Recent retip(canti also) Dude where did my soundstage width go

Hey Thanks ya'll. I'm still learning about set up and how precise it needs to be. I'm using a Feikert and a Fozgometer. I was getting strange readings with insane azimuth adjustments that were clearly not right. I realized then how sensitive the alignment of cantilever needs to be.n That was a revelation. The lines on the Feikert are decent but when your talking about movements the width of a silk thread or smaller it's little better than ballpark. It was using the Foz that strangely caused me to question alignment with the initial absurd readings.  Sensitive and great tool. It's probably still not as good as it can be. I've gone through set up it twice now and I'm done for now. Channel balance/azimuth is within a couple ticks on the Foz. I look forward to getting the Mint. Still the issue remains with the width. I'll continue letting it break in. It's a tortuous but interesting process. My toe is tapping though a bit more now. It's really recording dependent. My Grado really made almost everything sound good with a big old soundstage although it glossed over some detail Im finding out. 

It will never sound the same. Honestly I just don't get the act of changing out the cantilever and stylus to something else. Once the cartridge wears out, replace it with another one, unless it has a replaceable stylus.

If one can afford expensive toys to play with the first time, they should be able to afford a replacement no questions asked. 

Well, your assuming I can't or that just because somebody goes the route I have they can't. Thats quite a leap. I like to tweak what I have getting the most out I can and this goes for other things in life also. Not to knock anybody else's consumer consumption.  I really like my cart and if this baby doesn't open up more I will replace it with exactly the same one and chock it up to a valuable learning experience. Peace out invictus.

fourwinds,  Just to clarify, azimuth is NOT about channel balance.  It is about crosstalk, the degree to which L channel information leaks into the R channel, and vice-versa.  This phenomenon has a lot to do with the illusion of stage width that the system can convey.  I've never owned nor played with the Foz, but it does seem that many end users use it incorrectly (either that or many units are faulty) so as to end up with inaccurate azimuth adjustment and therefore poor crosstalk characteristics, which leads to a narrow sound stage.  I have read, for one thing, that the battery in the Foz needs to be kept fresh at all times, for accurate readings.  But if the Foz is telling you that your azimuth has to be tilted way off of top dead center (top surface of cartridge or headshell at a 90 degree angle to the LP surface), then I suspect it's readout is not trustworthy.

Just for fun, you might try setting your azimuth to 90 degrees empirically (see above), ignoring the Foz.  Then have a listen.

By the way, radical changes in azimuth have little effect on channel balance and adjusting azimuth is not the way to "fix" channel imbalance.

Setup may be your problem.

I have read that it is not correct to equalize crosstalk, especially for premium cartridges. If memory serves, SoundSmith writes most convincingly of this. I set up optically, then use a well modulated (loud) NM record that distorts on one channel, and adjust until the distortion goes away. Then I listen for distortion on the other channell.

I also get precise about mounting torque. I use a German torque screwdriver.