What is VTA?

ok, before all the vinyl sifus out there start aiming their guns at me, let me explain...

what is vta? vertical tracking angle lah. can it be adjusted? some tone arms have a built-in adjuster while with others like the rega, you have to use a metal washer to raise the arm. this is to ensure that the arm is level with the record when the stylus is in the groove.

so i thought i knew it all until i surfed into another forum (alas it had to be a forum) and a forumer said everybody has been misusing the term vta when in fact raising and lowering the tonearm changes not the vta (vertical tracking angle) but the sra (stylus rake angle).

plse read this link:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/vta_e.html

is the author correct?
have we been using the term vta wrongly?
when we adjust the tonearm height, what are we adjusting?

Are you like ... compiling all these and then making it into one big composition and putting it as a feature article in Audiofile ?

Raising or lowering the tonearm base will not only change VTA or SRA (depending on how much one wants to twist and turn words to make oneself look like a sifu), it also affects the tracking force. In my opinion, all these things about names and things should not be taken overboard. More crucial is to listen around and experiment for yourself to see if VTA and anti-skating etc affects the sound. If you decide it does not, then it's great for you and I personally congratulate you. But it's highly likely that if you are using a competent turntable/arm/catridge, that you will find that it does. Once you find that out, then the more important thing is to learn how to adjust them to get the best sound out of the TT.

All my personal opinions lar.

mugenfoo wrote:Are you like ... compiling all these and then making it into one big composition and putting it as a feature article in Audiofile ?

no, lah, he's just courting trouble and stirring up the bottom of the pond to watch how much dirt comes off and how far the ripples travel ...

As far as my P3 is concerned, I had to use a 4mm shim to obtain near best arm parallel to record. Because I don't use any of Rega's cartidges, my existing cartriges have a higher height and by altering the VTA, there's sufficient clearance lift when queing. On my other TT, I use a Michell VTA adjuster as it came with the armboard with the arm hole enlarged to suit the adjuster. I can make easy adjustments in future with ease. Thats that.

bassraptor wrote:

mugenfoo wrote:Are you like ... compiling all these and then making it into one big composition and putting it as a feature article in Audiofile ?

no, lah, he's just courting trouble and stirring up the bottom of the pond to watch how much dirt comes off and how far the ripples travel ...

Its ok .... i am enjoying "amplifying" the ripples too much already.