The first thing to insure is that the cartridge and arm are set up correctly. There are a number of tools that can aid this ranging from free (the stuff that came with the arm or cartridge) all the way to extremely expensive. The Wally Tracker, is that the whole set, or just one of the many individual tools?
Anyway, one of the less expensive options is the Mobile Fidelity GeoDisc. This does not have a set up device for VTA. If your Wally tool does that, forget what I said. All of these tools are intended to get you darn close to where you should be, the last fraction of an inch will be done by ear.
There are several books that can be very helpful too. "Good Sound" by Laura Dearborn, or "The Complete Guide To High-End Audio" by Robert Harley are helpful.
As far as tracking force goes, always track on the heavy side of the manufacturers recommendation. This is much less likely to damage your LPs.
There are some very devisive arguements about isolation as opposed to dampening. This will probably come up soon, from one camp or the other. The reason I bring it up, is you have nothing seperating your turntable from whatever vibrations will be present. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking they aren't there, or that whatever is there is soo small that it is not affecting your system. Think about how small the vibrations are in the groove of your LPs. Any vibration will affect the sound!
There is also the issue of 'airborne' vibration. They will also affect the turntables ability to accurately reproduce what is on the LP. Wall mounted shelves can be good if a person has a very springy floor. This is not the case in your room. Check into ways to seperate your table from vibrations.
Do you have any other tuning devices in the room?
Anyway, one of the less expensive options is the Mobile Fidelity GeoDisc. This does not have a set up device for VTA. If your Wally tool does that, forget what I said. All of these tools are intended to get you darn close to where you should be, the last fraction of an inch will be done by ear.
There are several books that can be very helpful too. "Good Sound" by Laura Dearborn, or "The Complete Guide To High-End Audio" by Robert Harley are helpful.
As far as tracking force goes, always track on the heavy side of the manufacturers recommendation. This is much less likely to damage your LPs.
There are some very devisive arguements about isolation as opposed to dampening. This will probably come up soon, from one camp or the other. The reason I bring it up, is you have nothing seperating your turntable from whatever vibrations will be present. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking they aren't there, or that whatever is there is soo small that it is not affecting your system. Think about how small the vibrations are in the groove of your LPs. Any vibration will affect the sound!
There is also the issue of 'airborne' vibration. They will also affect the turntables ability to accurately reproduce what is on the LP. Wall mounted shelves can be good if a person has a very springy floor. This is not the case in your room. Check into ways to seperate your table from vibrations.
Do you have any other tuning devices in the room?