yet another KAB mod question

On the one hand, I can't exactly say because I've only tried 3 carts on my Technics and they all worked well. On the other hand, I now have the KAB fluid damper and have played around with the compliance/effective mass equation to see what theoretically will work.

First, the fluid damper lowers the resonant hump of cartridge/arm interaction considerably.

Secondly, with the removable headshell, headshell weights, and the additional counterbalance weight, you can play with the Technics tonearm's effective mass to get a better match with a given cartridge's weight and compliance.

For example, I went from a Shure M97xe (6g, compliance of 30) to a Denon DL-160 (4g, compliance around 10-15). But I put it on a Sumiko headshell, which weighs 3.5g more than the stock headshell. It's an excellent match, and the fluid damper seems to help.

I would love to try out an Ortofon Contrapunkt, but that would have to drop into my lap from the sky right now. With the Sumiko shell and fluid damper, I bet it would sound great.

Is anyone bothered by the fact that the fluid damper blocks the indicator for the VTA?

Is anyone bothered by the fact that the fluid damper blocks the indicator for the VTA?
Perfectionist (System | Threads | Answers)

I am, but I've compensated.

I wish the indicator was not blocked, and I wish the fact that it was blocked had been mentioned somewhere before I bought it so I could have made the decision with all the facts on the table.

However, in retrospect I'd probably buy the damper again despite the design problem.

I typically set the VTA by sight (tone arm parallel to the record) and by sound, so the I don't really need the indicator. I agree with Tvad that the benefit is worth the minor inconvenience.

If you look - you'll find that the VTA reading on the collar at the arm lift lever is exactly 2.5mm (I think... I'm not at home to check the exact amount) higher than the actual VTA setting.

In other words - if you align 4.5 with the leading edge of the opening the silver arm lift lever comes through on the arm, the VTA will be set at 2mm.

I'll double check the numbers when I get home tonight - but I'm pretty sure it's a difference of 2.5mm.