Turntable leveling


Pardon the possible obtuseness of the question, but - in the opinion of forum readers - how important to sound quality, LP and stylus wear is having my turntable precisely level? Try as I might, I can't get it <2 degrees from absolutely horizontal measuring with the Levlx iOS app though it looks good with a bubble gauge. I've looked online and I can't find a consensus opinion on this matter though I know the more level the better.
Thanks in advance,Keith
kacomess

Showing 7 responses by kacomess

Thanks, everybody! My blind trust in a free "high tech" phone app may be misplaced. I'll trust the bubble level even though it's a cheap one. Maybe I can borrow a better quality one just to check.
Keith
ahh...the complexities of vinyl! In my case I have a Moerch UP-4 arm on a VPI HW-19 turntable. Thoughts on absolute level or not worth the exacting effort for this rig? I have about 1000 vinyl records, mostly vintage (Shaded Dogs and others of that ilk), but each individual LP doesn't get played all that often.

Thanks in advance,Keith
$219 for a bubble level seems a bit pricey for a non-pro but I suppose I'd want a builder to be using the best possible for the job.
millercarbon,
I agree: there's so much time, effort and expertise required for managing a vinyl playback system that sometimes it hardly seems worthwhile. Nonetheless, having a large vinyl collection (and occasionally giving in to the urge to buy a special LP), I continue to use and enjoy the medium despite the trouble and the cost.

I've acquired a Swedish Inogon Combination Level and Angle Reader which is reputed to be highly accurate. Using that, I confirmed my turntable is about 1 degree off from perfect horizontal and (interestingly) the reading perfectly matches the free iPhone leveling app's reading! In my humble system, I doubt that the small deviation from absolute level will be audible...I hope!
Keith
millercarbon:
Those are good points, indeed. I'll let the obsession go!
Thanks,Keith