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Reminded once again of VTA criticality...

I always adjust VTA, but sometimes I get sloppy and just adjust to the generic setting that generally works for 120 gram or 180 gram records (as applicable to the LP).

Today I was reminded yet again that every record really is different and may require a different VTA setting. After doing this for more than 25 years, you'd think I'd stop "re-learning" this. :-) The object esson today was a DGG* recording of Pettersson's 8th Symphony that my wife and I had listened to last week and were re-playing to hear again. Playing the first side, both of us were disappointed: "boy, I thought this sounded better". On flipping sides, I decided to make a VERY MINUTE adjustment in the VTA, just on the off-chance don't you know... WOW, what a change. The magic of that first listening session was back. We both looked at each other in chagrin realizing that we should have just STOPPED, acknowledged that something was WRONG and made an ADJUSTMENT to check it out.

Ah, well... For those of you still not adjusting VTA for your LPs, here is a lesson shared. You may never know just how good some of your records are.

Cheers!

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*Yes, bad example perhaps; but this DGG actually has great orchestral sound, not the usual DGG house sound.
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128x128rushton

Showing 2 responses by rushton

rushton's avatar
rushton OP
2,445 posts
 
Good link, Bigkidz. Another good article on VTA and turntable setup is the guidance Lloyd Walker posts at his web site:

http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm
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rushton's avatar
rushton OP
2,445 posts
 
Fatparrot, my tonearm doesn't allow adjustments "on the fly." It is totally locked and rigid during play. To adjust VTA, I have to lift the stylus; loosen a set screw, adjust two nurled rings that raise and lower the arm in very small increments, then re-tighten. With practice, this process now takes me 10-15 seconds to accomplish.

For many years I used an Eminent Technology arm that could be set to allow adjustment on the fly. What I found, though, was that leaving the couplings just loose enough to allow for adjusting on the fly also compromised the bass response of the tonearm. So, I stopped leaving it that way and tightened it down playback for improved sound quality. There are other tonearms that may permit VTA adjustment on the fly without compromising the sound quality, I just couldn't name them. For me, I just draw the line that any tonearm I own must allow for VTA adjustments with relative ease.

What I hear with VTA adjustments is exactly what Lloyd Walker describes in his article on "Fine Tuning Your Turntable" noted in my earlier post in this thread:

General Rules and Effects:
VTA:
~ Raise the VTA (raise the rear of the arm) and the highs will usually get better. Too much and you will lose the bass.
~ Lower the VTA and the bass will get stronger. Too much and you will lose the highs.
There is also an overall focus and coherence that will snap into place when VTA is right on the money. If the overall acoustic sounds a bit veiled, often raising the VTA just slightly, will bring an improved transparency that is not just an increase in high frequencies.

The sensivity of one's system to the effects of VTA adjustments are very much cartridge-dependent; some cartridges are a lot more sensitive to minor changes in VTA than others due to the contour of the stylus. And the degree to which you will hear changes is also somewhat dependent on how resolving your system is.

Hope this helps!
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