Azimuth adjustment the easy way...

I actually don't have a suggestion im looking for yours. I've always done it by sight and ear but there are better methods and devices like the fozgometer. What's your favorite method for adjusting azimuth of a phono cartridge?

keep it simple, i do have a fluke multimeter but dont own an O-scope/fully outfitted tech's bench.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I dialed in an arm the other day using Adjust+ in 3 tries, nailing it in 15 or 20 minutes. Sometimes 4 to 6 tries are needed. With experience you know which way things go. Usually the slopes are much less steep than the ones posted above by MPS, sometimes with funky behavior that makes it more challenging. I'm very patient.
 
Yes, slopes are much less steep in reality if angle degrees are properly set.

I didn't have possibility to adjust headshell in degrees, what I did is I adjusted cartridge in headshell by adding spacers (shims) between. For reference I set one spacer equal to 0.5 degrees so 2 degrees would mean 4 spacers.
It will be more easy with tonearm which has azimuth adjustment or possibility to rotate headshell. Using spacer any cartridge can be azimuth adjusted in any tonearm, shims are pretty standard method in mechanical engineering.
 
I didn't have possibility to adjust headshell in degrees, what I did is I adjusted cartridge in headshell by adding spacers (shims) between. For reference I set one spacer equal to 0.5 degrees so 2 degrees would mean 4 spacers.
That's fine of course, it doesn't matter if the steps are 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6 degrees. It's just easier if the steps are equal. All that matters is to find the crossings and to know how to get back to that position.

Using spacer any cartridge can be azimuth adjusted in any tonearm, shims are pretty standard method in mechanical engineering.
Yes. I would only consider the tonearm damping. Putting shims right at the contact area may result in a recoil effect.
 
That's very true. Any shim or anything as a matter of fact between headshell and cartridge will have impact on sound signature of the combination.
I preferred plastic shims over metallic ones and ended up using damping layer of approximately 1,5mm in between with one side shimmed with 0,4mm plastic washer. I find this combination to be improvement over direct cartridge headsell contact. Maybe it works to dampen resonances of SME V which I guess are in the kHz range however minuscule they may be and Lyra's titanium body being highly rigid and thus "conductive" for external vibration and transferring vibrations to arm tube as well.
There is never a one single solution that is optimal for every system but rather a system specific combination of properties, then we can go on with personal preferences...
 
Thumbs up for Dr. Freickert Adjust +

I can't see a better and more accurate way do adjust cartridge azimuth. Oscilloscope can do the same thing but Adjust+ gives clear graphical presentation of each adjustment to make each step logical.
Fixed tonearms such as SME V can still be used if cartridge is adjusted with shim plates, washers or something similar. These will make difference in sound as well so please experiment a bit.

+1

Last but not the least, Adjust+ gives another option of adjusting azimuth via phase angle difference between L/R channels. I find it quite useful and with some cartridges when the graphs of Adjust+ have proven that there have been divergence between cross talk and phase angle ie when you optimize the cross talk, phase angle had huge difference vice versa, it was better to optimize via phase angle or finding some angles which both phase angle and cross talk differences were very small.
 
Just thinking

If you place a mono set frequency track

If you reverse the pins on a stereo cartridge on one channel

If the output of both channels of the cartridge are equal

Won't the azimuth point be the point of maximum muting of the tone ?

Just checking

Thx
 
+1

Last but not the least, Adjust+ gives another option of adjusting azimuth via phase angle difference between L/R channels. I find it quite useful and with some cartridges when the graphs of Adjust+ have proven that there have been divergence between cross talk and phase angle ie when you optimize the cross talk, phase angle had huge difference vice versa, it was better to optimize via phase angle or finding some angles which both phase angle and cross talk differences were very small.

