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Yes you may be correct about the pics and i am not questioning his years of setting up, just saying the SRA looks off to me.Most people think having the arm parallel to the platter surface is it, it’s just a starting point. Having a correct SRA is more important than having the arm parallel. If you have an arm that you can adjust on the fly really helps you experiment as you can hear what is going on as you adjust. Sometimes the arm may end up in a funny angle to achieve the correct SRA, it all depends how the tip / cantilever has been mounted in the cartridge body. It's not unusual for it to be off, even the azimuth can be off too.
Hey Pierre.....thanks for the pic!Very helpful. Now it really looks like mine is "off".
VTA looks a bit off, should maybe be higher at the tonearm base, but its not terrible.How old is the cartridge, and what environment has it been in? UV light, and airborne contaminants (sulphurs from smog, contaminants from local industry, being close to the sea, etc) will all attack the synthetic or natural rubbers that hold the cantilever in place (some cartridges also have some form of support besides the rubber). 20 years out of the case it came in could be enough, and if you're in LA, a decade might be enough.As I understand it, replacing the suspension is less expensive than a retip. Not everyone offers it. For such a good cartridge, I think sending it out for repair or retip is certainly cost-effective and justifiable.I have seen poorly mounted cartridges (bad VTA angle) rub the body on the LP, so yours is not the worst I've seen, but I would at least have it checked out if you can afford it (or when you can afford it) if it were me, and if you can give it a better VTAngle, do so. It should sound better as a bonus.
Exactly. I use parallel arm as just the starting point. I tweak by ear after that. I don't have a digital microscope but I do have the basics down pretty well:(1) nulls must be setup by sighting down cantilever from front and not lining up cart body on protractor grid lines.....(2) VTA / SRA is perpendicularity of stylus in the groove when viewed from side......(3) Azimuth is perpendicularity of stylus in groove when viewed from front.Accomplishing (2) and (3) is the hard part. Aging eyes and "proxies" must be used, with ears being final arbiter.Even though I've owned it for 2 years, the other night was my first attempt at real setup -- and that was in a darkish room. Upon inspection yesterday it just seemed cart body clearance was very tight. Didn't look right to me. So I figured I'd ask the resident experts.I can say that after I raised the arm rear a bit last night, it sounds really really good. Best I've ever heard a cartridge in my house. And the cart body clearance looks a little better and certainly more even front-to-back when viewed from side. Based on how great it sounds I'm convinced my nulls are spot on. VTF is 2.0 which seems the consensus sweet spot for this cart. I'll continue to adjust by ear for bias, SRA and azimuth.
No worries...didn't think you were....I'm not the sensitive type.Nice looking gauge. I use the cheapo $12 variety on Amazon.https://www.amazon.com/Neoteck-Digital-Turntable-Backlight-Cartridge/dp/B01HRJ9NAY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1540567482&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=neoteck+digital+turntable+stylus+force+scale+gauge&psc=1Very accurate, I've calibrated it with known weights and other pricey "audiophile" scales.My last one just gave out after 6 yrs of service. 2 bux a year, I'll take it! PS: I use Cartridge Man Music Maker MkIII cart. Spectacular performance for those with "lightish" arms (up to 13 grams) who don't wanna bother with an extra gain stage. Works great on my two suitable arms: Rega RB300 (BritAudio rewired) and OL Encounter Mk3c. Highly recommended cart, one of my faves.
