azimuth fiddlers beware!

[karma67]

well ive just spent a few hours i wont get back checking my azimuth,my arm has a fixed headshell so any adjustment must be made by either shimming the tonearm board or the cartridge.
i use the mirror method to site down the denon's vertical line that on the front of the cartridge.

easy you'd think,well yes my headshell appeared to not be parallel with the platter making the cartridge lean to the right,ok i shimmed the cartridge with a strip of masking tape to get the line on the cartridge at 90 degrees to the platter,all looked good in the mirror,time for some tunes,it sounds flat,WTF?

after checking the tonearm mounting collar is level in all directions,the plinth and platter level i i re set the cartridge alignment and still the same?
i tried the mirror method with the platter mat off and bingo its dead right,put the platter mate back on and its out again??
a straight edge on the platter mat reviled this!
no wonder its out,so fiddlers the moral of the story is check your mat first!
i wish i did :D
https://s26.postimg.org/7d6ovfbax/IMG_1989_1.jpg

so the mirror is not horizontal to start with!
so

[farflungstar]

The Reed allows easy azimuth adjustment, but I always check the level of the vinyl before playing - if it's off, which can happen although the Tenuto Mat is level, it's simple to adjust the Reed to reflect this - but once the Tenuto is level and azimuth set this doesn't happen very often.

[karma67]

oh dear i fear a Tenuto Mat is on the cards :( lol

[Bigman80]

oh dear i fear a Tenuto Mat is on the cards :( lolSpend the money mate. You've got loads [emoji23]

[karma67]

lol oh year i forgot that,im awaiting a call back from guy.
what thickness is is oli?

[Bigman80]

lol oh year i forgot that,im awaiting a call back from guy.
what thickness is is oli?Mine is 5mm

I'd lend it you but I'm not prepared to live without it [emoji16]

[Bigman80]

Mine is 5mm

I'd lend it you but I'm not prepared to live without it [emoji16]Can get my hands on a 3mm slightly lighter one if you require a bit less weight.

[karma67]

Can get my hands on a 3mm slightly lighter one if you require a bit less weight.

is it a second?

[Bigman80]

is it a second?It is.

[Bigman80]

It is.It has a surface blemish. But it is the old profile too which guy changed slightly in the new, heavier one.

[dwhistance]

I suffered from angst about azimuth and as I was using a Graham tonearm it was very easy to change, however the results of using a mirror and my ears and a test record were contradictory. Being somewhat OCD by nature I ended up getting the Dr Feickert Adjust + software which, while providing hours of "fun" very reminiscent of the engineering labs at university, did sort out the problem once and for all - the stylus on the cartridge I was using was mounted about 1º off from square. I now use it whenever I mount up a cartridge with anything other than a spherical tip.

David Whistance

PS - Should say I also have a Tenuto which I like very much on my Garrard 401 - speed stability, which wasn't bad before has improved and I no longer need to use any damping rings.

[karma67]

It has a surface blemish. But it is the old profile too which guy changed slightly in the new, heavier one.

ok,pm me with a price please mate.

[Bigman80]

Contact has been made. Await a call.

[karma67]

cheers oli,ive spoke to him,i forgot to ask him the size,my platter has a lip around the edge

[Bigman80]

cheers oli,ive spoke to him,i forgot to ask him the size,my platter has a lip around the edgeLol, call him.

[RobbieGong]

check everything, properly and that your doing everything properly, otherwise set up will be flawed as well as the evaluation of anything you're trying to evaluate :eek: :)

[karma67]

well it would appear that my patter mat and the tenuto share the same 1mm drop from outside edge to inner,the difference is its better and more accurately machined than my rubber pioneer mat lol

[Bigman80]

well it would appear that my patter mat and the tenuto share the same 1mm drop from outside edge to inner,the difference is its better and more accurately machined than my rubber pioneer mat lolLol,

With the record on the Tenuto, there is no light visible between the straight edge and vinyl when I placed it on. The record was flat which means azimuth should be correct across the entire surface.

In theory of course

[mac72]

I suffered from angst about azimuth and as I was using a Graham tonearm it was very easy to change, however the results of using a mirror and my ears and a test record were contradictory. Being somewhat OCD by nature I ended up getting the Dr Feickert Adjust + software which, while providing hours of "fun" very reminiscent of the engineering labs at university, did sort out the problem once and for all - the stylus on the cartridge I was using was mounted about 1º off from square. I now use it whenever I mount up a cartridge with anything other than a spherical tip.

David Whistance

PS - Should say I also have a Tenuto which I like very much on my Garrard 401 - speed stability, which wasn't bad before has improved and I no longer need to use any damping rings.

+1
one of the essentials when it comes to vinyl replay , good protractor , RCM , oscilloscope or Adjust+ , good USB camera , something like Daqarta software , proper stylus cleaning tool (AT or Sonic Flux ) , I'd find really hard to live without.