I agree with John(McGrogan)and Stringreen. The most important thing is setting by ear, not by looks. Parallelability is only a stating point. Try raising or lowering the arm at the rear(pivot)in small bits at a time. After each movement, listen to the sound until you hear the best sense of clarity, detail, air and overall balance. In other words, there's a point at which you will detect a sense of rightness or that everything has fallen into place. Once you've arrived there, try in some way to make a mark or measurement(as to where the tonearm sits on its post)enabling you to return to that "magical" point without difficulty in case things go awry. I assume you already realize if you're using a new cartridge, that after the its suspension has become more flexible and settled in after hours of use, you will probably need to readjust the tonearm to its best position. Good luck!
Parallel? How do you set the VTA?
Silly question, but how do you guys determine whether your tonearm is parallel to the record surface? I had my tonearm set up happily for months, but recently started messing around with the cartridge alignment and the VTA, and I'll be damned, but the folded index card method gets me nowhere now. Even with adjustments I keep getting the same visual effect. Happily my ear tells me when the setting is off, but as a base, how do you determine conclusively your tonearm is parallel? For reference, I have a VPI Classic. Thanks.