Balance your arm, then set the tracking force. Start playing a record. Look at the arm and see if its level. If it is then your okay, if not, then you will have to adjust it. Also give a good listen, if you feel there's too much bass or treble, then you can tilt the arm up or down to suit your listening needs. Hope this helps. Theres probably more too all of this, but this is the best i can do.
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Any time you change cartridges there's a high probability that arm height should be adjusted. Different cartridges are, um, different! How much of a change you'll hear depends on your stylus profile (which Clearaudio doesn't tell us), the resolution of your system and the resolution of your ears. While fine tuning by ear is ultimately desirable, as Case04 said, he's also correct that it can be helpful to rough in a preliminary setting by eye. So what is a reasonable and effective way to do this? It is the cartridge which physically contacts the record, so changing the angle of certain parts of the cartridge to the grooves must directly affect the sound. Whether the armtube is level or otherwise is largely coincidental, and certainly less relevant. The relationships affected by arm height adjustment are typically expressed in two measurements: VTA (vertical tracking angle) - the angle between the record surface and the cantilever SRA (stylus rake angle) - the angle between the record surface and the contact surfaces of the stylus You'll note that neither of these refers to the tonearm. Getting VTA and (especially) SRA right is our goal. To rough them in visually two methods commend themselves by their logic and effectiveness: 1. Ask other users of the same cartridge whether it sounds best when played tail up, tail down or level. Most cartridges prefer a level attitude but there are exceptions. This method is simple and quick to employ once you get answers, assuming the answers are consistent of course. This should get your VTA in the same range as the majority of well-adjusted users, so to speak. 2. Read Jon Risch's excellent article, "VTA once and for all!" in the FAQ's on VA. Jon's method, which actually adjusts SRA, requires a strong light, a good magnifier and good closeup vision. It's a bit more fussy than method 1 but will produce superior results if done properly. Here's a link: http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/1240.html For fine tuning SRA/VTA by ear, the best one-stop guidance I know of is here: http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm Good luck with the new cartridge and enjoy the music! |