VTA - High, Low, Where You go?


Most tonearm dealers recommend a level setting of the arm in relation to an LP. Many audiophiles suggest a level to slightly "butt down" setting (which has been my general experience). I would have interest to hear from those who find that a "Headshell down" setting works best with their rig. If you do, what arm/pickup are you using?
4yanx

Showing 2 responses by bombaywalla

4yanx,

With the Goldring 1042-OL Silver 250 combination I use a positive VTA (i.e. pivot end raised slightly) for mostly Jazz & classical music. In the arm-is-parallel VTA position the 1042 sounds excellent, no doubt, to my ears but for Jazz, classical the bass can be a bit too rich! Hence the positive VTA. Rega/OL hasn't made the VTA adjustment all that easy despite the provided VTA collar so often I'll get lazy & just leave the arm in the neutral VTA position as the genres of music playable in this mode is much larger.
For classic rock & blues music the neutral VTA (i.e. arm-is-parallel) is preferred by me.
Prior to the 1042 I used an Ortofon VMS20E Mk2 MM cart. & it preferred an arm-is-parallel VTA. FWIW. YMMV.
Yes, this text is posted on AudioAsylum FAQ section. A very informative section in my estimation & one that all newbies posting here should be referred to.
I learned a lot from that section when I was ready to setup my TT earlier this year.