Well, since I'm the guilty party that started those two threads, let me just weigh in here.
I'm first and foremost a music fan. I love almost all kinds of music. My "obsession" with finding the correct adjustments is part of the quest to bring that music home in as perfect a form as possible. When I hit upon that precise VTA, I'm magically transported to Orchestra Hall in Chicago in 1954.
Imprecise adjustments *distance* me from the music. I think the better and more highly-resolving your system, the more critical and noticeable these adjustments will be.
As has been pointed out, with certain stylus shapes, changes in VTA are less audible. In these cases, you can pretty much set it and forget it. But in other cases, the shape of the stylus dictates that VTA be adjusted separately for different record thicknesses. Here, something like the adjustability of the more expensive JMW arms is really a tremendous thing for music lovers. And the fact that you have a numerical scale and can *repeat* the adjustment is something that *reduces* neurosis and anxiety rather than increases it. You never feel as if you've "lost" that perfect setting.
Just some thoughts from someone who's spent over 20 years fiddling with VTA, but above all, enjoying the music. Sometimes you have to *work* at making the music real.
I'm first and foremost a music fan. I love almost all kinds of music. My "obsession" with finding the correct adjustments is part of the quest to bring that music home in as perfect a form as possible. When I hit upon that precise VTA, I'm magically transported to Orchestra Hall in Chicago in 1954.
Imprecise adjustments *distance* me from the music. I think the better and more highly-resolving your system, the more critical and noticeable these adjustments will be.
As has been pointed out, with certain stylus shapes, changes in VTA are less audible. In these cases, you can pretty much set it and forget it. But in other cases, the shape of the stylus dictates that VTA be adjusted separately for different record thicknesses. Here, something like the adjustability of the more expensive JMW arms is really a tremendous thing for music lovers. And the fact that you have a numerical scale and can *repeat* the adjustment is something that *reduces* neurosis and anxiety rather than increases it. You never feel as if you've "lost" that perfect setting.
Just some thoughts from someone who's spent over 20 years fiddling with VTA, but above all, enjoying the music. Sometimes you have to *work* at making the music real.