Clearaudio Azimuth Optimizer V Fozgometer

Don and Bif, There were so many reports on this forum of odd results with the Fozgometer that I have never purchased one or even tried one out in my system. I am sure that some of those reported problems were due to misapplication of the instrument, but nevertheless, the seeds of doubt were sewn. I own an ancient Signet Cartridge Analyzer, and that's what I've used to set azimuth. The advantage of the Signet (I think) vs the Foz is that it takes the output of the cartridge directly, not via the output of the phono stage. So, errors due to imbalance in phono channels are avoided. The bad news is that the Signet does not have sufficient gain by itself to work well with LOMC cartridges. I have been meaning to build in an extra gain stage or to have Bill Thalmann do it. But the kicker is that I only bother to use the Signet with my Triplanar and my Reed tonearms, because only those two have decent mechanisms for azimuth adjust. With my other tonearms (mainly the Dynavector DV505), I just go with "parallel to the LP surface", realizing that this criterion is not always the best. I guess you could say that I've given up the ghost. To some degree, I side with Nils.

I am most tempted by the Feickert program, because I have a laptop that does not get much use. The Clearaudio is just plain ridiculous, based on cost alone. How much better could it possibly be than either the Feickert or the Foz? My response would be "not that much, if at all". The dark horse would be the device that Soundsmith was perfecting, last I knew. Supposedly it would read out a variety of cartridge characteristics and also provide for azimuth setting. What happened to that? Is it for sale?

Thanks for the responses.I had a play yesterday with the Graham Phantom II Supreme cart setup and Azimuth and to me although it sounds different at different stages of adjustment I can not pin point the sweet spot.To use the Clearaudio Azimuth Optimizer V Fozgometer would help to take the guess work out of it.The well built Clearaudio Azimuth Optimizer has extras which I would not need like phono stage and head phone amp.It would be a nice unit to HIRE but a lot of money to buy and sit in the draw most of the time.Dave I just watched the Adjust+ youtube which looks like another good option .Thanks
Stump

1stump: Like you, I found myself "wandering in the dark" on
azimuth adjustment before using the Fozgometer. I guess that I have not
yet developed the "magic eye/ear dexterity" to find the sweet spot manually
like many claim to. The Fozgometer made short work of it for me.

Lewm: It is a shame that misinformation has kept you from trying the
Fozgometer. The Fozgometer's manual states "Higher output
cartridges
(>.3mV@3.54cm/sec) should have enough output to be connected directly
to the meter but ultra-low output cartridges may require additional gain. In
this case, RCA cables should be connected between the Fozgometer and
the phono preamp out or preamp tape out jacks."

There are posts here on Audiogon where users have hooked it directly (via
the tonearm cabling) to
<.3mV output cartridges with good results.

I tried it both ways (directly from the cartridge and also from the preamp's
tape out jacks) and found no difference in the readings. IMO, it is an added
benefit to be able to compare results using both methods to validate that
the phono stage and preamp are not misbehaving.

Dave

Getting to play around with the Azimuth has been a worth while tweak.I have a nice result now which is very enjoyable.Before I consider a meter I will have a hearing test as I think my right ear may be lacking in the mid notes.(Voice area)
Stump

I am biased because I have been using the Feickert Adjust Plus Pro software ever since it became available and have aligned dozens of systems, all to good effect. The software's azimuth adjustment part measures not only crosstalk between channels, it measures phase response. I am certain it could be demonstrated that our ears are more sensitive to minimizing phase error between channels than equalizing crosstalk. Sometimes both are at the same azimuth setting, but often they are not. Just last week I aligned a system that had a whopping 161 degrees of phase error at its initial setting and got it to within 2 degrees. The fellow stayed up way past his bedtime with his buddies listening New Year's eve, and the next morning the place was heavily littered with wine glasses and records out of their sleeves. I guess it was mission accomplished. The cost was far less than even just the standard version of the software, and all he had to do was sit back and watch if he wanted, and then listen to the results.