Graham tonearm tweaking

I don't doubt sirspeedy's statement, based on much longer damping experiments than mine, that these adjustments interact to some degree. Certainly VTF and VTA do. To "perfectly" adjust one parameter you need to have the other two optimized as well. But in the end damping should be much more stable over time than VTF, and VTF is much more stable from record to record than VTA.

To my ears, adjusting damping in the Graham emphasized or de-emphasized different parts of the frequency spectrum, probably because different damping amounts attenuated different resonance frequencies within the arm/cartridge system. The sonic changes from adjusting VTA or VTF are very different from that, and from each other too for that matter. For this reason it seems right to me to make these three adjustments as follows:

Damping
Adjust for the cartridge. Once you find the right amount it shouldn't need further adjustment unless the cartridge behavior changes (eg, with break in) or you switch cartridges. Silicone is a very stable material. Its behavior should be little affected by the temperature and humidity swings in most listening rooms.

VTF
Adjust for the cartridge and then for the atmospheric conditions that effect compliance and tracing ability. The elastomers that make up cartridge suspensions behave far more chaotically than silicone when subjected to temperature and humidity changes. A materials scientist will groan in despair if you ask for predictions (trust me, I have and he did). Therefore, changes in weather require frequent changes to VTF but have much less affect on damping fluid.

VTA (SRA, please!)
Adjust for the record if you like. As you said, every record was cut at its own particular angle. Emulating that angle during playback brings out the best from that record. Because the large proportion of SRA adjustments involve keeping the arm at the same angle relative to the (changing) vinyl, the net effect on VTF is minimal. I do change SRA for every record. I change VTF much less often, typically a little more at the start of a session and perhaps a little less after several sides have warmed the cartridge up.

You guys really are getting the hang of it.Obviously quite a few already know a great deal.
As for me,and my habits,I dial in a wide variety of program material,over quite a few listening sessions.When I am satisfied I go back to the most troubling discs,to re-hear them (some discs just plain suck,and you have to be able to realize when to give up and move on).

I do not overly concern myself with the fact (correctly stated)that the fluid must settle over time.If I did wait, the results from tweaking would not be remembered easily,and the difference is not really all that great.A wait of only 5 minutes will tell you all you need to know!

Other than that, Doug is on the money!!The only thing I want to stress is that you don't have to feel as though you have to continuously play around with this thing.You definitely will,and must,in the beginning,but that is to get the feel for the differences the three parameters each contribute.Once you are in the "Close to Being Right" zone,you may only need to dial in one parameter.

Technically, the VTA can be changed for each record,but,to me that is rediculous (unless you have an arm,like the mega-buck Air Tangent,with electronic/remote VTA adjustment).Boy would I love that!!

I would have to assume that it would simply be a matter of common sense, when we change to a different cartridge.I would certainly have to re-dial new parameters,but,at this point you already have a real feel for what you want.

As for the effect of the VTA/Damping/Downforce being adjusted in conjunction with one another.They definitely affect one another.To play around(within safety parameters)a bit here will only make you a better set-up person for this arm.Obviously, once you learn how each of the three variable parameters effect the music on hand(there better be plenty of different musical stuff here)you don't have to get too "NUTS" with dialing in all three, everytime you want to illicit a amall change. One thing,for sure,is that a difference of 1/100 of a gram in downforce can make a huge difference in sound.

In summary, I just want to state that my approach is not something written in stone!! I don't like to overdampen,by adding too much fluid.In some set-ups a bit more fluid than I like may be better.What I try to do is go a bit under(just a little) the smoothest resulting fluid level.This to me,as I've mentioned,gives the most open and dynamic sound,but you really have to be careful not to bring out the potential "BRIGHTNESS" that can be a result,if you aren't careful.To counteract any overly bright sound or hardening,from going(just a "smidgen")light on fluid,and as long as you are not at the top of the manufacturers recommendation for downforce, you should(at least I do)add a very small amount of additional downforce.This seems to stabilize the tracking and keeps resonance at a minimum.

