What is you tonearm’s Maximum Distortion?

 @ lewm 10+, Trying to calculate distortion this way is fruitless and hopelessly inaccurate. If anything you are interested in total distortion which is additive based of a host of factors. If you really want to know what is going on you have to measure. The same holds true for resonance frequency. The equation for resonance frequency relies on all reported values being accurate. Life does not work that way. It is easy to measure the resonance frequency and know exactly what is going on. Distortion, IM and Harmonic, is a bit more complicated and requires certain equipment which most of us do not have. 

I use lofgren B. It results in less distortion over most of the record except at the very inner grooves which most engineers avoid now a days. The SmarTractor gives you all the alignments and allows you to adjust overhang and offset to achieve reasonable results in most cases. 

Most of us understand that measurement is the only way to actually know what is going on. Which is a theoretical argument in itself, seeing as probably no one who uses this site with any frequency has the equipment to do such measurements.

I am just interested in others’ numbers, in the vinylengine calculator.

Has no one here used it, or is it rather that no one feels obliged to post their numbers? Just curious.

Loefgren A, my arm.

Vinyl Engine, with inner groove at 60.32 and outer at 146.05.

Max error 1.86°

Average distortion 0.42

Max distortion 0.64.

Please note that when using Overhang shift calculator results in slightly less average and slightly higher max distortion.

I do not know how this is going to help really but...

As i cannot log in there charts are unavailable. Too bad also i cannot upload my excel file which is way more informative and with charts.

Dear @fusian  : Around 90% of tonearm manufacturers used and use one of the 3 best knowed alignments: Löfgren A or B and Stevenson.

Those same tonearm manufacturers choose between different but " standard " tonearm efective lengths: 9", 10", 10.5", 11" and 12".

So run 5 times the VE calculator and you will know how measures the 90% of audiophiles tonearms. That's it.

R.

@fusian  : Forgot that if you want lower distotion figures then and using Löfgren A alignments its tonearm parameters set up are:overhang  21.58mm and offset angle  24.8°.

Where the maximum error  0.94°   maximum distortion  0.33%  and average distortion  0.22%.  All these for your P2S  225mm.

Please don't ask how I found out those numbers because I have no time to explain you ( using VE calculator. ) or to any other gentleman, but that's it.

R.