Graham tonearm tweaking

I hope you are kidding!I use a series of records with complex,and difficult to track material.I also use some discs that have a variety of different instruments,showing off their timbres and harmonics.The most difficult thing to get right is CORRECT timbres and harmonics.That is when you know the arm is "RIGHT".Forget about setting up for percussion,as it can fool you into thinking you have it.
Once you have spent a few listening sessions, and are happy with the results,there is no need to "FOTZ" around anymore.Of course unless your audio pals are like mine.Never happy!!

Everyone, can you give a few examples of the LP's you used for this tweaking? How dependant on the cartridge in use is the "correct" amount of dampening fluid? If I set up for a 103R and then change to something with more compliance, will I need to re-do the fluid level?

Doug and sirspeedy. Thanks for the answers. It was a little tonge-in-cheeck but I wanted to check for asking the next question.

sirspeedy said: "VTA/downforce/Fluid level all work in conjunction with one another." I do understand this is true and how the mechanics work.

What I don't understand is how once you get these three perfect for one record they can be perfect for the next record. To state the obvious, record thicknesses vary dramatically as do the original cutting angles. If VTA is different on the second record, the combination of VTA/downforce/fluid will be different.

I have no doubt that sirspeedy achieved the results he said with the method he said. Would it be correct to conclude that once VTA/downforce/fluid are dialed in for one record (your most difficult) that it will be dialed in for all records (within reason) with a Graham? I imagine it is possible that if VTA/downforce/fluid reach some "golden ratio" that altering VTA may actually make things worse.

I don't doubt sirspeedy's statement, based on much longer damping experiments than mine, that these adjustments interact to some degree. Certainly VTF and VTA do. To "perfectly" adjust one parameter you need to have the other two optimized as well. But in the end damping should be much more stable over time than VTF, and VTF is much more stable from record to record than VTA.

To my ears, adjusting damping in the Graham emphasized or de-emphasized different parts of the frequency spectrum, probably because different damping amounts attenuated different resonance frequencies within the arm/cartridge system. The sonic changes from adjusting VTA or VTF are very different from that, and from each other too for that matter. For this reason it seems right to me to make these three adjustments as follows:

Damping
Adjust for the cartridge. Once you find the right amount it shouldn't need further adjustment unless the cartridge behavior changes (eg, with break in) or you switch cartridges. Silicone is a very stable material. Its behavior should be little affected by the temperature and humidity swings in most listening rooms.

VTF
Adjust for the cartridge and then for the atmospheric conditions that effect compliance and tracing ability. The elastomers that make up cartridge suspensions behave far more chaotically than silicone when subjected to temperature and humidity changes. A materials scientist will groan in despair if you ask for predictions (trust me, I have and he did). Therefore, changes in weather require frequent changes to VTF but have much less affect on damping fluid.

VTA (SRA, please!)
Adjust for the record if you like. As you said, every record was cut at its own particular angle. Emulating that angle during playback brings out the best from that record. Because the large proportion of SRA adjustments involve keeping the arm at the same angle relative to the (changing) vinyl, the net effect on VTF is minimal. I do change SRA for every record. I change VTF much less often, typically a little more at the start of a session and perhaps a little less after several sides have warmed the cartridge up.

You guys really are getting the hang of it.Obviously quite a few already know a great deal.
As for me,and my habits,I dial in a wide variety of program material,over quite a few listening sessions.When I am satisfied I go back to the most troubling discs,to re-hear them (some discs just plain suck,and you have to be able to realize when to give up and move on).

I do not overly concern myself with the fact (correctly stated)that the fluid must settle over time.If I did wait, the results from tweaking would not be remembered easily,and the difference is not really all that great.A wait of only 5 minutes will tell you all you need to know!

Other than that, Doug is on the money!!The only thing I want to stress is that you don't have to feel as though you have to continuously play around with this thing.You definitely will,and must,in the beginning,but that is to get the feel for the differences the three parameters each contribute.Once you are in the "Close to Being Right" zone,you may only need to dial in one parameter.

Technically, the VTA can be changed for each record,but,to me that is rediculous (unless you have an arm,like the mega-buck Air Tangent,with electronic/remote VTA adjustment).Boy would I love that!!

I would have to assume that it would simply be a matter of common sense, when we change to a different cartridge.I would certainly have to re-dial new parameters,but,at this point you already have a real feel for what you want.

As for the effect of the VTA/Damping/Downforce being adjusted in conjunction with one another.They definitely affect one another.To play around(within safety parameters)a bit here will only make you a better set-up person for this arm.Obviously, once you learn how each of the three variable parameters effect the music on hand(there better be plenty of different musical stuff here)you don't have to get too "NUTS" with dialing in all three, everytime you want to illicit a amall change. One thing,for sure,is that a difference of 1/100 of a gram in downforce can make a huge difference in sound.

In summary, I just want to state that my approach is not something written in stone!! I don't like to overdampen,by adding too much fluid.In some set-ups a bit more fluid than I like may be better.What I try to do is go a bit under(just a little) the smoothest resulting fluid level.This to me,as I've mentioned,gives the most open and dynamic sound,but you really have to be careful not to bring out the potential "BRIGHTNESS" that can be a result,if you aren't careful.To counteract any overly bright sound or hardening,from going(just a "smidgen")light on fluid,and as long as you are not at the top of the manufacturers recommendation for downforce, you should(at least I do)add a very small amount of additional downforce.This seems to stabilize the tracking and keeps resonance at a minimum.

If this does not work for me,than I need to add just a TINY bit more fluid,and decrease the downforce to my original point,to hear for that setting.Always you can,also,at any point,ply around with the VTA as an alternative to any of the above,BUT,you WILL KNOW THAT ALREADY,if you don't accept "good enough is fine" performance.I don't.

I promise you this is my last thought here.When I speak to the downforce amounts I adjust to,I'm talking about no more than 1/100 of a gram at a time.Sometimes I move the adjustment so little,that there is no reading on my stylus force guage,but I hear it,and,NO I do not check my stylus force guage for every adjustment.You won't have to either,once you get the feel of all this.At the end (yes there is an end)I check my guage to make sure I'm tracking at a safe setting.I'm now at a point where I'm done tweaking my system,thank goodness.So what is my reward? I just had my table updated,just to come back to me with a faulty motor.Now, an additional month,at least.This hobby really "SUCKS" sometimes!!!