Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood

The distributor told me 20 hrs on break in, for cart and leads. As mentioned, off-VTA will be noticeable; (but isn't that true for all carts?) Prlcs's post is close to my experience. It jumps out at you when going a wee bit negative on the VTA from parallel.

Is your preamp loading per mfgr. recomendation for resistance and capacitance OK?

I'm also using this catridge. After 20 more hours, the harsh will be gone & the midrange will be improved.

I bought a new Virtuoso Wood cartridge in March and I feel it is wonderful sounding. The key to this cartridge is the VTA. I emailed Musical Surroundings, the distributor of Clearaudio, about the set-up. They told me the VTA should be set negative to parallel. This means to set it so the tonearm is lower at the pivot. If VTA is too high, the highs and mids will be harsh, bass will suffer, and will not be smooth. If VTA is too low, bass will muddy-up. Keep adjusting the VTA until everything comes together. It's amazing to me how sensitive this cartridge is to VTA settings. I am using it with an Audioquest PT-9+ arm and a Sota Saphire table. Good luck!

Bnrlaw - I will have to qualify my statement by saying that I auditioned that cartridge at a dealer, who happens to also be a friend. The cart was fully broken in and mounted on a Clearaudio table. It was the consensus of a few of us that it was a tad on the bright side and less involving in the midrange than some other carts.

I would guess that, yes, it will change in sound over the next few dozen hours. Judge then, it may sound better in your setup.

4yanx-
Did the cartridge change its stripes significantly for you after 40 hours? Did the midrange get more involving, etc.?

First, give it another 40 hours or so more before making judgement after confirming that your setup is as spot on as posible. Then, you may still have some issues with "harshness" if I am understanding the term corectly. I would say "brightness" which is what I heard when listening to the same cartridge along with an "uninvolving" midrange. But, as always, your system and ears are different.

As I said, I only have about ten hours on it.

How long have you used the Virtuoso Wood?