Mounting cartridge in Eminent Technology ET-2 tonearm

@ketchup 

I have set up many ET's - on some the spindle can go out of level when VTA is adjusted - in your terms of reference it would then not be parallel to platter.

I check the spindle is still level every time I change VTA to be sure everything is level.

Some bubble levels are quite good - I use the one supplied with my Naim Aro and with the bubble in the centre by eye, it meets or exceeds some quite expensive electronic levels. Using the Naim bubble level and then checking the level with both a Rega,Cartridge Man level and a commercial Starrett yielded no further improvements - the error from the bubble level was below what the electronic levels could measure ( they all read 0.000000 ). That actually surprised me when I checked it. I had expected the electronic levels to pick up some error.

Azimuth will affect channel balance. To adjust precisely I use a test track, 1kHz sine L+R, and an oscilloscope to adjust azimuth for equal channel output. The test track is side1 track1 of Analogue Productions "The Ultimate Analogue testLP".

Actually, by my measurements and according to internet sources, azimuth has a very minor effect on channel balance and probably ought not to be used as a method for correcting imbalance. It’s best used to reduce crosstalk between channels.