Which to Choose?

[Ki Choi]

Ki,
Are you talking about the two at the rear of the cover assembly that support the hinge assemblies of the flip down shield? If so, you'd effectively be removing that flip down assembly, so it can be just lifted out to align?

Thanks, but I disagree. I monitor with XY from all sources, but especially tape since even the slightest mismatch of azimuth between the tape being played and the current head setting will significantly alter HF detail, depth and timbre. Just because my machine might be MRL aligned, doesn't mean the tape from another studio matches it. In fact, they can vary quite a bit. Even if made on the same machine same studio but on a different day.

On my main PR99 I have a hex-based tool for play alignment which I made that indicates an MRL cal position and then equally based 'points' either direction as a reference. This is a common practice in good mastering facilities and is crucial for best transfer.

--Bill

Hi Bill

Follow the Studer logo to the far right and left for screws that will remove the headcover and leave the headcover base mounted in the headblock.

None of my masters and master dub tapes have test tones other than 1Khz for level and rarely 10Khz for HF repro adjustments and never have 16Khz tone for fine azimuth adjustment.. All of your tapes must have HF azimuth cal tones as well. Then knock your self out! ;-)

On the other hand, I do have A80 headblocks from BBC that have fine graduated dial for repro head azimuth adjustments, so what the h__ do I know...?

 

[bblue]

Hi Bill

Follow the Studer logo to the far right and left for screws that will remove the headcover and leave the headcover base mounted in the headblock.

None of my masters and master dub tapes have test tones other than 1Khz for level and rarely 10Khz for HF repro adjustments and never have 16Khz tone for fine azimuth adjustment.. All of your tapes must have HF azimuth cal tones as well. Then knock your self out! ;-)

On the other hand, I do have A80 headblocks from BBC that have fine graduated dial for repro head azimuth adjustments, so what the h__ do I know...?

That's standard fare for a Studer machine intended to be used for a mastering playback machine, or in other critical applications. The notion of set and forget azimuth is pretty non-sensical to me.

Yes, most of the masters and dubs that I have (from studios I've worked at) have a full set of tones to at least 16k, so it's pretty easy to do a quick fine tune with an XY scope. It's a whole lot trickier when masters have no tones, or just a 1k, but it's not impossible to do. One way that works out well on decently recorded material (not super flat-topped or distorted) is to run the stereo output of the deck through my DAW in real time. I have a few equalizers and phase shifters set up just for this task (and a spectrum analyzer), which amounts to analyzing audio content from about 8k to 20k, high passed, then watch the summ and difference of the channels as the azimuth is adjusted very slowly. You'll see comb-filter artifacts on either side of the true azimuth center. Find a smooth peak in between those two areas, and there's your azimuth adjustment. For mono, it's similar but more difficult because you can only see a single broader channel. You have to go by the level of above 10k material and your ears to find the right point. But it is doable, and well worth it. It's more a change in tonality and fine detail when you're right on the money.

Thanks for the tip on the headcover and base. I'll give it a try.

--Bill

 

[Ki Choi]

For mono, it's similar but more difficult because you can only see a single broader channel. You have to go by the level of above 10k material and your ears to find the right point. But it is doable, and well worth it. It's more a change in tonality and fine detail when you're right on the money.

Well, Bill I admire your seriousness in getting the most out of the tapes and having the patience and know how to get there. Most of us on WBF forum are just non-pro audiophiles just grateful to know that our machines are working per factory spec. and I am lazy on top of that... ;-)

If you can obtain long enough 8K - 10K content from your mono tapes, you can adjust azimuth for the highest output level and it will be pretty close in optimal azimuth setting, IMHO.

Ki

 

[bblue]

Well, Bill I admire your seriousness in getting the most out of the tapes and having the patience and know how to get there. Most of us on WBF forum are just non-pro audiophiles just grateful to know that our machines are working per factory spec. and I am lazy on top of that... ;-)

If you can obtain long enough 8K - 10K content from your mono tapes, you can adjust azimuth for the highest output level and it will be pretty close in optimal azimuth setting, IMHO.

Ki

True that. Sometimes I have to resort to something like that when there's just not enough HF energy to evaluate. But when there is, it's time well spent.

--Bill