Well now, I was prepared to accept the Rega line on VTA . . . 'it ain't that important?' until I read the blurb on the Ortofon test record sleeve, there is a sweet spot, they say. I have been disappointed by one or two LP's from Proprius, they were OK but I remember better? Accepted it as a down grade thing comparing present equipment with my audiophile dream system of the 80's.
As Chebby says, the incurable tweaker that I am, I sat and mused . . . and mused . . . then a eureka moment . . . made a few test listening, sat hazel down, eyes closed and listen, don't open the eyes till I say. I played the same three 30 second snippets from the same track with changes. OK Hazel, which did you prefer? . . . with little hesitation, "the third one" she said . . . bingo! I was not kidding myself.
We have listened for the past 90 minutes to our favourite tracks with a new insight, image depth, image width, image height, all improved . . . instant leading edge dynamics, air around the image with easy perception of individual positioning and an ambiance on the live recordings I have 'never' heard before? An unexpected bonus the listening position was less critical, be off center and get the same sort of presentation as in an auditorium when off to the side, the image was still there.
Apart from the ambiance, all that we have heard to night is an 'improvement' of the developing vinyl system over the past couple of weeks. The heart of which is becoming the turntable cartridge. I thought we had reached the limit of a £150mm cartridge at the weekend . . . but it is still delivering more!
So what have I done? simple . . . removed the 2mm felt platter mat from the P5, record direct on the glass platter. Question; is it the direct contact of vinyl to glass that is making the difference or is it the effective 2mm change in VTA height? According to Ortofon it is the VTA . . . me, I'm on the fence, so, order a set of shims and do a proper job and see . . . ?
OK . . . Chebby, I'm an incurable tweaker, but I promise, I do stop when I get it right . . .
I dont think removing the platter mat is a new idea, but I did it for a 2mm VTA change.
CJSF
As Chebby says, the incurable tweaker that I am, I sat and mused . . . and mused . . . then a eureka moment . . . made a few test listening, sat hazel down, eyes closed and listen, don't open the eyes till I say. I played the same three 30 second snippets from the same track with changes. OK Hazel, which did you prefer? . . . with little hesitation, "the third one" she said . . . bingo! I was not kidding myself.
We have listened for the past 90 minutes to our favourite tracks with a new insight, image depth, image width, image height, all improved . . . instant leading edge dynamics, air around the image with easy perception of individual positioning and an ambiance on the live recordings I have 'never' heard before? An unexpected bonus the listening position was less critical, be off center and get the same sort of presentation as in an auditorium when off to the side, the image was still there.
Apart from the ambiance, all that we have heard to night is an 'improvement' of the developing vinyl system over the past couple of weeks. The heart of which is becoming the turntable cartridge. I thought we had reached the limit of a £150mm cartridge at the weekend . . . but it is still delivering more!
So what have I done? simple . . . removed the 2mm felt platter mat from the P5, record direct on the glass platter. Question; is it the direct contact of vinyl to glass that is making the difference or is it the effective 2mm change in VTA height? According to Ortofon it is the VTA . . . me, I'm on the fence, so, order a set of shims and do a proper job and see . . . ?
OK . . . Chebby, I'm an incurable tweaker, but I promise, I do stop when I get it right . . .
I dont think removing the platter mat is a new idea, but I did it for a 2mm VTA change.
CJSF