TW-Acustic Raven 10.5 or DaVinci Grandezza??

Dear Lewm, of course you wouldn't fix a non-plane parallel to platter armboard with azimuth.
But there are enough audiophile who do - by error.
I was referring to this because I have found many situations with "azimuth corrected" cartridges which in reality was not a misplaced stylus but a ledge of the armboard towards the platter.
But as the level wasn't checked - precisely or at all - the "apparent" wrong azimuth was "corrected".
This was mentioned, to illustrate the point that "apparent wrong" azimuth isn't always what it seems on first sight.

DT, I thought it was someone else who actually suggested that azimuth adjustment is a desirable feature, BECAUSE of possible problems related to the spatial location of the armboard with respect to the platter. We don't disagree on this.

However, I do get a sense of security with tonearms that provide for azimuth adjustment vs those that do not. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that most tonearms that offer the feature also change VTA along with azimuth, because to change azimuth, they rotate the arm tube near the pivot, not taking into account the offset angle of the headshell. Best way to do it is right at the headshell, so only the headshell rotates and only in the vertical plane of the stylus tip. Only Reed does it that way, or some detachable headshells offer it as well.

Actually, I was wrong in my geometrical analysis; the situation is even worse than I wrote, if one were to try to correct for armboard/platter disorientation using azimuth. At the very best, you could only restore the proper relationship (platter plane parallel to armboard) at one single point across the entire surface of an LP. And that's assuming the error was within the arc described.

Well, at least SME and DaVinci honored what they think on azymuth and designed according that honest " attitude " and did not corrupted their " feelings " in favor of $$$ or against them " feelings ", good!

R.

Dear Lewm, not only the Reed - you can even adjust azimuth on the venerable FR-60s series tonearms in the way you are used to do it on the Reed.
And since you only have a play of say 0 - 2° in both directions, this "hidden" azimuth adjustment option is indeed located right at the SME-bajonet adapter.
Thus not interfering with VTA nor changing the tonearm's geometry.

Dear Lewm,

Best way to do it is right at the headshell, so only the headshell rotates and only in the vertical plane of the stylus tip. Only Reed does it that way, or some detachable headshells offer it as well.

I think TW-Acustic Raven 10.5 does it that way too :-)