Reed tonearm w/ Raven One table-how's the match ?

***I've had very good results with adjustment despite the fixed azimuth of the SME, and have been able to hit that sweet spot with some regularity by attending to other adjustments.***

Or so you think.

Without experiment you cant say with any authority that it is in fact in the quintessential sweet spot.

This isnt a confrontational statement but just a observation based on reason and deduction.

You want to BELIEVE your azimuth is perfect but you take that by faith not by proof.

As i laboured.

Todays "sweet spot" isn't "tomorrows sweet spot."

Are you open?

From one audiophile "beggar" to another...experiment with your azimuth adjustment.

Take it to the next level and remove that question mark from the equation.

Do you want to progress or do you just want to chat?

Though the headshell is fixed on my SME, I have been able to loosen the screws at the arm's base and get some limited azimuth adjustment with the arm. Resting a small, very light bubble level on the top front portion of the arm has also helped. Beyond these measures and the others already mentioned, I don't know that there's much else to rely on except my ears. I can certainly hear significant differences while in the process of making the various kinds of adjustments. Let's put it this way: I may or may not get things "perfect", but I'm typically able to get the sound to where I am very satisfied with it. Otherwise, it would be nice to have an arm that provides for greater ease of adjustment in a variety of parameters. This is one of the reasons I'm looking to acquire one that does offer such conveniences. And, it just might bring me a bit closer to that "perfect"(I really don't like that word.)sound.

Dear Vertigo, I don't think there is any such thing as "perfect" azimuth adjustment, so doing it by ear is as good as any other way, IMO. How would you define perfect azimuth adjustment, in electrical terms?

Thanks very much, Lew. You and I are in complete agreement on this. Frankly, since it is we the listeners who are trying to arrange things for our own satisfaction and not anyone else's, it makes sense adjusting by our ears must ultimately take priority.

Opus,

Sorry if my tone came across a little "harsh". I'm just wanting to make sure that audiophiles don't neglect this important adjustment or understate its importance having tunnel vision by looking for problems in the wrong places, prematurely.

I think the kind of azimuth adjustment i am talking about is too fine to be measurable with a course spirit level and the spirit level can only tell you that the headshell is level.

I'm sure there are many cases where the headshell is level but azimuth is still out because of the way the diamond was glued onto the cantilever!

How critical it is to have azimuth and vta right will depend also on how sophisticated the shape of the diamond is. For example a denon 103 will have a larger margin of error but still sound as it sounds, whereas a sophisticated cartridge operates in a narrower margin of error and will not be as forgiving of extremely fine errors, ie, poor set up.

I thought i understood all this but in retrospect i have to say i affirmed or gave lipservice to its truths in word but in reality i didnt believe it to the level i do today. Or...maybe more accurately i had a intense paradigm shift in this regard when the allaerts came onto the scene. A fine, precise instrument it is. Really, I only got it into my thick skull by accident. I was experimenting one afternoon for maybe 3 hours with vtf, vta, and azimuth and realized that ALL my prior conceptions of having this cart dialed in were wrong!

Prior to that moment i made all sorts of critical statements about how i THOUGHT my arm sounded or how my SPEAKERS sounded. All wrong! Wrong to the point that i could have posted these items for sale here! Now those same components are amazing to me! Its a strange experience to go through that.

My appreciation for extremely extremely fine changes in these parameters went through the roof. My hope is that other audiophiles who are as slow as me, or havent seen the light on this yet... WOULD! To all those who already understand this , just ignore this post.

Have a nice day.

sincerely,