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Azimuth observations and importance

After adjusting azimuth with a Fozgometer loaned to me, the following is what I observed. Individually, these changes were subtle although noticeable. The combined effect however, was significant to the overall presentation.

Imaging improved.

Vocals became more focused, not as big and wide as before.

Instruments more detailed with greater air. Location is more precise.

Tighter bass versus the slightly lingering bass notes previously.

Better top to bottom detail and clarity.

I never realized how important correct azimuth adjustment is and this exercise was quite a learning experience for me. Thinking I was correctly adjusting azimuth by visually setting the headshell as level as possible was a reasonable but flawed attempt.

I have found at least two stylus issues that if present will affect azimuth and sound.

1) A straight cantilever that is twisted left or right changes the attitude of the diamond and its relationship to the groove. By twisted I mean the cantilever has rotated on its own axis. This one is very difficult to see without appropriate magnification.

2) A cantilever that is canted to the left or right a degree or more but is still straight, not bent. It points left or right probably because it was not centered correctly when the cantilever was installed. It also changes the attitude of the diamond.

What is probably basic and common knowledge to everyone here is something I have just been enlightened about after giving it very little thought. I am now convinced that accurate azimuth is a required step in the turntable set up process and I will be giving full attention to this part of the equation.

No more guesswork and eyeballing which I am embarrassed to say was the norm. Doug
128x128dougolsen
lewm
13,423 posts
 
The Shure and Audioquest test LPs, both of which contain bands for setting azimuth in conjunction with the Signet Cartridge Analyzer, generate a pure test tone of 1kHz, first in one channel only and then in the other channel only. I think anywhere from 500Hz to 2kHz is a good average frequency representative of "music". Otherwise, one would indeed go nuts with this azimuth thing. Indeed, it may be too late for all of us.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
So, do we listen in a wiggly world or do we use an objective test? Well, both... which may lead us to the enlightened state Lew mentioned.

Thom makes a valid point: having an objective standard to navigate through the wiggliness can indeed help train our ears.

My Wally Analog Shop (which measures crosstalk at 1kHz) did that. After 2 hours I got crosstalk optimized and played some music. The improvements were clear, quite as the OP described. This objective test trained my ears to listen through the wiggles.

After that, when changing cartridges I'd adjust by listening first, then confirm with the Wally. Having learned what to listen for, my by-ear settings became acceptably reliable and the Wally a waste of time; but it wasn't entirely so in the beginning.

Today, my reference cartridge produces so little crosstalk that the Wally can barely measure it. Using it would largely be a waste of time.

As Lew said, it's too late for most of us - but perhaps we can protect the newbies, if only by providing an object lesson.
dgarretson
2,608 posts
 
I use a CD as a mirror, a magnifier with a handle, and Petzl's best head lamp made for night climbing-- all multi-purpose tools that do the job, assuming good eyesight. At close magnification you can see two images of the cantilever down into the mirror, which helps in determining correct line of sight.
jazdoc
365 posts
 
Thanks to everyone for a terrifically informative thread.

Joel came over last night to spin some vinyl and optimize my Talea : ^ ))) with his new Mint LP tractor. (More impressions of the Talea to follow soon...) We spent some time dialing in azimuth using a mono Ella Fitzgerald LP and I was able to learn Joel's method. Joel focused on a specific tone (bells) and made a series of adjustments. When dialed in to our mutual satisfaction, Ella became a more palpable and relaxed presence in the room.

This (naturally) led to a discussion of what is the proper tone to optimize and should you try to utilize more than one frequency band to properly set azimuth??? Joel had written about this on his website...http://www.durand-tonearms.com/index.php?p=1_9_Azimuth-talk. Independent of Joel, I was listening for a different tone and yet we arrived at the same azimuth setting for both frequencies.

BTW, the "on the fly" azimuth adjustment of the Talea is a great feature. Very easy to use and reproducible.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Agree about the ease of the Talea's azimuth adjustment. Perhaps even more important, it doesn't compromise the rigidity of the armwand in any way. I'm looking forward to your lengthier impressions. We only had the protoype for a day and were VERY impressed. It beat the cr** out of our present tonearm.

The proper tone to optimize is obvious - use the one you hear best! For crosstalk, consider that the ear determines the directionality and distance of sounds at mostly upper-mid to high frequencies, so that's what we should listen for. Trying to assess the direction or image size of a bass drum or tuba is much harder than doing the same for a trumpet, bell or soprano.

Bells are especially good for this because they have a tendency to ring (heh!) if not reproduced very accurately. Any lack of clarity will be audible as distorted phase response, as mentioned by Essentialaudio. Paul and I have a few oddball LP's (okay, just stop thinking that!) with natural percussion instruments in the upper register. They're excellent for dialing in azimuth, provided you enjoy 12th C. Andalusian dance music.

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