Yes, too much time and electrons have been wasted on trying to make the SRA/VTA differentiation understandable or pertinent.
I've heard/read Michael Fremer and Harry Weisfeld mention that any cartridge - even an expensive one - with a glued-on stylus is more likely than not to be askew in some form (tilted, rotated), so that for me throws any talk of getting the cartridge/tonearm/cantilever parallel with the record out of the window as a definitive suggestion. It's a good starting point and if you want to obsess with the measurements you certainly can, but ultimately you have to like the way it sounds. I can't talk for anyone else, but I've never had a come-to-Jesus moment after making the suggested adjustments - usually minor tweaks - using various test records or multimeters (haven't sprung for a digital oscilloscope quite yet), and have always adjusted it to sound good to me; if I can't hear a difference, I set it at the recommended setting and go on with my life.
I've heard/read Michael Fremer and Harry Weisfeld mention that any cartridge - even an expensive one - with a glued-on stylus is more likely than not to be askew in some form (tilted, rotated), so that for me throws any talk of getting the cartridge/tonearm/cantilever parallel with the record out of the window as a definitive suggestion. It's a good starting point and if you want to obsess with the measurements you certainly can, but ultimately you have to like the way it sounds. I can't talk for anyone else, but I've never had a come-to-Jesus moment after making the suggested adjustments - usually minor tweaks - using various test records or multimeters (haven't sprung for a digital oscilloscope quite yet), and have always adjusted it to sound good to me; if I can't hear a difference, I set it at the recommended setting and go on with my life.