE,but in the context taken,DOUG was IMOAITOOMF(in my opinion and in the opinion of my friends,second hand clapping?Cello?)really being complementary.I love this piece,but in the overall context of the Classical Genre,it is "LIGHT",and I love it!!

#3 PLAYING CARDS?This hobby is getting more "rediculously" technical than a LEICA RANGEFINDER!!

#4 This "tail up vs down" may have applied more to Howard Hughes's style of flying a plane,with Kate Hepburn on his lap.It is REDICULOUS to talk it to death in vta!!My TRANSFIGURATION TEMPER-V(UNIV. WORTHY I MIGHT ADD)needs,DEMANDS a large backslope of the armtube.Do you know how I found this out?I actually tried a TON of differing variations,and never once came up with any kind of a straight flush!!FORGET THE TECHNICAL CRAP,AND LEARN BY TRIAL AND ERROR HERE!YOU WON'T DAMAGE YOUR CARTRIDGE,AND YOU WILL BECOME MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE!!

When you actually attempt to learn about what you are doing,in this sometimes frustrating hobby,you get a REALLY COOL by product--you SAVE MONEY!!YOU GET BETTER SOUND!!YOU ARE ACTUALLY HAPPY!!---well,maybe not as happy as those ZYX UNIV owners.

Sirspeedy, my comment about real precision measurements was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. I don't remember what arm you have but with the Vector the mounting cup just slides up and down when the set screw is loosened. It is very easy to move it too much either up or down, and sometimes not move it at all. The stack of playing cards provides a sort of poor man's micrometer, so it is much easier to get repeatable settings. For me that is paramount while learning to listen for the changes. I need some way to get repeatable changes to help convince myself that I am not imagining something I think I hear. Maybe once I've done this a few thousand times I'll know just by ear whether the arm needs to go up a gnat's whisker or a gnat's arm length. Yeah, I could spend the $800 on the Basis VTA adjuster and get this in a precision doo-dad, but the cards work well enough for now and the 2.2 will give me this.

Sirspeedy -- this is a little off thread but: When I see a certain U/N on a post, I definitely read it, or I never read it, depending. You belong to the former category. I don't always understand/agree with you, but your posts are often laced with a little humor; and you don't cling to knowledge as if you're never going to get any more!

But this morning, when I read the thing about the Leica Rangefinder, I laughed so hard I nearly sprayed coffee all over my keyboard!

Rnm4,
Just having a bit of fun, no intent to undermine Strauss (not even Johann!). There are passages in 'Till' whose harmonies remind me of the Stravinsky of 'Petrouchka' or even later. Strauss composed 'Till' 15 years before that, there's no question he was a pathfinder in his day.

Dan ed--I never mean to be condescending in my posts,and only mean to (when I can)be helpful.Maybe save some of you some time and wasted effort.My whole basic intent,after having,myself,tried every "CHACHKA" the hobby has to offer,was to stress that alot of the extraneous DO-DADS aren't really that important.The playing cards are fine,but,you won't have to fotz aroud "A THOUSAND TIMES" by simply dialing in very small changes and listening for them.

I and my friends do this constantly during new listening sessions.Without trepidation,and we always gain new insight.Sometimes something new and unrelated pops up.That being said,the "CARD" thing is a good idea,but as you gain experience with your stuff you won't have to rely on any additional gizmo's because you will know your stuff really well from "hands on" experience.