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Posts: 368
Joined: May 30, 2004
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I could try to explain what Soundsmith says, but I would not do a good job. Here is the link to their explanation. Just go down to the segment on azimuth. Here's part of it. Again, it is important to note that cartridge azimuth alignment devices that rely on equal channel balance and identical channel separation to make this adjustment will work reasonably well with some cartridges, but absolutely not with others. They are great tools, but can have limits, and often with a Soundsmith cartridge will not work in the attempt to adjust AZIMUTH to achieve best azimuth adjustment. In fact, some will actually provide a far worse azimuth recommendation than using a mirror, or an equal reflection in the surface of the record while playing as viewed from the front. As a result, there is a caveat with these devices that rely on identical cartridge channel characteristics. While it is true that a truly defective cartridge may have channel asymmetry from the standpoint of one channel having far worse separation than the other, it is also quite common with Soundsmith cartridges - which often have unusually high levels of separation - to have one channel that has better separation than the other. And here's what Mikey Fremer wrote about my current cartridge , the Zephyr MIMC. " I measured 35.5dB of separation in both directions (L-R and R-L) with the head shell parallel to the record surface, no azimuth adjustment necessary." "As the measurements predicted, the Zephyr Star produced as wide a soundstage as I've experienced in my room: wide, deep, stable and three-dimensional. Images on the stage were three-dimensional and satisfyingly solid." https://sound-smith.com/soundsmith-cartridge-alignment
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