Stylus Rake Angle

Dear Lewm: I think ( I'm not an expert on that. ) that timing could be a not so good term/word to apply on the subject.

Harmonics are a development from the fundamental and in a home audio system the quality of the fundamental during playback depends on tyhe transient response that depends on the " right " whole cartridge set up. Different transient response gives different sound reproduction of fundamental/harmonics that change the dynamics we perceive.

Now, as I posted: when you are " there " you just know at once.
Timing is not easy to explain because there are several parameters that affect transient response not only VTA/SRA. What's important is to understand the whole subject an the importance of accurate cartridge/tonearm/LP set up.

Btw, any one of you read it ( from audiophiles or reviewers. ) something like: " SRA on the fly " instead " VTA on the fly " ( related to tonearm. )?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

SRA/VTA adjustment requires overhang adjustment. This point has been mentioned by some and glossed over by others. Here is Judith Spotheim's take from her setup instructions at page 20 for her 1990's The SpJ Arm (which allows for VTA & overhang adjustment by micrometers):

"Certain audible improvements achieved by adjusting VTA without compensatory adjustment of overhang are actually nothing more than the manipulation of the stylus tip location into the vicinity of a more accurate overhang setting. To properly adjust VTA away from the reference point, it is necessary to also adjust the overhang..."

"Adjusting for the discrepancy in the overhang brought by VTA alteration of 2.5 degrees (with an effective length of 244 mm) requires moving the arm's pivot point 1 mm forward....(An error of 2mm in overhang can increase tracking error distortion by 300%!)"

Dear Csontos: +++++ " If you guys claim you will see a change in overhang from a minute SRA adjustment................then it's an inherent fault of the system because of the vinyl........... But I'm not so sure that this is relevant to playback. " +++++

I think you can't see it but you can hear it and no it's not an " inherent fault of the system ".

You posted that don not know if it's relevant during playback so you are speculating only with out any fact.

You can find out facts that can confirm or not what you are posting if you take the time o make some tests in your audio system, something like: change by 0.3 mm your today cartridge/tonearm overhang ( right at the headshell. ) and listen.
IMHO if you have a good audio system set up and good system resolution and you are aware how sounds distortions for a wrong overhang then you will hear that with that overhang 0.3 mm. changed the sound is " different ".

Example, if we change from Baerwald to Löfgreeen B set up we can hear the sound differences even that the only change on those geometry set up is only on overhang ( less than 0.5 mm. ).

Audiophiles that today use a better protractor than the one they used for cartridge/tonearm set up can attest that they can hear the differences for the better even that the change in overhang was minite against what they have it.
Almost every person that now are using the Mint LP protractor can tell you that those minute overhang changes makes a difference for the better. Accuracy always make a difference.

So, I think you have to make some tests about and then come back here to share your experiences before more speculations.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Peterayer: ++++ " If the fundamental is being obscured by the harmonics, the harmonics are arriving too early. I hear this when the arm is too low in the back. If the fundamental occurs unnaturally early, or there appears to be a minute lag before you hear the harmonics after the fundamental, then the arm is too high. " +++++

I respect your opinion as the Dougdeacon and FS but I always like to understand a subject analizing what is really happening around that subject before take other opinions as the " bible ".

I posted that maybe " timing " is not the right word but I don't have nothing against the word per se.

+++ " if the fundamental is obscured by the harmonics...." ++++

IMHO you have no precise evidence that that is what really happen because when the cartridge set up is not " perfect " and is off it then we can hear what you are saying because a wrong transient response on the bass but not because the " harmonics obscured the fundamental ".
All of us know that if we want more bright in the cartridge sound/performance we have to make a change to put higher the cartridge tail and for the bass the other way around.

Now, when we are listening our audio system fundamentals and its harmonics over the whole frequency range, of an LP score, comes one after the other in extremely fast way where you, Dougdeacon, FS, me or any one but a Mars bat can identify.

The only way to prove what you say could be to make a live tests:

using a musical instrument ( by a specific player: arp, piano, violin or whatever. ) make a live recording of one and only one note and try to identify fundamental and harmonics live against a D2D recording of that single note and with and with out a " perfect " cartridge set up.

Dynamics and what this envolve is IMHO what we have to look during a cartridge set up.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Csontos: Yes, because transiente performance is main part of Dynamics in live music and recorded one.

As you said: " poor or good " transients, that's " all ".

R.