Regarding VTA

Great. If you really think the 301 out does the Kuzma, then go for it and the Quad ESL are better then go for them too. I too apologize for taking this thread off topic.

 

Michael Lim now makes a VTA adjustable for Rega tonearms.

Enjoy life with LP's and Turntables: Michael Lim VTA adjuster suitable for RB101/RB251/RB301/RB303 Tonearms

 

Rega made the arm, so their position on the matter is clear enough. A lot of things are trade off's. Since they do have years of TT manufacturing expertise, they should know best how to build a quality tonearm and bring it in at a certain price point.

The TT came from Vinyl Nirvana with the cartridge already installed, so I would be given to assume that everything is correct to specifications.

I have no complaints about the sound, with either the Bronze or the Black stylus.

 

I have heard a lot of modern day horns and most PA type horns will blow away the older horns as far as power goes, yes.

That doesn't necessarily mean that they and today's driver's are better built or sound better. They are mostly designed to be compact, loud and as inexpensive as possible. Where a lot of the vintage stuff was designed to sound better.

And... IMO, My legacy Altec's can compete very effectively and blow away most modern day speakers, doing what they do.

 

Regarding VTA, I think one should think about that the cantilever is moving up and down at the res freq, in an arc. The arm is also moving up and down at the res freq, in an arc.
That is, if the arm doesn´t have an adequate damping.

 

Oh, fluid damping helps with that? That info could not have come at a better time. I just purchase a Jelco SA-370H tonearm (the progenitor of the Sumiko Prime MMT) for the upcoming Rek-O-Kut idler TT, and, using the resonant frequency formula, computed that my Denon DL-110 and AT AT7V both fall slightly below the 9 Hz desired threshold - around 8.3 - 8.5 Hz for both. Now, the variation may be due to inaccuracy of converting from Japanese compliance units into Western type. But, if true - the arm is fluid-damped, and you're saying it should help with the missing 1/2 Hz just fine?

Anyone else who knows the answer - please chime in.

 

The 1/2 Hz is not likely of any consequence. The desired range is considered by some (like Ortofon) to go as low as 7 Hz. 9 Hz isn't a cut-off. I would suspect though, if there is any margin of error in the rule of thumb conversion the real compliance number is even higher. That would push your resonant frequency even lower.

 

I think I got it figured out - just started a new thread on that with the info and calculations.

Matching cartridges to Jelco tonearms - useful info

 

I was wondering how you were getting a number in the 8 range. Now I see reason in your new thread.

 

I used to think stylus type/shape made a difference in the importance of VTA adjustment. But, David Shreve (who has done more intelligent thinking, experimenting and writing about VTA than anyone) states that the dramatic changes we hear, as we adjust VTA, is NOT caused by the angle of the diamond stylus with respect to the record groove. This angle is actually called SRA (Stylus Rake Angle). VTA is the angle of the cantilever (not the stylus) with respect to the record groove.

So, the dramatic changes in sound we hear, as we change VTA, is caused by the change in motion of the entire stylus/cantilever assembly, as it tries to match the motion of the original cutter head.

The cutter head has a cantilever and a pivot point, just like a cartridge. The distance of the pivot point from the record groove AND the angle of the cantilever with respect to the record groove, define an arc, when the groove is created. This arc needs to be matched when a cartridge is used to play back the groove, if the record owner wants to obtain the best possible sound. Considering that cantilever lengths vary, and cantilever angles vary, every cartridge must be individually adjusted to get that arc to match the cutter head, as closely as possible. This can only be done by listening. There is no other way.

Unfortunately, every record company used different cutter head designs and positions, every cartridge manufacturer uses different cantilever lengths and angles, and every cartridge within exactly the same model has manufacturing tolerances. So, just an average setting for each individual cartridge, set by ear, is about the best we can do, unless we want to adjust VTA for every record.

In the past, manufacturers and users thought that just an average setting for ALL records and ALL cartridges, was close enough for everybody. Even now, many people trust the manufacturers to make the compromise for us, so we don't have to do any extra work. For some of us, this is NOT good enough, because we can hear the difference when we adjust it.

I can certainly understand that most people would not want to go through this task of carefully adjusting VTA by ear, and that no turntable or cartridge manufacturer would want to emphasize this adjustment as being so critical. So for listeners who can accept "good enough", Rega provides a fine answer to the task of making life easy for their customers. But with my Rega arms (I have 3 of them on 3 different turntables), I adjust VTA carefully for each cartridge that I install.

 

The theory seems solid, but I'm not aware of David Shreve. I don't see anything with a Google search - What are his credentials?

 

There are too many David Shreve hits on Google. Try "David Shreve VTA". You will still find quite a few, but these are specifically about him.

Since the 1970's he has been writing about cartridge VTA. His first articles appeared in The Absolute Sound. At audio shows, all the great old-timers in the audio industry know him and respect him, because they consider him the originator of identifying VTA adjustment as critical for best sound from records.

This is another answer to the OP's question. Before David Shreve wrote in TAS about VTA, nobody knew how important it is, nor how to adjust it by ear.

I met David during the first audio show at which I had conducted a display for Music First Audio and Audio Note (UK). He offered to adjust the VTA of my cartridge on my turntable. The results were so spectacular, that I won various "best of show" awards for that showroom, and I have been asking him to adjust my VTA for every audio show since. By the way, I have since learned that a few other manufacturers have won "best of show" after David adjusted their VTA.

He taught me how to VERY carefully adjust VTA by ear, which I include as a necessary step for every turntable/tonearm/cartridge system that I sell.

 

I think these, and I realize they are only excerpts and I am not discounting all the great information by everyone who responded and continue to respond, makes sense to me. Maybe this was always obvious...but what I wasn't sure about was how far back the discovery was made. The way VTA/SRA is talked about now you'd think the concept always existed and some manufacturers were just blatantly ignoring it. Unfortunately you have to spend a fair amount of money to be able to get the adjustment on the fly built into a tonearm. I know the changes I've made on my Philips, such as a shim, different thickness cork pads on the platter haven't really made that much of a difference that I could hear. I'm playing through an Onkyo receiver and Klipsch RF-3 II as the main speakers with a Klipsch 12" sub. System also used for movies. All my vinyl sounds a bit bright, except for a 1/2 speed master I have which sounds amazing, no matter how I adjust the cartridge, but not so with movies or CDs/DVDs. I found this article from 2004 which, though I don't have his level of equipment or training, is how the whole subject initially struck me.

Exposing the VTA myth? [English]