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A question of Azimuth setting up turntable

In process of setting up my VPI Prime table and am questioning myself of whether or not I'm setting azimuth correctly.  All else is setup perfectly VTA, SRA, VTA etc. While setting up azimuth where should the measurement be taken? At the headshell or at the cartridge? While setting up my Ortophone 2m Black using a Azimuth block I checked Azimuth at the bottom of the cartridge while lowered on the platter which showed perfectly horizontal but at the headshell it was off by a fair margin. Nothing outrageous but it was off. Am I missing something or? Cartridge was installed at dealer but not fine tuned. So where does the audio community check and adjust their Azimuth? In my view azimuth at the cartridge should be preferred but I could be mistaken. Please correct me if I'm wrong. What is the correct or preferred way to set azimuth?

gillatgh

Showing 1 response by helomech

helomech
1,830 posts
 
Short answer: azimuth should be measured at the stylus to LP interface.

Ideally, you'd use something to measure channel crosstalk while playing a test record -- something like the Fozgometer, but even that method seems a bit controversial around here. 

Many will place a thin mirror on the platter and rotate the cartidge until the stylus is perfectly aligned (straight up and down) with its mirror image. It's important that the mirror height is at the same level as the LP surface.

One can also get an analog to digital converter with USB output to connect to a computer. There are free softwares (sometimes included with the device) that can measure channel output when playing a test record. 

I personally fine tune it by ear after using the mirror method. I simply adjust it until the sound no longer improves while playing mono records. 
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