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AR XB are you having VTA issues?

Z

ziggydave

Active Member
Hi folks, greetings and happy trails... This is one of those 'DOH' moments I thought I would share to the collective!
For years I have been using a V15 in my XB, and it tracks and sounds beautifully, yet it has always annoyed me that the VTA is quite noticably out of whack. I understand there is no VTA adjustment on the arm, so it's either shims or platter mats. To get the arm flat parallel with the platter I estimate I would need shims almost 8mm thick (my platter mat is thin velvet) so that's not an option.
Anyway, in a moment of sudden realisation, I realised that the overhang adjustment (ie, a tiny grub screw in the top pivot block) when loosened also allows the arm to pivot (twist) in the block, and the s-shaped arm when twisted along its length of course changes the angle of the farmost end considerably. The headshell will also twist in the socket and a combination of the two brought it all beautifully parallel. What a dork. So if you are having issues, try a slight twist of the tube!
Yours dorkishly!
 
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Apart from the aesthetics of kludge, I'd be a little concerned about the reliability of the pivot block screw fixing. The XA arm has a v groove in the end of the wand to keep the wand in the correct azimuth. My memory is that the XB arm is different in shape - J rather than S - so maybe it is different, but if it has the same v groove, I'd worry about how securely the lock screw is biting into the arm wand.
 
You can adjust VTA with stacking thrust pads in the platter bearing well or the tonearm bearing well. Taking them out can be a bit of a challenge but doable.
 
Nat said:
Apart from the aesthetics of kludge, I'd be a little concerned about the reliability of the pivot block screw fixing. The XA arm has a v groove in the end of the wand to keep the wand in the correct azimuth. My memory is that the XB arm is different in shape - J rather than S - so maybe it is different, but if it has the same v groove, I'd worry about how securely the lock screw is biting into the arm wand.
Click to expand...
True! I can only summise that at some point the arm had been 'upset' by someone (not me, Ive never tried to adjust the overhang, even when fitting the v15 it was bob on so no need. When I did my 'twist' maneuver I guess I put it back in the correct azimuth. Not sure if this is classed as 'S' or 'J' shaped but I wasn't aware of a groove, it didn't seem apparent when I was adjusting it.
As for 'the aesthetics of kludge', I love it's simplicity and think it's a work of art. Each to their own. It does perform faultlessly and IGD is as good as any other despite the lack of anti-skate.
 

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noisefreq said:
You can adjust VTA with stacking thrust pads in the platter bearing well or the tonearm bearing well. Taking them out can be a bit of a challenge but doable.
Click to expand...
I'm sure that's true, but I couldn't have made up for the 5-6mm I needed, it would have looked odd. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone, so if there's a VTA issue with an XB I can only recommend checking the azimuth of the tube as a first step.
 
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