"Making Mono" for checking Azimuth

Peter, is your Teres TT a unipivot? I have a VPI Classic which is a unipivot. I adjust azimuth using a tiny bubble level which is part of the stuff in my protractor kit. I also use the Sound Smith couter-intuitive device to fine tune VTF and azimuth. As far as I know, the azimuth on my unipivot is perfect.

I need to update my system! Now I've got a Technics sp10ii with an SME312S tonearm and an Airtight PC-1 cartridge. Thanks.

You don't need mono... or test records.

Fact: inaccurate azimuth increases crosstalk between channels.

Fact: increasing crosstalk "fattens" sonic images, making instruments/vocalists sound wider or fatter than they should.

Fact: our ears are most sensitive to the directionality of upper midrange sounds.

Therefore: we can best hear azimuth changes in live instruments and voices (because we innately know how big they should sound) in the upper registers (the range our ears are most sensitive to).

So, choose records with a well-recorded female vocalist and/or prominent, upper-range acoustic instruments (flutes, clarinets, oboes, acoustic guitar, etc.). Listen for the tightest imaging. A vocalist should sound human sized. A flute should sound flute sized. A guitar should sound like a small, hand-held instrument, not a billboard.

Technical note: azimuth adjustments must be made in VERY TINY INCREMENTS, the smallest possible adjustments your tonearm allows. Start by making the stylus appear vertical when viewed from the front whilst playing, then listen for the above and adjust in tiny steps. Try both directions until the image sounds as tight as possible.

Thanks Doug. I'm sure you are right, and will give it a try. It's a bit intimidating with the SME 312S. It has a detachable headshell, and they instruct you to just grab the headshell near the tonearm and apply rotational force to it. Hard to imagine making small changes that way.

That said - I wonder what the easiest designs are for adjusting the azimuth?

Any advice with the SME?