Moderator: mandym
TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures. im too lazy to do it so i rely on the one-eye-plus-mirror technique. but there are cases when center imbalance is caused by other gears as well as the room dissymmetry. just recently, in one session the center imbalance was caused by the phono tube not properly plugged in.
JackD201 wrote:
I've heard Koetsus sound best with SMEs and best of the best with the Triplanar VIIs. I'd love to see how you were able to give gimbal like sturdiness with your new arm
TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures. im too lazy to do it so i rely on the one-eye-plus-mirror technique. but there are cases when center imbalance is caused by other gears as well as the room dissymmetry. just recently, in one session the center imbalance was caused by the phono tube not properly plugged in.
jadis wrote:JackD201 wrote:
I've heard Koetsus sound best with SMEs and best of the best with the Triplanar VIIs. I'd love to see how you were able to give gimbal like sturdiness with your new arm
And also, may we request for a picture of 'THE ARM'.
mandym wrote:jadis wrote:JackD201 wrote:
I've heard Koetsus sound best with SMEs and best of the best with the Triplanar VIIs. I'd love to see how you were able to give gimbal like sturdiness with your new arm
And also, may we request for a picture of 'THE ARM'.
Hi Jack, my arm is about as sturdy as one of those toy dogs with a nodding head . I do not know exactly why unipivots work but work they do. Maybe it is because the teeter-totter resonant frequency is well outside the audible spectrum (my arm has a resonance of maybe 2 Hz)? I am glad we don't have too many earthquakes ! I'd be very interested to hear about your findings on your anticipated arm.
Jadis, I'll post the picture soon.
mandym wrote:2. Some recordings have off-center vocalists. Do not attempt to correct this error by adjusting the azimuth.
jadis wrote:TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures. im too lazy to do it so i rely on the one-eye-plus-mirror technique. but there are cases when center imbalance is caused by other gears as well as the room dissymmetry. just recently, in one session the center imbalance was caused by the phono tube not properly plugged in.
I have heard from a few very experienced analog tweakers that to maintain proper azimuth, one needs an oscilloscope, and maybe even a cartridge analyzer, like the one made by Audio Technica. But in the real world, how practical is that? By second choice, the tuning by ear method is the next best method. And in my experience, once you get these things right, it's going to give you the feeling of analog heaven for a long long time.
mandym wrote:TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures. im too lazy to do it so i rely on the one-eye-plus-mirror technique. but there are cases when center imbalance is caused by other gears as well as the room dissymmetry. just recently, in one session the center imbalance was caused by the phono tube not properly plugged in.
Sorry TAS, I recognize that loose/bad connections do happen and cause all sorts of symptoms. I was talking about problems inherent to cartridge misuse (misalignment).
The Koetsu taught me to use my ears critically. I do not trust my visual acuity to resolve 1 or 2 degrees tilt on an object less than 1/2 mm long. At any rate, the end result is judged by ear, not by eye.
JackD201 wrote:In practical terms I question heavily all this micro millimeter exactness. Why? You would have to assume that not only is the rack and table level to the same micro mm standards but that the record itself is perfectly flat throughout the entire playing area. Even supposing that the test record is perfectly flat, it does not mean that every single record in the collection is. So you may be "slap yourself on the back satisfied" after all the extreme geekification performed on the test LP but when you start playing you collection, you're back in an operating range and not an exact setting, a range that could be had by just using your ears.
Let's face it. In LP analog there currently is no such thing as exact. Even VTF changes with changes in VTA and VTA changes constantly with the minutest warps of even the most NM or M grade LP. The same is true for speed and alignment. No exact period. You may be 33.333333 midway but near the end what the carts see is faster. Alignment? Last I checked there were 6 arcs to choose from and the number is growing.
JackD201 wrote: There's no black magic when it comes to VTA and VTF. All that is needed is an understanding of how they affect each other sonically. Knowing art is different from making art though. The major difference between a critic and an artist. This is also what gives rise to one of the world's most famous sayings...."a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". What really separates the mens from the boys is patience, steady hands and good ears for the minutest of changes. Traits shared by the likes of MT, Doc Lito, MSM and Eric Lim. What puts them at master level for me is that they can get the sound I ask for and not what they like only because at this stage of tuning their focus is on execution and not mechanics. The mechanics have become second nature so aren't even in the thought process for these guys.
TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures. i'm too lazy to do it so i rely on the one-eye-plus-mirror technique. but there are cases when center imbalance is caused by other gears as well as the room dissymmetry. just recently, in one session the center imbalance was caused by the phono tube not properly plugged in.
JackD201 wrote:@ Mandy - Tito Mandy I'm betting your bespoke arm has fairly high effective mass and a wide taper close to the pivot point. I would also venture to guess that your counterweight assembly is slung lower than the arm tube. Tama ba?
TAS wrote:to give an example, even arthur salvatore mentioned that the better or is it his preferred vtf for xv1s is at 2.7g way above the specs of 2.2g.
JackD201 wrote:TAS wrote:i think as compare to vta, vtf fine adjustment which is best done by listening imho, perfect azimuth orientation should be done electrically with a test lp and a voltage meter as indicated in some test procedures
That's a bold statement with the IMHO unattached Nols. Like I said text book theory, fine.
JackD201 wrote:Oh by the way, Azimuth set using a dynamic reference especially with uni-pivots is my favored method.
mandym wrote:TAS, if you align the azimuth by eye as best you can yet the symptoms of misaligned azimuth remain, what do you do? Do you go back and re-eyeball or do put your total trust on your eyes, let it go and just put the blame other factors? Sorry TAS but I just find it incongruous for an audio connoisseur to overrule what he hears by what he sees. I sincerely hope that I just misinterpreted your message.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest