Cartridge setup experts: Azimuth critique


Would you be satisfied with this?  I know lighting plays a big part, but I think this is a pretty representative picture.  This is a micro ridge stylus.  It's pretty difficult to make fine azimuth adjustments on my arm, so I'm reluctant to mess with this, but if it's is not optimal, I will.

 

ketchup

Showing 2 responses by elliottbnewcombjr

Happy, yes. Plenty good.

Shim kits are a real pain, and you might not improve your nearly perfect angle anyway, and you add something less solid between headshell and cartridge as well as a tiny unsupported gap both side to side and front to back.

Shims SUCK!!!

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I use a mirror the thickness of an LP.

looked at (not magnified) from the front, you see the actual and reflection of the headshell.cartridge body top.sides, straightness of the cantilever. Any error of angle is reflected 'opposite', so it becomes easy to rotate till reflection agrees with reality above. 

This unmagnified method 'assumes' the maker has mounted the diamond on the cantilever. Listening and looking at the diamond magnified can conform that as you have done here.

Seeing a slightly 'bent' cantilever is easy with this method.

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Now, this set of magnified mirrors, picked up, wobbled this way and that beow the stylus let you see the cantilever/diamond and it's cleanliness quite easily

 

IF you have a removable headshell, this has two advantages

 

1. adjustable azimuth

2. no sides, so you have complete access to hold anything below without the sides blocking fingers/tools/vision.