One thing I'd try doing first if you don't have any more accurate means of testing VTA is just see how low you can go with your VTA and just slowly work your way up. I made the mistake a while back trying to work out the same problems, apparently the cart just needed a couple more degrees down and problem solved. This was way lower than I thought I would be needed but that assumption put me through a couple months of struggling with set up and was wrong.
denon dl 103 w/ origin live silver mk II: help
I recently purchased a rega p3 with a origin live silver mk II tonearm mounted on it. It is hooked up via a musical surroundings mk I preamp. I had previously had a planar 3 with a denon DL 110 and was very pleased with the sound. So with the new deck I figured that I should go with a new cartridge. Enter the denon dl 103. No matter what I have tried (changing load settings, adding mass to the head of the tonearm), nothing improves the sound. It is shrill, sibilant, and fatiguing. I have had quite a bit of experience with mounting cartridges and always produced excellent results. I have been very pleased with rest of system sound wise. Is it just a bad match with my tonearm or do I just need to let it burn a lot longer. Suggestions???