Do You Have a Favorite Disk to Set VTA/SRA?

Czarivey,

Thanks so much. If you'd been to my home to listen, learn and enjoy music together - as Peterayer and many other Audiogoners have over the past 10 years - your opinion of my hearing and practices might actually include some useful content. Of course those who chose derogation and dismissal without hearing any evidence are unlikely to receive an invitation.

P.S. If you'd bothered to check my system page you'd have learned that my tonearm does indeed have height adjustment on the fly. But I understand from your post that you prefer to offer opinions without gathering information.

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Melm,

Sorry for the distraction. Audiogon is typically more helpful than this.

I prefer to offer suggestions based on complete information, so I made no assumptions about your system or tastes. I simply asked for more information in order to tailor any guidance I might have to offer. Feel free to fill in the blanks as you're inclined, I'll be happy to reply.

Cheers,
Doug

Dougdeacon, do you have 7" records? They have also different thickness. For what it's worth even with on-flight VTA it's insane and sick and not normal. Try to promote your strategy to Rega owners LOL!

Adjustment is a personal preference like everything else in this business. SOme like the plug and play systems and others invest time and money for SOTA on everything. Its crazy only if you don't value it. I will admit however, the rega arms do make it a challenge (at least the older ones)
I do not adjust every one but do adjust based on my knowledge of my collection and general thickness of the record. If it is a new record or one i dont remember, i will adjust to see if i can bring out any more detail. I listen for the clarity of the lows (does it get muddy or sharper), are the notes on a piano clear and crisp versus soft. Those are my typical things i do. I am not a great technical listener, but when i adjust, i know when it gets better to me.

Czarivey,

Whether I have 7" records or a Rega arm is irrelevant. What matters is what the OP has, and he hasn't told us yet.

Why do you accuse me of "promoting my strategy"? Read my post again. I didn't promote ANY strategy. The only thing I "promoted" was a search for more information about the OP's system and preferences.

You, on the other hand, are promoting a strategy without regard for anyone else's system or preferences. As Oilmanjo noted, this adjustment is a matter of personal preference.

You call other approaches "spiritual masterbation" and "sick and not normal". Why employ such pointlessly insulting language? Believe it or not, you do not possess all the answers.

Doug

P.S. I've owned several Rega and Rega knockoff arms (Origin Live). There are aftermarket devices (Riggle, Teres) which make it easy to adjust arm height, on the fly if one wishes. You apparently don't know quite as much as you believe.

Doug,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I tried to make my inquiry very specific. I didn't think that the response depended upon specific equipment or listening preferences. I simply wanted to know if particular recordings have been particularly helpful to others in this difficult (for me) adjustment.

Nonetheless I use a Shelter 501 II with a Soundsmith OC retip on a VPI JMW 12" arm. When listening to vinyl, I listen primarily to classical. But there have been suggestions that some non-classical recordings work better for this purpose.