We listen to a system, yet we judge a single piece...how accurate is that??

[PeterA]

I am diverging a bit here, but wanted to make a point that all statements, reviews and impressions are entirely relative and should be taken in context, which would be my response to the original post. For example, in the above statement of yours, most people might agree with you that setting the exact same SRA angle as that of the cutting head's offers the lowest distortion of that kind; but the picture is also incomplete: do we also realize that the length of the cantilevers must also be exactly the same? Think about it: the stylus moves up and down effectively in an arc, albeit small, so the longer the cantilever the smaller the arc, and the shorter the cantilever the larger the arc.

That's a great observation, Ack. I had considered the original cutting head angle and shape of the cutter, but not the cantilever. One also has to remember that most tonearms are pivoting and the cutter head is on a linear track. There are lots of variables, but I think the argument can be made that there is a "proper" or "correct" SRA angle, and that we all just try to approximate it when setting up our cartridges so we end up listening for lowest distortion and our own preferences. Often close is good enough.

 

[microstrip]

That's a great observation, Ack. I had considered the original cutting head angle and shape of the cutter, but not the cantilever. One also has to remember that most tonearms are pivoting and the cutter head is on a linear track. There are lots of variables, but I think the argument can be made that there is a "proper" or "correct" SRA angle, and that we all just try to approximate it when setting up our cartridges so we end up listening for lowest distortion and our own preferences. Often close is good enough.

I can not see any argument leading to a "proper" or "correct" extremely critical SRA angle in each recording, other than our preferences.

It is a completely different case from tape, where if we have test tones on tape we can adjust azimuth for the technical correct angle and we are sure that we have the best possible reproduction.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Tape the solution for lazy audiophiles,lol