Stylus Rake Angle

Dear Sarcher30/friends: For years audiophiles talked of VTA and almost never of SRA. When making adjustments at the pivot of tonearms almost all refered that adjustments as VTA, even today many speaks as VTA.

In reality noithing " wrong " with that because at the end what we want is to understand what is happening with that kind of adjustment.

VTA and SRS are two parameters that can't " live " one with out the other: when you change VTA you change too SRA and the other way around too.
In both cases always affect the overhang that could be more critical ( as I posted here ) than changes in VTF that affect too overhang. The right overhang always lower tracking distortions and minute overhang deviations increment in a severe way the tracking distortions all over the LP surface.

IMHO if we are making changes in VTA/SRA with out checking/new set up on overhang then what we are doing is only listening higher distortions but ( even if we like what we hear. ) that achieved " sweet spot " is totally FALSE or everything but sweet spot.

The name of the game in cartridge/tonearm set up ( as in almost any audio subject ) is: accuracy, with out it we have almost " nothing " but high distortions.

Btw, if I remember we need around a change of 4mm. in VTA for one degree change on SRA.

Regards and enoy the music,
R.

PS: ++++ " me Lp's just sound "off" regardless of SRA setting. " +++++

in a decent audio system and with decent system set up that could happen only if is a bad recording/LP or comes with a different recording equalization than the RIAA.

Timing is referred to as a definition of transient performance as it relates to the stylus/groove contact point. The narrower the better, 'perpendicular to the apex'...or so. Hence, the 92 degree figure.

Start with a parallel arm and set overhang. I'm willing to wager that if you then set SRA on the fly, you will not find any measurable change in overhang. Granted, at or near that 90 degree standard.

Csontos, This is easy to test for yourself. Just check your overhang after you change SRA. I've done this many times and you might be surprised how much it moves. The only instance it wont change is if you started out with tail up and then changed to tail down the exact amount from level that you were with tail up. This is because at level your overhang will be the farthest. Going tail down or up from level will shorten your overhang.

I agree Raul. I think it is worth resetting overhang after changing in SRA. Especially if you moved it allot.

Using my MINT LP arc protractor, it is very clear that changes in VTA (SRA)
alter overhang. It is more severe at the outer edge than at the inner grooves
because of the trace of the arc. IOW, the variance away from the arc is
greatest at the beginning of the LP.

In my system, this is audible. The MINT is extremely precise, assuming that it
was ordered correctly with the right pivot to stylus distance, or effective
length.

Now the Mint glass thickness is different from the various LP thicknesses, and
thus overhang changes slightly with different LP thicknesses.

Regarding the timing of the note when adjusting VTA, I think Schroeder is
talking about the harmonics not arriving before or simultaneously to the
fundamental. IOW, the note's fundamental (frequency?) should be heard first,
followed by its harmonics with a natural sounding delay. This is pretty easy
to hear with a mandolin or harpsichord pluck. If the timing of that pluck is
off, the VTA is off. I think this is his and DougDeacon's point.

Peter et al, If you hear an effect of VTA on timing, I don't doubt it. I just wonder why that would be so. I certainly believe that VTA adjustment makes a difference, and I do pay attention to it in a non-anal way. However, I never thought about it in the way stated or inferred by Frank Schroeder. If there is substance to it, it's interesting to me.