I'm taking a poll...

Viridian, I think Will meant 22 degrees, not 2 degrees.

I typically start with A, (assuming the cartridge itself is parallel with the tonearm), and then move onto B for further a variety of record thicknesses, until I get the sound dialed in to what I like best.

(I don't bother with changing my VTA for different record thicknesses, so I just set it somewhere between the thin and thick records in my collection. I prefer to listen to music, than to play around with the VTA in order to get the nth degree of sonic bless.)

My two cents worth.

Actually, the 22 degrees on that page refers to VTA. A few paragraphs down he talks about an ideal SRA being at 1 degree from vertical, but then if you click on his "PS" follow-up at the bottom he corrects his mistake and states that the ideal SRA is actually 2 degrees from vertical, so that's where the 2 degrees in my original post comes from.

Here's another interesting page, read the portion at the bottom:
http://www.theanalogdept.com/effective_length.htm

Personally, after spending days thinking endlessly about this stuff, I'm really beginning to believe that getting the stylus rake angle in the ball park is the way to go, no matter what the VTA and height of the tonearm pivot turns out to be in the process of getting it there. peace, Will

I dug up that thread a few months ago and use it as a starting point. With the VTF set midway in the range I set the VTA so that the stylus is leaning forward just a bit. I have not been able to tell two degrees but I can tell vertical.

Then I use the VTF and AS to fine tune the sound. Changes to the VTF cause much more change in SRA than changing the VTA does, which is why I don't bother trying to change the VTA with different thicknesses.

There is much more on this subject on the web, though I have not been able to find the original articals mentioned.

Regards,
Todd

then just leave it there