If this does not work for me,than I need to add just a TINY bit more fluid,and decrease the downforce to my original point,to hear for that setting.Always you can,also,at any point,ply around with the VTA as an alternative to any of the above,BUT,you WILL KNOW THAT ALREADY,if you don't accept "good enough is fine" performance.I don't.

I promise you this is my last thought here.When I speak to the downforce amounts I adjust to,I'm talking about no more than 1/100 of a gram at a time.Sometimes I move the adjustment so little,that there is no reading on my stylus force guage,but I hear it,and,NO I do not check my stylus force guage for every adjustment.You won't have to either,once you get the feel of all this.At the end (yes there is an end)I check my guage to make sure I'm tracking at a safe setting.I'm now at a point where I'm done tweaking my system,thank goodness.So what is my reward? I just had my table updated,just to come back to me with a faulty motor.Now, an additional month,at least.This hobby really "SUCKS" sometimes!!!

Sorry! I forgot to mention a key point,that will let you know you are really close to optimum, in set up.That is the way "Acoustic Bass" (double bass instruments)should sound when you have gotten into the "ZONE".I was content with a close approximation of what I thought was fine until I brought some of my discs to my friend,who owns the Air bearing arm.He happens to be a firm believer in NO damping.He chose the Air Tangent for this reason.
What I heard(this was the main reason I started to play around,in the first place)was "Real" visceral impact from "Very Lightly Plucked Notes" on side #2 of the EMI recording of Ida Haendal performing Sibelius violin music.There are some beautiful interwoven lines of music on three tracks,after the Violin Cto. has ended.These consist of softly plucked double bass that I was not coming close to getting.

I told my friend of my frustration and since he is the opposite of almost all Ego Driven Magazine types I've met(he did write the Mercury column in TAS) he suggested,actually demanded he come over to my place and listen.Since he does not own my stuff all he said when leaving was," the performance I was looking for was potentially there,but it was up to me to learn how to get to it".This guy NEVER tells anyone to "go buy new stuff" and he is the most critical listener I know.He also knows how these damn records should sound since he has the first pressing of almost anything.Classical or Jazz,with some cute different stuff thrown in.He's my YODA!

Getting back to the double bass issue.Even at low level,as opposed to low volume,once you have the fluid level "Right" you will hear a real sense of "SNAP".That is the only way I can describe it.When fingers are plucking, it will sound slightly "Muddled" if there is too much fluid.When you have reached the correct point there will be a sense of a bit more depth to the bass,and more ambience to the space where the event was recorded.This is when you crack open the bottle of "GOOD STUFF".You're done!

Only because I felt I had good equipment,and could get more from it(after hearing a superior set-up)was I willing to get this OBSESSED with this detail.I'm sure my tennis pals would never understand why I was putting in this kind of time on a dumb tweak,when I should be practicing my serve.

Only because I had a really great friend with a superior set-up(and was open minded enough to admit it to myself)and he knows the sound of what is on these discs, for what they should sound like,and honestly told me to save my money(when I was unhappy)and keep trying,did I decide to get "ADMITTEDLY, OVER THE TOP OBSESSED" that I'm sure you all must think I am.But,I did learn something.I'm never going to take anything this far again.My arms hurt from holding that bearing so still,and my eyes ache from watching out, to make sure the fluid doesn't leak into the outer assembly.

If I had not done all this I probably would have found a way to ratioalize my sound.At least I know for sure I'd have had a much better serve!

sirspeedy and Doug, Thanks for the details in your procedures. I now see that both methods are variations on the same theme and pointing in the same direction.

sirspeedy, I very much enjoyed the Mercury man parable. My friend told me years ago when I was going to a highend store, "If you want to save a lot of money and a lot of time, don't listen to the good stuff." And thanks for the paragraphs!
George

sirspeedy,

Did you ever get your Graham to the point of the same level of lack of grain that your friends Air Tangent has?

Regards,

Scott