VTA an SRA are vitally important to proper cartridge setup and sound.No argument here. The strange thing is that I'd taken the tonearm through its full VTA range and something seemed to be a bit off.
When I put the cartridge back into play after reversing the leads (but also having the cartridge, leads, and headshell disconnected from each other, the cartridge sounded more vivid to me than before, but inner detail sounded a little hollow. When I made the VTA more level, everything popped into place.
No doubt adjusting the VTA improved the sound, but something else seemed to happen too. In fact, whatever that "something else" is, it made it easier to hear the changes in VTA.