@laoman , the AFI unit is a similar situation to the Furutech. My problem with the AFI is the silly stupid marketing on their web site. Temper PVC? You temper hardened metals to remove some of the brittleness. You can not harden and temper a plastic this way, utter BS. I personally won't tolerate that even if it was the best flattener out there. Furutech, as far as I have seen, does not feel the need to resort to this. To me this means their unit works so well they do not need to resort to misleading marketing.
@terry9 , Peter Ledermann is absolutely right on that one but you can not adjust azimuth by ear. You adjust it by site which is easy to do. The best way to do it is with a mirror and a USB microscope but, I did it by naked eye for decades. The stylus has to sit symmetrically in the groove or you can accelerate both stylus and record wear. The message here is do not waste your money on a Fozgometer save and buy a USB microscope. For $300 you can get a really nice one.
@edcyn , I also share your enthusiasm for digital sources but for the majority of my life I have endeavored to improve LP playback and until I get to a point where little room for improvement is left I will continue to face the challenge. Digital is just digital, there is no challenge. There is also no amazement. That a trench dragged along under a rock can sound as good as it does is amazing and as a collectable albums beat files by a long shot. IMHO the absolute best sound comes from properly mastered high res digital files. They are a 45 rpm record without the noise.