Anti skate. I think something's wrong

Dear blueranger: Nice system you own.

You said that have an unbalnce in the volume/SPL, that the right channel sounds louder. This is not an AS problem but as other gentleman here suggested the Azymuth set up but if the cartridge/tonearm overall set up is " right " about VTA/SRA/AZ and tonearm damping fluid and the problem stay then problem could be in the electronics in one of the system components, it's not probable a speaker unbalance per se.

Forgeret about the AS and clean up any single male and female connector in the whole audio system looking too that no one connection/cable/wire is loose, including the ones in the cartridge/tonearm wires and speakers and the electrical cables too. If all these don't fix that problem then the unbalance is on the electronics.

Out of the subject of your thread but looking your system and only as an idea ( don't to fix your today problem. ) and do that your system seat is so close to the back " wall " a damping pannel here can improve your quality listen sound. 

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear lewm: Agree, AZ per se ( normal conditions. ) can't change the SPL on one channel, perhaps on " extreme conditions of a very bad AZ set up. Same with AS.
Now, what I was thinking is that in a wrong set up exist an accumulation of " errors " on diferent parameters that even if the SPL is not impaired we can perceive the sound as unbalanced one.

I think that  blueranger can take the " short/path/road " to fix the problem:

- listen in the same analog rig a diferent cartridge looking if exist the same unbalanced quality sound.
Here he can discern if the problem is in the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze or not

- Listen to his CD player looking for that channels unbalanced sound. If persist then is not a cartridge problem or phono stage problem but: line stage/amplifiers or speakers or even some kind of problem in the tonearm.

From here, he has to follow tests on each of those single system chain links.

Now, we can follow give any kind of advise to blueranger but it's not easy for any one of us to say with precission where is the real trouble.


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear friends: On the whole AS subject I think that no one of use has the " bible " about.

By the physics laws AS always exist in a pivoted tonearm, so we can dissapears it only because we can't detect its " microscopic " influence in what we are listening. Like is the case of SG and some of us. Example, I change to often of cartridges and is a " pain in the ass " the AS set up that is related with all the oother cartridge set up parameters. So I decided for some time forget about but I know is not " right ".

Problem with the AS subject is that we don't know yet ( at least me. ) a precise methodology to set up the " Right " AS because several obstacles: is changing all over the LP surface ( iws not static but dynamic. ), we don't know on each LP recording its diferent recorded velocities over the LP surface and the difference in cartridge stylus shape has influence too on the amount of AS ( in this regard I remember at least one of my tonearms AT where its AS mechanism noted diferent AS position for: sherical, ellipthical and line contact stylus shapes. ).

So, AS set ub is a night mare for say the least.

Today and only for a " mind in calm " I use AS at minimum posible. How knew it's at minimum? I did not.

Cero or at " minimum " is wrong but everythink we make about is wrong. Maybe the real subject could be which kind of AS set up makes the less " damages ".

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Stringreen: "  The object of all of this is to get sound that is closest to a live performance.... "

well my target is to stay closer to the recording.

Anyway, what need we to stay closer to the recording?: a nearest " perfect " cartridge ridding/tracking to the LP recorded grooves. At least is the primary characteristic to achieve that goal.

The cartridge stylus/cantilever/suspension has a very hard days trying to track the LP grooves because the existence of so many forces that has influence during the tracking job all over the LP recorded surface.
The ridding of the cartridge stylus goes from one side to the other and running at the same time up and down even if the LP is flat. Additional to that the excentricity of the LPs introduce additional movements/forces to the free cartridge tracking as the LP waves too. Before the skating force the cartridge is against many other micro vibrations generated by the action between the cartridge/tonearm and from the TT too and all the feedback of those generated diferent kind of vibrations with diferent kind of amplitude.

Now, on all those overall " forces/vibrations  sea " lives the skating force with an additional influence that we can't just disappeared in some ways, perhaps we can set up at minimum for almost no influence but we can't be sure we can do it and with so many variables surrounded the skating force is really dificult to aisle its critical influence in the performance quality sound level.

Yes, you said: I like it  what I listen more with out a/s and I'm with you on this subject or at least I was w test with the Telarc 1812 recording where I found out that some cartridges tracked in better way with a/s that with out it.
Because I want to be nearer to the recording I prefer to use a " minute " kind of a/s till I found out a way that improve the cartridge tracking with out the a/s.

That more open sound with out a/s that you mentioned was my experience too  and now I think that that " better " sound quality could be a form of some added distortion.

My test was performed using the vintage Lustre GST 801 tonearm that has a magnetic ( not mechanical. ) a/s mechanism and I think the EPA 100 too. In a few days to come I will try to do it again with other today tonearms and se what happen.

The analog experience is a nightmare. Everytime we change the VTF in theory we have to change the a/s too and other related parameters.

Regrads and enjoy the music,
R.