bumbs and vta

[kjunom]

doesn't vta get worse when there is a warp in the record? wouldn't vta track better if the tonearm attached on the other end of the cartridge.? wouldn't it be somewhat easier to get a lower moment of intertia for the tonearm if it connected to the other end?

[sreten]

what to you mean by the other end of the cartridge ?

/sreten.

[kjunom]

the stylus end instead of the elec. end

probably harder to align? yes?

[maxro]

Originally posted by kjunom
wouldn't vta track better if the tonearm attached on the other end of the cartridge.?

Only when the stylus is riding up the slope of the warp. When it is going down the other side, it will have worse VTA. So, either way an arm is connected, there will be poor VTA on one side of the warp.

Trying to connect an arm backwards (or make a backwards arm) seems like an experiment in frustration. Imagine a shopping cart wheel, it is impossible to get it to track straight when the wheel is in front of the casting pivot. Well, it's not exactly the same, but you get the idea.

Oh, and VTA is overrated anyway.

Max

[dice45]

kjunom,

bumps definitely affect VTA and if the arm's effective length is rather short, then bumps (and warps even more) will cause anything from gooey PRaT (pace, rhythm and timing) to audible wow.
So if you consider to use a linear tracker, stay away from those having a short arm length and the rail positioned over the record surface plane.

Originally posted by maxro
Oh, and VTA is overrated anyway.

Depends.

If you consider that every record label, even every pressing within a record label, needs its own VTA (and you would not believe how far ortofon/opus3 VTA is above the VTa needed for Mercury or EmArcy 1st pressings), and if you consider that most tonearms are not equipped at all to allow easy, quick and reproducable (say 0.01 mm resolution) VTA positioning, then you are right: having VTA does not lead to anything.

If you consider to optimize your tonearm by ear, then correct VTA is vital to get tracking force and antiskating right. To be precise: the audible changes of TF and AS are much more distinct and characterisstic if VTA is at its optimum for the record you adjust it with.

If you want to hear what a vinyl TT can achieve,, if you want an absolutely holograpically 3-dimensional soundstaging as well as dynamic stability and stunning PRaT, then get VTA right to the precision of 0.02mm for an SME V (233.15mm effective length).

The sonic improvement happens in close prociximity to the VTA optimum. If you change VTA by small steps but 1mm pivot height away from the optimum, you won't hear a thing. Nor would i.
But at 0.1 mm away, you will hear how much ofcus and soundstaging improves and how much better low and high frequencies fit together rhythmically. Try it out.

[sreten]

Hi,

if you mount the cartridge the other way round the rake angle will be completely wrong.

/sreten.