lewm nailed it, and it was a pleasure to read too. About the only thing I might add is the L or R channel distortion people hear is anti-skate being off to a gross degree. Its possible to reach a level where much smaller errors become noticeable. What I noticed only became apparent within the last year or so, center image seemed to tend to be just a bit to the right. Recordings don't always put things dead center so it took me a while to be sure. Well if its off to the right, the right channel is on the right side of the groove, maybe a little too much anti-skate? Adjusted it down very slightly and not only did it shift that little bit more to center but the whole stage became even a little bit more holographic.
So as with everything analog it seems you get anywhere in the ballpark and its great, but you can always do even a little better than that- but only if you're willing to tweak by ear. Because as lewm so clearly explained these things are all very dynamic and ever-changing, so you have to rely on the one thing able to look at the whole picture, and that is no meter or dial it has to be you.
So as with everything analog it seems you get anywhere in the ballpark and its great, but you can always do even a little better than that- but only if you're willing to tweak by ear. Because as lewm so clearly explained these things are all very dynamic and ever-changing, so you have to rely on the one thing able to look at the whole picture, and that is no meter or dial it has to be you.