Actually, because I have a Triplanar tonearm (with easy azimuth adjustment) and that Signet Cartridge Analyzer (which has a built-in db meter) I mentioned up above, I once experimented to find out how much could Azimuth alone alter channel balance, assuming that 90 degrees of azimuth gave perfect channel balance. The result was a bit less than +/-2db, where the azimuth angle was radically off at either extreme, like a range of 60 degrees to 120 degrees, which one would never choose to live with. I don't argue with anything you say in your post of 3:05 PM; my point is that azimuth is best used to manage crosstalk, not channel balance. If I were faced with channel imbalance, there are other ways to correct it. And while there is always a choice to shoot for equal crosstalk vs "best" crosstalk, my aim would be to try to achieve best numbers, R to L and L to R, regardless of the fact that the two values would not be equal. But there are two sides to that question, and I recognize that others may disagree (like the guy who designed the Fozgometer).
