Dear Lewm/Peter/all: Nothing changed on my mind about, overhang always is important. Things are that for many people overhang changes " makes " almost no diference on the quality performance and not because it does not makes a difference but because they are unaware of how the system sounds when overhang is off. It's not easy to be aware if you don't know what to look for: if you are not trained to do it.
In the other side in the very first time/moment that the cartridge stylus hit the LP grooves the overhang/VTA/SRA/VTF suffer minute changes due to the imperfect medium and maybe because of this I could said it has not " anal importance ".
This is something similar as the RIAA eq. deviation where I supported and support the critical importance on accuracy.
I say that a prety decent RIAA eq. frequency deviation of +,- 0.1 db is not enough and that a RIAA frequency deviation of: +,- 0.015 db is better and we can hear the difference IF we are trained to know what to look for during playback.
Now, all cartridge/tonearm alignment parameters are important and critical to achieve a top quality performance and we have to take care on each one if we want that the cartridge can shows us at its top performance.
In a pivoted tonearm the cartridge alignment start when we choose the the type of alignment: Baerwald, Löfgren B , Stevenson and the like.
Löfgren defined the geometry equations for a precise cartridge set up where we have mainly to know the overhang and offset angle ( between other parameters. ).
This is a sin-equanon the very first step for the cartridge can shows it at its best.
So IMHO overhang and offset angle ( for a choosed alignment geometry equations. ) must stay with out changes when other cartridge set up changes.
The different alignment equations is a trade offs " game " depending on what we want/prefer on distortions level between null points and outside null points at outer and inner LP grooves.
The alignment equations we choose optimize those distortions inside that choosed alignment in a way that any tyni deviation on the overhang and/or in offset angle cartridge set up produce a different kind of distortions to the ones choosed with different trade offs.
That we can hear or not the new distortions/trade offs does not invalidate the importance that on each alignment the name of the game is: accuracy that must stay that way always.
The target/main subject of any cartridge/tonearm geometry alignment is to do it as accurate as we can because we want optimized/lower distortions.
Tyni deviations from that " accuracy " increment in exponential way those distortions so we don't want to have this.
We all are very sensible to VTA/SRA changes and changes on Azymuth because we are aware of the differences on sound with these changes on cartridge set up and because we are accustom to do it and to hear the changes in performance when the overhang changes we are really unaware on how we detect it or how we listen it.
We have to learn trhough a training to be aware of it.
As I said, it's tiresoem/nightmare to change overhang each time we need it ( for VTA/SRA/VTF ) but we need to do it especially when we are doing cartridge comparisons or when we are fine tunning a cartridge.
Maybe some of you could remember that several times I insisted to have a proved and repetable evaluation/set up process that can permit to be aware of different kind of distortions and quality performance levels and know teh why's.
A easy way to be aware of overhang misalignment is to choose a well know LP tracks with bass range content and listen the system transiente response at different overhang values. You will be surprised on what you can hear down there those overhang changes.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
In the other side in the very first time/moment that the cartridge stylus hit the LP grooves the overhang/VTA/SRA/VTF suffer minute changes due to the imperfect medium and maybe because of this I could said it has not " anal importance ".
This is something similar as the RIAA eq. deviation where I supported and support the critical importance on accuracy.
I say that a prety decent RIAA eq. frequency deviation of +,- 0.1 db is not enough and that a RIAA frequency deviation of: +,- 0.015 db is better and we can hear the difference IF we are trained to know what to look for during playback.
Now, all cartridge/tonearm alignment parameters are important and critical to achieve a top quality performance and we have to take care on each one if we want that the cartridge can shows us at its top performance.
In a pivoted tonearm the cartridge alignment start when we choose the the type of alignment: Baerwald, Löfgren B , Stevenson and the like.
Löfgren defined the geometry equations for a precise cartridge set up where we have mainly to know the overhang and offset angle ( between other parameters. ).
This is a sin-equanon the very first step for the cartridge can shows it at its best.
So IMHO overhang and offset angle ( for a choosed alignment geometry equations. ) must stay with out changes when other cartridge set up changes.
The different alignment equations is a trade offs " game " depending on what we want/prefer on distortions level between null points and outside null points at outer and inner LP grooves.
The alignment equations we choose optimize those distortions inside that choosed alignment in a way that any tyni deviation on the overhang and/or in offset angle cartridge set up produce a different kind of distortions to the ones choosed with different trade offs.
That we can hear or not the new distortions/trade offs does not invalidate the importance that on each alignment the name of the game is: accuracy that must stay that way always.
The target/main subject of any cartridge/tonearm geometry alignment is to do it as accurate as we can because we want optimized/lower distortions.
Tyni deviations from that " accuracy " increment in exponential way those distortions so we don't want to have this.
We all are very sensible to VTA/SRA changes and changes on Azymuth because we are aware of the differences on sound with these changes on cartridge set up and because we are accustom to do it and to hear the changes in performance when the overhang changes we are really unaware on how we detect it or how we listen it.
We have to learn trhough a training to be aware of it.
As I said, it's tiresoem/nightmare to change overhang each time we need it ( for VTA/SRA/VTF ) but we need to do it especially when we are doing cartridge comparisons or when we are fine tunning a cartridge.
Maybe some of you could remember that several times I insisted to have a proved and repetable evaluation/set up process that can permit to be aware of different kind of distortions and quality performance levels and know teh why's.
A easy way to be aware of overhang misalignment is to choose a well know LP tracks with bass range content and listen the system transiente response at different overhang values. You will be surprised on what you can hear down there those overhang changes.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.