There are 2 set screws. One is located on the VTA tower pillar and the other is located on the dog leg support which is near the tonearm lift mechanism. |
This adjustment should be done using critical listening. I suspect that such a small adjustment is not worth the effort. |
Are you telling me that I shouldn't bother adjusting arm height when switching back and forth from 180gram and 200gram vinyl? |
The best thing about the VPI arm is that it has repeatable VTA adjustment capability. Knock yourself out, only you can determine if it's a worth the effort. |
I suggest setting tonearm parallel to the platter and fine tune VTF and azimuth, then leave it alone, sit back, and enjoy the music. I have the Super Scoutmaster rimdrive with 10.5i arm and do not find the need to adjust VTA. |
Rockyboy....yes
Hiendmuse....you probably need to raise the rear end of the tonearm much more then parallel. This is a common misunderstanding....try the rear end quite high and listen before setting it horizontal..or even close to horizontal. |
Stringreen I had tested the arm with rear end higher, lower, and parallel and clearly found the best sound and performance of my Lyra Titan-i cartridge with the arm mostly parallel to the platter. In addition my tonearm is adjusted very well and tracks without any rocking motion at all; it is rock steady when playing. You should readjust your arm so that it is mainly parallel. I find using the top of the headshell is best for determining levelness rather than the tonearm which is tapered and more difficult to judge. If the rear of the tonearm is slightly above or below parallel that is ok, whatever sounds best. |
Stringreeen, in addition, I was at VPI headquarters several months ago at an audiophile meeting where they demonstrated the 3D tonearm and Harry talked about the direct drive table. They had numerous VPI tables set up. I recall that the tonearms all appeared to be adjusted to parallel to the platter on their tables. |
Public service announcement: Heighth is not a word. Height is the word. |
Hiendmuse....I know, I know....Harry sets up his arms horizontal, and then listens by slightly raising the rear...but the arms are mainly horizontal. I have a 3D arm - I've been setting up arms for about 40 years, but just recently came across an article on Fremer's site ( Analogue Planet) that intrigued me. The VPI arm is soooo easy to raise/lower that I tried Fremer's suggestion, and to MY ears he is right. I suggest you read the article and try it for yourself...it might change your thinking about this issue too. If you do raise your arm, recheck all the parameters since it might shorten and lighten the arm. Experimentation... That's what makes this hobby worthwhile. |
Durbin - thanks for catching the error. Should have been more careful, but my furnace went out that morning, my dog got hit by a car, and my wife ran away with my best friend. And if that wasn't enough, I'd just taken delivery of a couple 45rpm lps from Acoustic Sounds and I was concerned about making an adjustment for the thicker 200gram vinyl. In all my excitement, I wasn't watching my spelling. For what it's worth - these lps (Hugh Masekela's Hope and The Doors/The Doors) were my first ever 45rpms. They sound awesome! |
Stringreen,
Funny, I have seen posts stating that the tail a bit down sounds best on the Classic. It seems to me there is simply no point in making general statements as to the position of the tonearm. But with a gun to my head, I'll take parallel. |
I run my classic 1 with the tonearm slightly tail down as well. Only your ears can tell |
The reason tail down became a popular way to set up an arm was that moving coil cartridges nearly always had a high frequency lift to them that tail down reduced. We all should use our ears to determine the setup of our rigs...but if you want to properly set up the arm Fremmer makes an excellent case for tail up. Newly designed high end moving coils don't exhibit that high frequency lift. I recommend reading Fremmers article, which is also validated by The Absolute Sound. |
Don't adjust the arm height to compensate for the difference in album thickness. It's not practical and can cause more issues down the road. |
Hi Dreadhead,
Can you let me know what you mean by "more issues down the road"? I always adjust the arm height for albums with different thicknesses. Will my adjustments have adverse consequences over the long run? I have not really given it a thought before reading this thread.
I have found it can take almost two full knob rotations to get the sound I like when going from a modern 180g record to one of my thin 80's LPs. I make the major adjustment before cuing up the album - then I do fine adjustments to the point where I hear good balance, clarity and (in most cases) hear reverb in the singer's voice. Since I do it all the time it only takes a few seconds to pretty much zero in on the sound I want.
If I leave the arm adjusted for 180g LPs the thin LPs sound really dull - no depth at all. By the way, I usually end up with a tail-up position. |
Jrsbat2
If you are comfortable with what your doing and feel its worth the extra effort and you hear an improvement then by all means carry on.
This thread reminds of a question I posed here awhile back, I was in the habit of moving my floor standing speakers each time I played an album to better the sound hitting my sweet spot. It of course was not a practical solution for listening and I took the advice of fellow members and abandoned this practice. I believe a quality set-up should just be that, set up and enjoy, with an adjustment now and then as needed. I don't remember how many stylus's I've accidentally destroyed in my obsessive fidgeting but anything more than one is too many. Take the advice of people much more savvy then me on this topic and let your combo do what you purchased it to do, effortlessly play your beloved vinyl while you sit back and enjoy. |
JRSbat2....knock yourself out...no harm done ...even down the road |
What we are doing here is adjusting for the cartridge, not the tonearm. Lyras like to be parallel as well as many Linn cartridges. Moving magnets tend to like to be a little high in the back and most moving coils prefer a bit down in the back. If one doesn't have the capability to adjust while it is playing tend to state that it is not important. That is a self fulfilling prophecy. The difference is very easy to hear between 120 and 180 gram lps when adjusted properly for each, something I find very important. |
