Cardas test lp version 2

Use the magnifying power of your ears. Play an LP with a well recorded, centered solo instrument or voice in the soprano range. Adjust azimuth for the tightest sonic image, so that Brunnhilde (or the clarinet) is life-sized from L to R, not bloated and fat sounding. A mono LP is easier but once you have the knack a stereo one works fine.

Note, TINY adjustments are necessary to really dial in azimuth, smaller than you can see without electron-microscope powers of magnification. This is why setting visually is just an approximation. Time spent trying to fine tune visually is time wasted.

It can be done with a multi-meter by adjusting L-only/R-only grooves to minimize crosstalk. But that takes longer than doing it by ear and it's no more accurate. I've done it both ways and by ear is better, if for no other reason than that it trains your ears and brain.

Good additional sonic insights, Peter. A recording in a live space, rather than an anechoic recording booth, does indeed make it easier to hear the size/shape of the solo instrument/voice as well as the space itself. More sonic cues for the ears/brain to pick up on.

Many years before the Fozgometer I owned a share in a Wally Analog Shop, which also allows direct measurement of crosstalk when used with L only/R only test tracks. Minimizing crosstalk is one of the key goals of azimuth adjustment (channel balance is not, azimuth has little effect on that).

After several months, three of the Wally's four co-owners realized that he could adjust azimuth by ear about as well and much faster, with no expensive tools or test LPs. Using the device and seeing the numbers was fun in an audio-geeky way, but if we think for just a moment about what "minimized crosstalk" must sound like it's easy enough to work out what to listen for.