I wonder if anybody would know about mats manufacturer offering set of various thickness mats to adjust for always correct SRA across 120-200g vinyl records. Is it just my idea or somebody had though about it before and is offering such a set? Please let me know
Just so you're aware, I experimented with SRA and the best sound by far was with a very obviously "incorrect" SRA. I would suggest trying different VTAs to hear what sounds best before wanting to adhere to SRA so rigidly.
What tonearm or tonearms are in use? Thanks! My one turntable/tonearm with VTA adjustment usually once VTA/SRA dialed in, stays there. I can set mine by eye and have it close. My other turntables/tonearms in use lack it. Spacers can be used also as an option.
Correct SRA is what sounds the best to your ears. Once you set it for lets say 200g record with applicable mat on the platter youre done. No more SRA tweeking provided that you have mats for all other than 200g records. When you play eg 160g LP you just put applicable mat to compensate for 200g that you just set. As simple as that. There must be some products like this on the market or I will patent it.
I believe VTA is unfortunately much more fluid and varied than just record thickness. The variable rarely discussed is the original cutter head stylus geometry. Consider that every 30-40 hours the cutter stylus is changed and the angle of each one is varied. If you have adjustment for VTA you can listen for optimum height and when it’s correct , you will hear it.
Your’e right about overtime changing VTA due to weakened suspension but this is something relevant to all carts and necessitates SRA adjustment once in a while. My idea is to overcome SRA changes when you play various records having different thickness that impacts SRA each time you switch to the record that has different thickness comparing to the record for which you originally set optimal SRA.
I'd think changing mats would impart more change than the resulting change in angle. Maybe if the mats were acrylic.
I think it depends on the material used for mat. Basic idea is simple and effective for every day record playing without a headache of setting SRA each time for other than eg 180g record. Material used for mat is the case study for mat producers to come up with the best results material.
There should be a set of 6 mats depending on the record that is played: 7” single, 120g, 140g, 160g, 180g and 200g.
Easy job, If we have many 1mm thick mats we can do 1mm, 2mm, 3mm and so on ... As stated earlier, sounding would change more with other aspects than "right VTA" alone. Mat material can change the sound more than we think. In my experiences/experiments swapping mats, my now resolving components tell me that "just use the mat which came with the TT". Turntable mats, I'm lost now, which to use ? Warning about novelty turntable mats (amusing anecdote) Turntable Mats- Ways that they Affect Sound Quality New Turntable Mat Issue
Dont mix 2 issues. Mat best material is one thing and mat thickness is the other. As I said it is the matter for mat producers to do reseach and come up with the best mat material for these mats soundwise
@booker please use the quote function so people can firstly be alerted and secondly those same people + others can follow who it is you're talking to. You've been here 11 years. Surely, this shouldn't be a mystery by now.
I “think” Mr Fremer likes to set correct SRA for the median average thickness record and just leaves it there. The difference between say 92 and 91 degrees would require a major difference in how high or low to set the VTA to compensate, if I am saying that right. Since I have no means of checking with a microscope what the SRA is, I start with parallel top of cartridge and top of 180gm record and dial in further over many listening sessions and then lock it down.
The difference between 120 gm and 200 gm is ~1 mm. At eff length of 230 mm VTA 0.25 deg out of 23 deg, from measurements very little change between 23 to 25 deg the stylus angle is ~90 deg So impact is even less since the deviation is the same 0.25 deg I set mine using a 180 gm but likely the error is greater than the deviation due to thickness. Once set you should be fine for a cartridge of the same height and vta. If cart specs differ you have to reset it.
That is something I never think of. So I went to measure some records. Having many records of different weigths, some are very light about 105g, thickness 1.05mm another thick and heavy "mono LP" about 190g and 1.85mm thick. In the end, only .8mm is something I'd not worry about, what I did for years with peace of mind. Happy listening for all.
Indeed the differences are small and for many carts inaudible. But for carts like VdH Colibri even such small changes have impact and more than often result in quite different record sound.
100% agree from my same experiences. I've seen an increase in the focus on SRA lately, see people buying USB microscopes, etc... from my experience too, don't assume that if you *think* you've got your cart riding perfectly at 23 degrees rake (or whatever angle expected), with the right TF on it... doesn't mean it's going to sound its best. Partly because of the margin of error in trying to perform the measurements accurately. SRA is a bi-product of VTA, and VTA can be fickle and on some cartridges small changes up or down *can* impact sound, and would agree this is best done by ear, trial and error. Your time would be better spent measuring your angle *after* you've dialed it in by ear to verify, or muse at how it didn't come out as you expected!
Correct SRA is a myth as the mastering cutting head angle is not a fixed standard. I set my tone arm height using a 180 LP. If all sounds well on a few of my favorite LPs whatever their thickness, then it stays put. If you can’t get your tone arm low enough for what ever reason, then sure, get a mat of a specific thickness to make that happen. Herbies has a bunch.
This. Not to mention warps, and groove modulation changing the VTA / SRA. It makes no sense to chase this imaginary perfection.
So a height difference of say 0.8mm with a Tonearm length of 9”. I am too lazy to calculate this but @Ingenieur sure could. It must be a very very small angle change at the needle. I just don’t see how this would really matter. The mat height differences for different records would be very small. And how do you tell what your record weight is? Can you feel the difference or is it stamped into the record or written on the label? Would think the manufacturing cost to make precise thickness mats of say 5 different heights would be fairly significant. Not going to be a reasonable cost.
0.2 deg I'll regret saying this but get close to spec then listen. I don't have the ears so I use test results to set mine. For my cartridge I found a test where they measure THD at 2 deg increments, a few below spec and a few above. Spec for mine is 23 but lowest and most balance THD is 25-26 Miller Audio Research
