rega 3 vta

if im not mistaken the vta is the angle of the cartridge as it rests on the record being adjusted by raising or lowering the arm from its base. the question is, when i bought my rega it had a rega cartridge on there , although one of the cheaper ones i would expect the vta to be correct. i read somewhere that the top of the rb300 had to be perfectly horizontal with the record it was resting on. it wasent.and that made me dubious about the information i was given. i dident mind cos it wasent out by very much. ive since put an audiotechnica (cheep) cartridge as the regas stylus wes buggered and now the angle of the arm is sloping a lot more than it did before. so do i need a vta adjuster and if so how do i know when ive got it right? should the top of the arm and the record be parallel. i know its up to how it sounds whilst adjusting as opposed to any calculated guess and there will be variants with different cartridges ( i think the standard is 17 mm high) but what do i aim for as a guide?


cheers,


Rob,

 

oops!

 

Hi Rob

OriginLive have a fair amount of info on Rega arms and setup --

http://www.tonearm.co.uk/tonearm-information.htm

i think youll probably find the info you need there.
If the arm slopes down from the cart end to the wieght end then you need to use a VTA adjuster to bring the arm mount point up, conversly if the arm slopes down from the wieght to the cart then the arm needs to be lowered. Lowering the arm can be achieved by puting a shim between the cart and headshell, effectivly makeing the cart height greater and so leveling the arm. The top surface of the arm should be roughly parallel with the record surface

hth

 

thanx guys
looks like i need a vta adjuster.

any one ever tried washers to lift the arm up?

im actually thinking rubber washers as a form of extra isolation.

 

Hi Rob,

.I have used lots of different AT's on the Rega arms including the 95e and 110,and they are only slightly deeper than the Rega cartridges.
I find the best results are with the arm sloping downwards towards the pillar by roughly 3-5mm.
If you do need to jack the arm up then the only way to do it is use the proper stainless steel washer's from Rega.

Cheers,
Paul.

 

looking at it it is sloping towords the base by about 3-5 mm. the head shell looks to be almost parallel.i suppose the only way to be sure is to use a threaded vta and adjust slightly, listen and so on until it sounds right.
bugger.
just looked at the prices and 29 squids is about the cheapest.
does it ever end..........