"Straight" talk

chakster.... who told you that?  ..just saw VandenHul...... this is not a hard and fast rule.  Maybe for VdH, but not as a universal rule.  Also, in regard to the arm used....   If the bearing is at a different angle than is the headshell/cartridge, the azimuth is constantly in flux ...changing with the rise and fall of the warp...not good

Folkfreak.....   Actually, I thought it was kind of clever.   The object of the game is to get the diamond to sit straight in the record groove....  Lewn....the diamond is to be straight in the groove...If the stylus was not affixed to the cantilever properly than the arm should compensate....that's exactly what the Foz easily permits.

HiFiMan....if it were I, I'd double check it. 

The point of me posting this thread is that in my setup, nothing I did has had as great a difference as when I locked in azimuth.  I tried tracking 1/2 grm more or less than Ortofon's recommendation, I tried raising/lowering the back end of the tonearm, I tried using more/less load to the cartridge..... but nothing I did was as important to the final musicality of my system as was the zeroing in of azimuth.  This adjustment made the low end effortless and seeming octaves below the former setting, the air and 3 dimensional portrayal is light years ahead of the former setting......etc., etc.  It was so important I just wanted to share my experiences with my audiophile friends. VPI suggests eyeballing the rod on the head of their tonearm...  The point is that even a "bit" off is off.  It sounds good, but not when care of adjustment is carefully fineallized.

Chakster....the point of my post was not to discuss which arm is better than another....only to emphasize the importance of proper azimuth setting.  All too often there are those that think that a setting with a bubble level,a metal rod, a mirror reflection et al is adequate.  I'm cautioning against this and emphasize azimuth importance. Effort is unimportant...only that it be proper.

Lewn....I wrote what I wrote to say that the adjustment is not just an act to get it done, but a very important one for which care should be given.  Too many on these pages seem to go through the motions with alacrity rather than care.  The Fozgometer and its accompanying test record   are very valuable for precision results.

Lewn...yes I know the battery issue is bantered about.   Its really not nearly as critical as has been posted.  Never-the-less...you really only have to do the proceedure once or twice ...and then a week later to absolutely assure yourself its correct....then take the battery out and use it in your fire detector while awaiting your new cartridge in a few years.

you have to be nuts to readjust your arm for every or even for different records.  This started out to be a caution for all to properly adjust azimuth, and how important this adjustment is on sound.  I've said what I wanted  - this line of posts is finished for me.

The Foz is not self calibrating...there is a simple procedure. Mine always registers  0 to begin.  If you can set azimuth by ear...have at it. I know mine is correct.  The arm does have an offset, however, the arm moves up and down on the same plane as the pivot so that azimuth remains fixed.  That is certainly one of the benefits of a 2nd pivot on a unipivot arm.

Slaw et al.....without looking at the speedometer...can anyone tell when you're going 56 mph....