Tone arm height on AT-LP 120xusb

[pbo23]

Hello,

I have an audio technica LP 120xusb turntable. I recently got a cork and rubber mat as an upgrade to the felt mat. It is a little thicker, which lead me to look at the tone arm height on my turntable. It looks like with this model they took out the tone arm height adjustment feature and made it fixed. To me it definitely appears that the arm is angled downward, even with my thicker mat. Any ideas on ways to adjust this? Or is it even that necessary? All I can think of is doubling my mats but that might negate the benefit of upgrading my mat in the first place.

Thanks!

 

[jrtrent]

I also have an LP120XUSB, and my arm, too, angles down from the pivot point to the headshell. At present, I just use conical styli, and I don't hear any problems I would attribute to the non-level tonearm. More advanced stylus shapes might require some adjustment. In the past, I've used headshell spacers or even wedge-shaped shims between the cartridge body and headshell to adjust vertical tracking angle, though I don't know if those are still commonly available.

Do you hear an audible improvement going from the stock felt mat to a cork and rubber mat? I've long been a fan of felt mats, having used them on Linn, Well Tempered, and Rega turntables, and the one on my LP120XUSB seems fine, too.

I don't know from personal ownership, but I've read that the previous models with the arm height adjustment still didn't go low enough to level the tone arm when using a short-bodied cartridge.

By the way, tracking force also affects VTA. I can't vouch for his numbers, but Roy Gandy (of Rega) has said that a 0.1 gram change in tracking force can alter VTA by about 1.5° and a 5° F change in temperature alters VTA by about 1°. I track my AT-VM95C at its 2.2 gram maximum force, which might help offset the slope of the arm, and it sounds good to me.

http://mackiefamily.unospace.net/documents/regaonvta.html