Azimuth 2020

This isn’t true unfortunately,

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.

I could spend hours typing, and never communicate well this topic, but fortunately, someone already went to all the trouble, and even has nice pictures: http://korfaudio.com/blog36

I can attest to what they surmise that the Ortofon test record does work (3rd blog post). I find the high frequency sweep is more sensitive, hence more accurate, but it is an easier test for me than it may be for others. A single tone THD may be easier for most.

roberttdid

Bit hard to follow the conversation to know if any conclusions were reached ...

That was the deliberate result of the two users who turned this conversation into ugly nonsense. They've since been given a temporary "time out" from the group.

If the pivot angle is perpendicular to the offset portion of the arm, the azimuth will not change as the cartridge is raised and lowered.

Exactly!

For most tone-arms, the pivot angle is perpendicular to the main arm.

You make a fair point and for those arms, azimuth will change slightly as the arm is raised or lowered. I don't know whether that represents "most" pickup arms or not, but it's arguably a design deficiency.

Ii don't think the korfaudio article says very much.  For example: "Consequently, any tonearm that does not have azimuth adjustment is severely deficient".  I would say that if it doesn't have an EASY adjustment it is defective.

In my experience that would include VPI pivoted arms.  It can be done with those arms but it is a major pain in the neck.  Adding the dual pivot makes the adjustment very easy, and IMO makes that accessory a necessity.  

Also I find the article incredibly naive in its expectation that a cartridge can be so correctly assembled (in the real world) as to not require an adjustment.  Not to mention the possibility of the slightest non-parallelism between the arm board and the platter.

I differ with the person who claimed he arrived at the same azimuth settings whether using the Fozgometer or the Feickert software. I have used both, and rarely has that been the case when you take the time. The Foz is easier to use since no computer is used but doesn't yield the same results and the same quality.

Quality for SQ? Or for vinyl conservation?
That IS the question.