Tools

VTA & Arm Height Calculator

Arm height and stylus rake angle are two ends of the same adjustment. Enter how far you plan to raise or lower the arm pillar and this gives the angle change at the stylus, or start from the angle you want and get the height. It works for the Clear Wave or any arm whose effective length you know.

Only used with “Another arm”. Pivot to stylus; on the spec sheet, or pivot-to-spindle plus overhang.

Fill in either one and the other is calculated. If both are filled, the height wins.

Result

Enter a height change in mm, or the angle change you want, and the conversion appears here.

Reference — 229 mm effective length

At the pillarAt the stylus
0.5 mm 0.13° one graduation on the Clear Wave's VTA scale
1 mm 0.25°
2 mm 0.50°
4 mm 1.00°

These are small numbers. One 0.5 mm graduation on the Clear Wave's VTA scale tilts the stylus by an eighth of a degree. A 180 g pressing sits about 0.6 mm taller than a thin one, so just changing records moves the angle by more than a graduation. An adjustment this fine is only worth making if the setting holds afterwards, which is why the Clear Wave's VTA adjuster locks with a clamp. Once the height is set, it can't drift.

Check the arm and cartridge match too — resonance calculator →