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SMEV set up problem....help needed

I have been setting up an Sme V tonearm on to an SME 10 TT and seem to have a problem setting the VTA (Arm height) In the instructions it states that the arm should be lowered to approx. 1/8" from the record surface and then adjusted until the front and back readings are similar. When I do this there is no clearance betwen the stylus and record surface when the tonearm lever is raised, what am I doing wrong??? the cartridge is a te kaitora rua, the height of this is 18.7mm from tip to top. Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated.
wes4390

Showing 1 response by dertonarm

dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
Correct VTA setting is ALWAYS determined by the cutting angle of the record on the platter. Cutting angles used by record companies do vary. There is always a groove-compliant VTA - but NEVER a specific VTA for a given tonearm or cartridge.
Do set by ear. Use an acoustic recording with a solo guitar and voice. Watch for good "body" and a "believable corpus" of the guitar. The voice should have only a small "halo" around its origin.
Look for a VTA which suits the majority of your records - or if you are really particular about this - do make markers and set the VTA for every record.
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