VdH VTA setting preferences

Excellent discussion Nsgarch and Dougdeacon. I'm right there with you.
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Dear Dgad: +++++ " VdH recommends 200 ohms. I can play w. resistors. I started w. 200. It was smooth but closed in. " +++++

If the VTF and SRA were right on target and the Condor was already " broke-in " and you have that closed in sound: that could means a mismatch with the tonearms or a problem somewhere ( any link ) in your audio system/chain or an out of cartridge specs: not the load impedance.

Dr. Van denHul always gives a load impedance range and the optimal load impedance figure and in your cartridge is: 200 ohms, so this is the value that you must to use. I respect the Nsgarch advice about but he is not the designer so he does not which one is the optimal value: only Dr. Van denHul.

As I already post in other threads please don't use the cartridge load impedance like an " equalizer " to improve the sound when ther are deficiencies on the audio system. The closed in sound tell you that you have problems in your audio system : try to find it not to hide it through the use of the wrong load impedance.

With my Colibri I use the Dr. Van denHul load impedance advise and the VTA is slightly negative: this was too a Van denHul advise, I'm using the Colibri through a Breur/Brinkman tonearm like: the Sumiko MDC 800, great match.

The best we can do is to ask to the manufacturer.

Btw, Jan Allaerts told me that the VTA for my MC2 Finish has to be a little ( 1 mm ) on the positive way and he is right, he too is extremly critical about load impedance on his cartridges: 845 Ohms and the VTF no more than 0.05 gr of the optimal value and he is right here too.

Don't be nuts about VTA for each record: I agree with Raquel about. Btw, all the LP are convexs, this means that even in the same LP the VTA changes through the LP. So why take all those time to fix the VTA/SRA with each record instead to take that time to enjoy the music on our LP's?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul, according to the vdH website, the recommended load for the .35mV Condor is 500 ohms, not 200 ohms, and 500 ohms is within the suggested range. In any case, the "optimal" value will not be exactly the same in each system because of the difference in tonearm cable impedance and the effective impedance of the circuitry of the phono preamp (or the impedance of the step-up transformer if you are using one.)

That is why it's important to have a mathematical method to determine a working range (a high load limit and a low load limit for each cartridge) and then to have a reliable way to hear when the load is a little too high or a little too low, or just right.

Just to clear some things up. I changed my load from 1000 as suggested by a few magazine reviews of the Condor w. a 0.35 output version (one w. gold coil & one with copper) and dropped it to 500. I don't have 800 unfortunately. I prefer currently 500 to 1000 or 200. VdH recommends on the box 200 & it is indicated as such in the review. The website is different. I am not sure why.

The impedance of the tonearm cable & phono preamp is in the end the key. Mine is a custom job. I can order any resistor set to try luckily.

I agree about adjusting SRA/VTA when your tonearm makes it easy. Once you get that amazing sound I would note your settings so as to never lose it. Nothing like having the magic. Unfortunately an SME V isn't the easiest to work with in this regard.

Boy do Ellan & Louis sound good right now.

Dougdeacon,

You make sense about the difference in mastering. I still feel having a reference for a 180 gm record would be ideal. I wonder if someone sells such a tool. We could then dial in perfectly. Maybe they would have a 200 gm & 160 etc. All w. the same mastering.

I found that once my Koetsu found its sweet spot (though not for all records) I refused to take a chance & tweek any more as I wouldn't be able to find it again. Everything was very palpable & music was the end result.

I am running my tonearm positive right now. I can't get it to what AJ recommends. It just isn't possible, but it does sound good. I am giving it some spins on a few sides before I start playing around.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Dgad, check your Condor box again. I betcha it says ">200 ohms" which means "greater than 200 ohms."

On the vdH website, in the "recommended load" column of the specs for your cartridge, it says "500 (>200)" which means that van den Hul recommends 500 ohms, but NO LESS than 200 ohms.