Help with Cartridge Alignment
I use a Fozgometer, the KAB Speedstrobe, and an Audio Additive Stylus Force Gauge. Yes it's a lot of money. I do recheck everything a few times a year. I have come to learn without these tools it is impossible to calibrate by ear. Lubachl you spent 3 grand on a cartridge plus I assume thousands more on everything else. If you skimp now, you will never know how good your system is suppose to sound. Jon |
The Fozgometer does what it says, it enables you to match crosstalk levels. But does that always occur where the sound is best? Our ears are most sensitive to phase error between the channels, usually measured at 1 kHz. When it is zero there can be very large differences, especially with line contact styli and those approaching such a profile. Several months ago I visited someone who had dialed in his rig (a nice one, with a TriPlanar arm) using a Fozgometer. Not assuming the azimuth to be optimized, I used the Feickert software and adjusted the azimuth slightly, reducing phase error. This resulted in significantly smoother treble, wider and deeper soundstage, better imaging, and a dramatic increase in venue information (he has Sound Lab speakers, which are remarkably phase coherent and readily show subtle improvements). He was ecstatic. The phase response and crosstalk curves, annotated but otherwise unretouched, can be seen here. There are several ways to set azimuth, some more time consuming, some easier to use, some more accurate. By all means do it or have someone do it for you because the rewards are worth it. |
