Spindle-To-Pivot Distance


Hello.

Suppose I have a tonearm that wants to be mounted 250mm from the spindle.  But it would be a little hangy-off the edge at 250 but I could mount it cleanly 240mm out.  What's the worst thing that could happen if I do 240?  Do I hear 245?
mrearl
The stylus will mis-track, and you will get distortion, probably quite noticeably. Not good for your records and it will also sound unpleasant.

If your tonearm cannot fit on your turntable at the specified distance, you need to replace either the turntable or the arm.
some headshell/cartridge mounting flexibility might allow for adjustments of a mm or two.....but it’s not a good way to jerry rig things as you would be forever fighting it.

in addition to distortion, miss-mounting the arm could cause records to skip, and harm the grooves. it’s basically not an option. you would be better off listening to digital.

maybe you could approach this differently; and ask for help with arm board ideas to solve your geometry/spindle to pivot distance problem, assuming you are stuck with that particular tt, plinth and arm. tell us about the tt and arm.

possibly does it use an arm board which could be made larger/longer?.........over the edge of the plinth? can an inset into the arm board possibly allow for a different mounting point for the arm? i’m just trying to help you visualize a way to mount the arm at the correct distance.

or.....let's say you have a wood arm board now. and making a longer wood arm board might not be stable enough. but if you had one that hung over the plinth made from stainless steel, then it would likely still be stable. not sure that is relevant, but getting a hunk of stainless drilled properly might be cost effective.
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