Anyone Checked the Azimuth of their Rega Tonearm?

[Paul Lange]

I have a Rega RB 250 and realised that the Azimuth is out. Not only that the azimuth changes depending on the VTA angle. Seems this might be normal as on the internet I found a blog about the setup of a Rega TT and shims were needed between the headshell and cartridge to correct azimuth.

Has anyone else noticed this?

[Gazjam]

Have Rega based Technoarm here, no problems with azimuth here.
All spot on.

[struth]

Got a 250 myself and it is fine....not sure why it would not be unless the surface its on is askew or the arm has a fault.

[337alant]

Actually yes I had a similar problem on my Audiomods arm that I built
The headshell is soft so it was easy to give it a couple of deg twist with a shifting spanner whilst holding the protected arm with a pair of grips, job done

Alan

[Paul Lange]

I wonder if it is an issue with the tooling, or rather one or some of the toolings. I believe the Technoarm has its headshell milled to ensure correct azimuth which would suggest that standard production arms can have incorrect azimuth.

[Non-Smoking Man]

I have a Rega 300 on a 401 and I would swear the azimuth is out. I was thinking the same as Paul above - why make a point of remilling if they were flat in the first place..
Jack

[Rowlf]

I have a Rega 250 and without the proper tools, the only way to "check" is through the naked eye. There were certainly times where I suspect that the Azimuth is out of whack but I could not see a proper tool out there that is easy to use. Saw the latest Dr Feickert Adjust + setup on youtube. No doubt it must be highly accurate but I will have no patience going through that.

[NRG]

Before you go blaming the 250 make sure the platter/record is actually level with a bubble gauge. If the arm board is separate make sure that is level as well and if not check the plinth is level. I do recall years ago one mod for the Regas was to scrape the paint off the underside of the headshell...can't imagine it would cause much of an issue myself but you never know!

[Marco]

I have a Rega 250 and without the proper tools, the only way to "check" is through the naked eye. There were certainly times where I suspect that the Azimuth is out of whack but I could not see a proper tool out there that is easy to use. Saw the latest Dr Feickert Adjust + setup on youtube. No doubt it must be highly accurate but I will have no patience going through that.

Hi James,

Sorry to interrupt, but we need a proper geographical location put on your profile. Much as “King Henry’s crypt” is amusing, it’s inappropriate, so please sort that out - ta! :)

What you wrote in your introductory post appears to suggest that you’re living in London: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?10811-Hello-All&p=206295#post206295

Is that correct?

Marco.

[Clive197]

Little trick I found, is putting a CD on the platter and then (carefully) dropping the stylus onto it. The CD acts as a mirror and it is very easy to see if the azimuth is out of kilter.

Good CD to use is "Sounds Of Silence" :lol::lol::lol:

[Johnnie7]

as the tubes are cast...there is a lot of variation in the tube thickness and the headshell angle and azimuth

a headshell bubble spirit level used on the headshell is a easy tool for checking as a starting point


1 thin plastic cartridge screw washer ,..is a easy thing to use to pack the cartridge up on one side if needed

[Oldpinkman]

Gosh - it never occured to me that nobody else had a mirror alignment protractor. Mine is over 25 years old, but in addition to being a mirror, the alignment marks make it easy to see.

You can use a test record to be sure.

A bubble level will tell you if the top of the arm is level, if your platter is level - that will help. But shimming the cartridge won't change the bubble level readout! So you still need a mirror really. :(

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/231259766760?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

A jaw-dropping £13 (mine was £1) but they still exist :)

[Barry]

I use a mirror - quick, simple and accurate.

If you want to go further, you would need to play a monophonic record and monitor the output of each channel using a double-beam oscilloscope. The azimuth is correct, if the two outputs are identical (assuming of course the channels have equal output; some cartridges can have a 0.4dB channel difference).

[struth]

These (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291173136923?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) are pretty good too. alas I broke mine by sitting on it :doh:

[walpurgis]

These (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291173136923?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) are pretty good too. alas I broke mine by sitting on it :doh:

I'm just trying to visualise what happened to the rest of the turntable when you did that. :D

[struth]

I'm just trying to visualise what happened to the rest of the turntable when you did that. :D

:lolsign:

The mind boggles......Teach me to have such a big ass......was going to get another but probably wont bother now. I am always sitting on things :eyebrows: :rfl:

Knowing Marco I probably shouldn't have said that :doh:

[Barry]

These (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291173136923?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) are pretty good too. alas I broke mine by sitting on it :doh:

£30 !!! That was an expensive mistake - though not as expensive as when I sat on my glasses: varifocal lenses in a 'designer' titanium frame. £800 insurance claim!

[struth]

hadnt had it long either.:doh: that was an expensive set of glasses barry. mine cost 20 quid:lol:

[Rowlf]

Before you go blaming the 250 make sure the platter/record is actually level with a bubble gauge. If the arm board is separate make sure that is level as well and if not check the plinth is level. I do recall years ago one mod for the Regas was to scrape the paint off the underside of the headshell...can't imagine it would cause much of an issue myself but you never know!

The level seems to be alright from the platter and arm board. One thing I have not done was to bubble gauge the tonearm as the Ortofon gauge I was using is a bit too big to sit on top of the cartridge part of the tonearm.

If the distortion is one channel, let's say right channel (which means tracking error on the outer groove, one away from the spindle right?), which side of the cartridge should I be shimming?