Cartridge spacer for turntables that lack VTA

So, I noticed a while back that a lot of TTs in the mid range, (80s technics in my case) lack vertical tracking adjustment. This leaves the tonearm at an angle if your cartridge isn't tall enough, or too tall, and obviously you won't be getting the best performance this way. So my question is, have any of you used a spacer between the head shell and cartridge? If so, did you use a homemade piece, or did you buy one somewhere? Personally I've been using a small spacer meant to add strength to a plastic headshell but was wondering if this is an acceptable solution to my problem. Of course in a perfect world, turntables would all be infinitely adjustable. And admittedly my TT is on the lower end of mid range, but until I have the $ for a major upgrade to something like a Technics SL-1200, I'd like to get the best out of what I currently have. I don't personally notice and bad performance from my setup, although it would be hardly audiophile by most of your standards. Think higher end dorm room setup from the early 80s. Anyway, am I doing this wrong, or is what I have not an acceptable solution?

 

I don't think I'd be too concerned about this, myself - I have the SL-D2 (the direct drive version of this table) with a conical mono cart on it and haven't concerned myself with the VTA at all, and I think it sounds fine. Elliptical is a bit pickier, but I used an SL-D303 with a broader elliptical (.4x.7) without any height adjustment for years before upgrading to a 1200, and I don't think I was falling short of what that combo was capable of by too much. With your system, I'd double check alignment and VTF/anti-skate, and stop there until you get the chance to upgrade. If you really feel the itch to adjust this, use whatever works - business cards, or other various weights of cardstock, are great for this sort of thing. Just remember changing the height will change everything else a bit as well, so be prepared to spend a bit of time if you go this route.

 

I actually haven't noticed any change in sound quality after adding the spacer, and I really only added it because I was concerned about damaging grooves by tracking at an angle. I do feel better about it being level now, even if it's a bit jerry rigged.

 

You shouldn't do damage to anything by being a bit tail-up/down, particularly with an elliptical - some folks intentionally run a bit off one way or another because they like the sound (though I've never noticed a huge difference, myself). I'd be more concerned about checking VTF and anti-skate, as I know my table isn't that accurate on either of these measures. The VTF can be off by as much as a half gram using the 'balance-set zero-adjust to desired setting' method on mine, and I don't trust the anti-skate to be anywhere close, as old as it is.

 

I have used a Delrin spacer/shim I bought for about $10 on ebay (there are links to it somewhere around this forum, if you search). Nice because it adds very little weight. I have read about people using things like business card stock to shim, as well.

 

Long ago upgraded to a scale, because I noticed the sound seemed off when I adjusted it manually. Glad I did because I was tracking wayyyyy too heavy and probably saved myself a few hundred bucks in groove wear.

 

If you're shimming the head shell, you could just get a thicker mat instead. I recognize that an '80s Technics turntable at the mid-range could be a fully automatic model. So, there may be some sensors in the mat to determine the record size which would preclude this option.

 

Use a material the same as the headshell when using a spacer.

 

Thicker / thinner mat - this is the best, easiest and preferred method to change VTA in cases where tonearm does not have an adjustment for VTA........