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Stylus Force Guages - why extreme accuracy?

I am under the impression that, when setting up a phono cartridge, one sets the tracking force to the manufacturers recommended force, and then dial-in the final force by ear. If that is the case, then why are extremely accurate electronic stylus pressure gauges popular when the force is most likely going to change during final adjustment by ear? The Sure SFG-2, costing $25, has worked great for me to ball-park the initial tracking force before final tweaking. So, what benefit is the Winds ALM-01, costing $800, going to provide? Is it important to set the initial force to within a tenth of a gram, when that will change during final tweaking? What is the procedure those of you who own expensive gauges use for final adjustment by ear?
seasoned

Showing 2 responses by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Sdcampbell,

Me three. Both VTF and VTA/SRA can be fine tuned by listening, assuming your rig and ears are interested of course. :-)

Lloyd Walker's well-written guidelines are worth reading: http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm

FWIW, we also adjust antiskate, azimuth, impedance and even drive belt tension by ear. VTF changes are just as audible as changes to these other parameters.

***
Seasoned,
Metralla's explanation is also why I have a .01g scale.

When the weather changes and/or I swap cartridges I want to dial in a baseline VTF quickly. On my tonearm I need to set VTF within .05g or so before I can use my fine VTF adjuster.

For me a .1g scale would be too coarse. If it read (e.g.) 2.0g, all I'd know is that I'm "somewhere" between 1.95g and 2.05g. With many cartridges a range that wide is so vast you might as well not use a scale at all. My main cartridge has a sweet zone for VTF that is .02g wide at most. Setting it up without a good scale could take hours, instead of minutes.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Peter_s,

Having one's stylus 1/2 inch higher or lower than the record surface would have a HUGE impact on sonics, namely, there wouldn't be any! ;-)

To respond seriously, we've discussed various explanations for the audibility of SRA/VTA adjustment several times over the years. An archive search will turn up several endless (and occasionally acrimonious) threads. There's no point going through all that again.

To summarize, no explanation has yet been posited that explains what people hear while satisfying the mathematically skeptical. Conclusion: the state of scientific knowledge still trails our experience of reality in this area.

If you're serious about researching this question, I'd recommend beginning with some archive searches here and at VA. You'll find enough material to keep you reading for weeks. I particularly recommend one article in the VA FAQ's, Jon Risch's "VTA once and for all". It comes closest to explaining what I hear, yet skeptics have expressed doubt that the degree of changes involved could be audible. They would prefer an alternate theory, but no more satisfactory one has been found AFAIK.

One long and inconclusive thread here was blissfully terminated by a practical post from Tbg. He wrote, "If you hear it adjust. If you don't, don't." Not a productive attitude for the scientific investigator, but a very productive one for the music lover/audiophile.
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