Analog Magic Question

@lewm The shim isn't for zenith. You are correct, you have to change the alignment of the cart in the headshell. The "Wally Zenith" provides the correct reference point adjusted for the specific error in your cart. But as I said you have to know precisely what the error is.

There are other Wally tools for azimuth & antiskating (which also measures tonearm friction). 

Both companies have video tutorials. Check them out.

I think the main takeaway is (and perhaps @billstevenson agrees?), that conventional tools and methods will only get you in the ballpark (maybe with decent seats).

Other than truly dialed in sound, the secondary benefit for me is piece of mind. I no longer second guess the setup or feel the need to tweak it. I just enjoy it.

I agree with what Mac wrote above, and want to answer lewm's question as accurately as possible.  This discussion and the questions back and forth have been immensely helpful to me.  My new LVB stylus arrived yesterday and seems to work just fine.  I am going to try to put a few more hours on it today and then tomorrow I will go through the Analogmagik procedure and take copious notes as I go and will document the results here.  Hopefully that will give anyone interested better insight into the program warts and all.  Here is a link to the website with the tutorials that I will follow: https://www.analogmagik.com/copy-of-setup-tutorials-instructions

The greatest thing about Analog Magik is the peace of mind I get when I am done. For years I sat listening and wondering if my cartridge was aligned. Now, even though there are too many variables to ever get it perfect, I am confident enough in my alignment that I can push those doubts away and my listening enjoyment has gone up tremendously. 

On a practical level, I agree with the above that VTA changes do not make tremendous differences, Never have and never will be the guy who changes VTA for every record depending on thickness. Life is too short. When in doubt I use the Fremer method with a USB microscope to make sure I am somewhere near 92 degrees and leave it there.  https://www.analogplanet.com/content/video-showing-setting-stylus-rake-angle-using-digital-usb-microscope

I do find the Azimuth adjustments to be very useful, very audible. I have version 1 and I use VTA test for Zenith. Typically after aligning by eye with a protractor I measure closer to 10 % distortion but with teeny tiny twist of the cartridge get it down to around 2%. No way to do that visually. Zenith and azimuth I see as the 2 things that make the most difference.

I suggest replacing the cheap ART interface he recommends with something better. I have found, as have others that the gain control on the ART does not track perfectly so adds difference in level between channels. There are many Pro Audio Interfaces to choose from. I have an Apogee Duet that works great, and the DAC also sounds very good so I use that when I want to stream.. not often.

https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio-recording/audio-interfaces/

I have not tried Wally, but with all of the + feedback it seems to be a fine way to do things. I have too many cartridges to be able to afford to send them all to Wally for analysis. Add all of the hardware you have to buy to implement his system and the cost of Analog Magik is a better option for me.

Here is the test summary.  Date of setup: July 26, 2025  

Turntable:  Technics SL1200GAE

Cartridge:  Ortofon 2M Black LVB

AnalogMagik V.2

Initial Setup was accomplished using mechanical & visual aids, i.e. Feickert protractor, Ortofon Stylus for gauge etc.

1. Speed.  33.3 (per discussion in the thread this was only used to verify that the program & hardware were working and adjusted properly.  It is agreed that this is not a valid test for the turntable.)

2. VTF.  I decided to use the 1.6 gram set point specified by Ortofon because there was no improvement in distortion levels when it was varied.

3. Antiskate.  Here again the setting provided by Technics worked as well as any so after fiddling with it, I decided to accept the factory adjustment.

4. Azimuth L to R. 0.03% difference (note my VTA adjuster is frozen but visually it looks OK)

5. Zenith Angle Error. 1.01%

6. Channel Balance. 0.01 db

7. Vibration.  Negligible. 

8. Resonance.  Failed.  >20db in both lateral and vertical planes.  This surprises me because in theory this bumble bee shouldn’t fly.  In fact this turntable has never sounded this good.  So much for theory. 

In closing I want to thank all of you for your questions and comments.  This dialog has been tremendously helpful to me as I have learned how to work with AnalogMagik.  If any of you are ever in South Florida and you want to bring along your turntable I would be delighted to meet you and setup your turntable using it.

@billstevenson 

I have set up four cartridges using the Analog Magik software, and all four should be ideal using the standard resonance calculation, based on weight of tonearm and  cartridge compliance; however, all four fail markedly using the Analog Magik test LP.  This makes me wonder how valid the test LP really is…