"Straight" talk

" Example: when we change VTA/SRA the AZ changes too "

It is obviously apparent from this claim that Raul is not well informed about the intricacies and standards involved with properly installing and aligning a phono cartridge/tonearm assembly as part of a Music Reproduction System or there would be no way Raul would make this claim. Now it is possible that Raul has achieved this observation soundly through analysis of his own phono cartridge/tonearm assembly in his Music Reproduction System but for that to be true he obviously has a damaged or defective or faultily designed tonearm because of course if the tonearm is properly manufactured and is not suffering from damage then changes to VTA/SRA will not effect the azimuth this would be true even if the azimuth of the phono cartridge and/or tonearm is defective. To restate it in other words azimuth is independent of these other variables and frankly for someone such as Raul who claims to be a guru of sorts with phono cartridges this claim undermines his authority at least as much as his claims about phono cartridges that he has purchased used that are decades old and so have in most cases certainly decayed as a result of age to the point where no one can reliably draw any meaningful conclusions about their performance. 

@lewm  I just checked who is Victor Khomenko and realized he's from my home town. He was born in St.Petersburg, then emigrated to the US in 1979 — with $400, a family, no home, and no job. Here is the article. 

I believe all parameters should be given time and effort.  Azimuth , I have an AZ-1 I purchased with a Graham 1.5tc arm years back. I use it with a mono lp and by ear as intended. Tried a  Foz,  sold it, and kept using the AZ-1 and my ears with better result . 

folkfreak, Perhaps I spoke to soon. I agree with you; I read the rest of the piece by Durand, and he does get it right, or at least I agree with the gist of it.

If you’re using an instrument to set up azimuth by measurements of crosstalk, rather than by ear, the question arises what is your endpoint? Are you shooting for equal crosstalk (L into R compared to R into L channel) or lowest db of crosstalk? The two are almost never achieved at the same setting. I have read arguments both ways, but I think the FOZ dictates you are searching for equal crosstalk. Perhaps that makes sense.

Clearthink, Say what you will about listening to old phono cartridges, but hundreds of us have benefited from Raul's now 254-page thread on the subject of MM cartridges.  I credit Raul with bringing these gems to my attention. There is a lot of agreement among the devotees about what are the best ones and what ones are mediocre.  The very fact that this is so indicates that aging does not have such a differential effect on one sample vs another, provided the cartridge has been properly stored in a home environment (not in the garage or basement).  Therefore, discussing such cartridges and comparing them is not such a ridiculous pastime. Ironically, Raul himself has given up the quest in favor of modern MC cartridges.  Perhaps you don't want to know that; it would conflict with the flimsy rationale for your vendetta.

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.