What is your cartridge and tracking force used

Benz LP - 1.8 with the arm just a hair under horizontal from the rear. I have a Shure scale and am using it with the front feet off of the rim of the platter giving it a more accurate setting.

Temperature variation may be correct... I noticed that I track my Benz LP lighter than Sonofjim. I live in the middle of the Sonoran desert and keep my house about 82 which is comfortable with such little humidity while it's 115 outside.

Sonofjim et al.. I've been futzing around with all settings since I've "Minted" the setup. The VPI arm as you know is a royal pain to change VTF since every change (VTA, VTF, ec.) requires careful resetting of azimuth. Right now I have the arm almost exactly horizontal with a "bit" of damping at the pivot, no side thrust compensation, at 1.8 - maybe a wee bit heavier..I have a Shure Bros. scale which reads only approximate...especially at x2. I read on an Audiogon post that it reads more accurately when used at the perimeter of the platter with the front feet off...so I've been using it like that. As per your recommendation, I will increase the VTF, but need to be in the "mood" to undertake all that is required to set the arm up again. If the internal weight had some adjusting room, I would do it and report back, however, moving the rear counterweight requires futzing with the azimuth as I mention before. My daughter and her husband are here for Thanksgiving so it will be a couple of days before I'll get back. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. ..just to let you all know...it sounds great at its current setup...but I know we are always looking for more....

Madfloyd...that depends. If the internal weight is full forward, you can make the VTF lighter, or full back you can make it heavier. Someplace in between it is fully adjustable. In any case however, the azimuth will not be affected. Mine is fully forward, so to make the VTF heavier, I would need to move the main counterweight, and then check that the azimuth is again level. I check azimuth by using the rod. I have 2 Cardas blocks with washers glued to the blocks at the proper height, so that when the cartridge is resting on the record..just a hair above it...both ends of the rod will be just a hair above the modified Cardas blocks which are placed on either side of the cartridge and on a record just under the ends of the rod which is positioned on the headshell. (What a sentence that was)

I was just thinking.... the internal weight of the VPI arm probably also changes the effective mass slightly as you move that weight closer/farther from the headshell....woah is me....another variable!!

OK - I did it. As per Sonofjim's recommendation, I changed the VTF from 1.8 or 9 to 2.2 or 3. I made the adjustment with the large main counterweight, because I didn't want to affect the mass at the headshell. I readjusting the azimuth, and checked the VTF many, many times, kept the bit of damping in the pivot, and with no anti-skate, I found that the sound did change. The low bass especially, had gained definition, so that it started and stopped with greater speed. Unfortunately, the depth retreated slightly, and the highs were less sweet. Singers' SSSS's became more sandpaper. Just as an experiment to try to make this adjustment better, since I surely didn't want to set up the arm again, I raised the back end of the arm by 1 hashmark on the 10.5 scale...surely a minute amount. It was like someone had switched on a button. The soundstage exploded huge. The singer was not just singing between the speakers, but was 10 feet behind, and in 3 dimensions. The speakers did their disappearing act as before, but the picture is now huge in all dimensions..height, depth, and width. SSS's are much clearer, but once in a while a bit of sandpaper still comes through. I tried different VTA settings, but always came back to that magic spot because of the openness that this setting provides. Thanks Sonofjim..

Right now I'm using the 3D arm. As I said in another post, it is a real PIA to set up with any kind of finess. The arm is very much tapered so I'm just guessing if its horizontal or not. The Benz LPS is tracking about 2.1. Harry promised me a new rear counterweight to make setup much easier. I'll dial the arm in better then. The overall sound is much better than the 10.5i even without precise setup... I'm not bothering with anything until the easier counterweight is in my hands.