Azimuth can best be confirmed with a mirror. The object is to have the cartridge perfectly perpendicular to the record. I'm no setup guru and could be wrong on this but it seems to me that if azimuth were wrong then the relationship between the arm and the platter is off which would be unusual with better tables.
Bias is a booger. Test records give dubious results, IMHO. If you don't have access to a proper blank track on a test record, which I believe is the best way, carefully cue the stylus on the outermost area of an lp. There is a small hump on all older recordings at the edge. What you are trying to do is que the stylus between the hump and the lead in groove. If the cartridge climbs the hump and goes off the record you have too much anti-skate.
Next, as the record is playing look closely at the cantilever and its angle in relation to where it exits the cartridge body. If the cantilever is obviously at an angle to where it isn't aligned with the cartridge body then you have too much or too little anti-skate. Playing a cartridge like this will eventually skew the cantilever permanently.
So, now you have it set up to not jump the hump and the cantilever remains centered in the cartridge body. You may then experiment by ear in minor adjustments to acheive equal left and right volume adjustments.
I believe the absolute best way to check bias is to use an oscilliscope to determine if the signals are of the same amplitude left and right. I've never known anyone that has done this however.
Hopefully Twl will chime in and write a clearer explaination than this attempt.
Bias is a booger. Test records give dubious results, IMHO. If you don't have access to a proper blank track on a test record, which I believe is the best way, carefully cue the stylus on the outermost area of an lp. There is a small hump on all older recordings at the edge. What you are trying to do is que the stylus between the hump and the lead in groove. If the cartridge climbs the hump and goes off the record you have too much anti-skate.
Next, as the record is playing look closely at the cantilever and its angle in relation to where it exits the cartridge body. If the cantilever is obviously at an angle to where it isn't aligned with the cartridge body then you have too much or too little anti-skate. Playing a cartridge like this will eventually skew the cantilever permanently.
So, now you have it set up to not jump the hump and the cantilever remains centered in the cartridge body. You may then experiment by ear in minor adjustments to acheive equal left and right volume adjustments.
I believe the absolute best way to check bias is to use an oscilliscope to determine if the signals are of the same amplitude left and right. I've never known anyone that has done this however.
Hopefully Twl will chime in and write a clearer explaination than this attempt.