Adjusting SRA using macro lens vs microscope

Thanks for shining some light on the subject. I am quite inexperienced with VTA adjustments and hope to find a close approximate starting point with this method on one particular record. Hopefully, I can find a optimal point by making tiny adjustment by ear. Then I would learn what optimal VTA and suboptimal VTA sounds like.

I am not sure if I have ever experienced optimal VTA setting in my system. I suspect I frequently skip over the correct setting.

Any suggestion on a particular record to use?

Thanks for the good read. With a 10x lupe and backlighting, still quite difficult. I will see when the scope gets here

I have the Dino am413T with flex stand. It is one model up from the 313 used in Fremer's article. The magnification is the same but the camera has more pixels. The web site said measurements would be more precise because of this. It is only$40 -50 more.

Thanks for taking the time to post and detailing what to listen for. I certainly have some work ahead.

I did receive the scope today and it took only 15min including installation, taking a pic and measuring an angle.

It yielded an SRA of 89.3 degree which I previously set by setting the arm tube of Phantom parellel to record surface with just using a ruler (no fine tuning by ear).

As long as one can fine tune by ear for 2 degree, the usb microscope is really not that necessary.

However, I find it is actually more helpful in aligning cartridge using the mint LP. It is better than the 10 times lupe. My back and neck are much happier. I have multiple arms and very difficult to stick my head between the arms.

When record is spinning, it would apply small amount of force on the stylus. IS stationary/static SRA the same as the SRA with record in motion? All the more reson to do by ear.

"Of course within reason it really doesn't much matter where you start. What matters is where you finish. :-)"

That's deep.

Thanks guys. I think I am getting the SRA, I can't make too much out of the strings but I think I can hear the harmonic integration varying with SRA with the piano. I adjusted VTF to be consistent but did not realign the cart..

The microscope does give a pretty close starting point but not neccesary. Very helpful on alignment though.

Onto antiskate, what is wrong with using Hifi News record to get both channel to mistrack at the same time. I did notice the soundstage to be more organized to the right side when dialing antiskate with this method.