Yes, I've been saying this for years. My results speak for themselves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: number95
Anyone have more information on exactly how the THD measurement is done in Adjust+?
There's very little information about it, and I never succeeded to get clear info from Chris. It's a secret.
The measurement is not really useful unless you know how and what it measures.
To start with the track velocity is 11.3cm/s. That alone means more than 7dB above normal reference.
I have a hard time evaluating this test...:confused:
 
Last edited:
I made prints from the manual:

thd-manual-01.jpg.0258b7b5c70701caf9b121c84eeae47d.jpg

thd-manual-02.jpg.a4305c40cac5e0e7376a237390c8e391.jpg

I still don't get it.
Using the values for K1-K5 in his example i get THD -42dB (0.75%), not -38dB (1.17%) for the right channel.

THD = SQRT [ (10^K2/20)^2 + (10^K3/20)^2 + (10^K4/20)^2 + (10^K5/20)^2 ] / 10^K1/20

I also think 20xLOG(11.3/5.0)=7dB should be deducted to get a more comparable/standardised measurement. No?
I.e. in the above example, it would make more sense to show THD -49dB (0.34%) @1kHz re 0dB 5cm/s.

I know we should not rely too much on this measurement, but since it's there it should be understood.
 
Last edited:
I actually don't have a suggestion im looking for yours. I've always done it by sight and ear but there are better methods and devices like the fozgometer. What's your favorite method for adjusting azimuth of a phono cartridge?

keep it simple, i do have a fluke multimeter but dont own an O-scope/fully outfitted tech's bench.
From my understaning of how the fozgometer works: play a mono signal, combine them out of phase (so they cancel), and adjust azimuth for the complete null, It seems a fundamental flaw with that is there may be an inherent imbalance in the output of the cartridge channel levels. This would explain why some folks using a fozgometer ended up with a radically tilted setup. Blind application of a technique without insight can lead to erroneous results.
 
No one has mentioned the software from www.analogmagic.com does no one have any experience?

I have purchased the Analogue Magik and had used it excessively for a year now, however the best achieved results do not correspond in higher quality sound. I have contacted Richard Mak (the manufacturer) many times and it seems that the software and associated LPs are matching only with UNI DIN tangential curve (is developed by Acoustical Systems). Only with this curve somebody will get high numbers in channel separation and low intermodulation distortion numbers with this software. All other tangential curves will give meaningless results which will end up in distortion.
At last I gave up and purchased the Adjust +
 
  • Like
Reactions: tima and perart1
I have purchased the Analogue Magik and had used it excessively for a year now, however the best achieved results do not correspond in higher quality sound. I have contacted Richard Mak (the manufacturer) many times and it seems that the software and associated LPs are matching only with UNI DIN tangential curve (is developed by Acoustical Systems). Only with this curve somebody will get high numbers in channel separation and low intermodulation distortion numbers with this software. All other tangential curves will give meaningless results which will end up in distortion.
At last I gave up and purchased the Adjust +

Thank you for that, as I was considering this. I do not think that they mention that the software was designed specifically for the Uni din. You would have thought that they could have included a menu for the three obvious ones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vienna
Unfortunately is not mentioned and you will spent many many hours trying to get results without any success. You will spent your time writing messages to the manufacturer only to find out at the end that is meaningleless and waste of time

In my opinion Adjust+ , Fozgometer or Clearaudio system are the way to go for accurate and repeated results
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Catcher10
From my understaning of how the fozgometer works: play a mono signal, combine them out of phase (so they cancel), and adjust azimuth for the complete null, It seems a fundamental flaw with that is there may be an inherent imbalance in the output of the cartridge channel levels. This would explain why some folks using a fozgometer ended up with a radically tilted setup. Blind application of a technique without insight can lead to erroneous results.

For azimuth with Fozgo: play left-channel-only 1kHz tone, play right-channel-only 1kHz tone. Adjust cartridge azimuth until they measure equal.

A mono in-phase (lateral) 1kHz tone would be used with a Fozgo to adjust channel balance, if there's a means of doing so. It's also useful for checking zenith angle with an oscilloscope. If we adjust zenith with a mirror by aligning the cantilever to be parallel to grid lines, it is usually somewhat inaccurate.
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing