Dl-103/ sl-1600 mkii vta ??

[BillyB]

What do SL-1600 owners set thier VTA scale on tone arm to when running 103 r ??

 

[Pio1980]

Whatever puts the front of the cart perpendicular to the record surface in line with it's reflection.

 

[Stanton681EEES]

Measure from the top of the cartridge body where it meets the headshell to the stylus tip. If memory serves me correctly.
Technics in there instructions list the following:

15mm 0/ 16mm 1/ 17mm 2/ 18mm 3 / 19mm 4/ 20mm 5/ 21mm 6

If you want to downlaod the Operating Instructions it's over at VE and it's on page 4

 

[Muddywaters]

I've found with my 103's in stock form because they are "short" bodied I have to have the vta pretty low on my Technics 1200's to get them parallel but that will vary depending on the matt thickness that I'm using too.

The 103 and 103r have a spherical tip though which is much less sensitive to changes in vta versus the more exotic variations of line contact stylli. In other words having the arm tail up/down slightly doesn't change the sound like it does with those other profiles.

 

[Pio1980]

I've found with my 103's in stock form because they are "short" bodied I have to have the vta pretty low on my Technics 1200's to get them parallel but that will vary depending on the mat thickness that I'm using too.

The 103 and 103r have a spherical tip though which is much less sensitive to changes in vta versus the more exotic variations of line contact stylli. In other words having the arm tail up/down slightly doesn't change the sound like it does with those other profiles.

True about spherical tips being insensitive to VTA/SRA re tracing, however another factor is the angle relationship of the groove vs generator armature motion in the cart that best reproduces the motion of the cutter stylus for minimum error. This means that, depending on the system, an audible change may indeed be apparent with a ball-point tip when changing the VTA/SRA. The standard starting point for all 1/2" mount carts generally is the top plane of the cart (not necessarily the arm or headshell, depending) parallel with the surface plane of the record. Twiddle VTA from that point once you've established the level reference point index on the Techie MkII's VTA dial for that cart in that headshell on that mat.

 

[Muddywaters]

True about spherical tips being insensitive to VTA/SRA re tracing, however another factor is the angle relationship of the groove vs generator armature motion in the cart that best reproduces the motion of the cutter stylus for minimum error. This means that, depending on the system, an audible change may indeed be audible changing the angle with a ball-point tip. The standard starting point for all 1/2" mount carts generally is the top plane of the cart (not necessarily the arm or headshell, depending) parallel with the surface plane of the record. Twiddle VTA from that point once you've established the level reference point index on the Techie MkII's VTA dial for that cart in that headshell on that mat.

Point well made and taken :yes:

I happened to get off on one of my internet tangents last week and bookmarked a couple discussion regarding vta/sra.

This one is from Jon Risch who published a study back in 1980 on the topic:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/1240.html

and this from a discussion of a Fremer article relating to optimization of VTA & SRA in particular:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=81472.0

It's gotten me taking a closer look at SRA on my various arm/cart combo's especially on those that I don't have easily adjustable or "on the fly" vta capability.

 

[Balifly]

What do SL-1600 owners set thier VTA scale on tone arm to when running 103 r ??

Set the stylus tip approximately 8-13 mm above the LP.