To LP Listeners: Fozgometer Experiences...

Since you haven’t yet made a purchase, I will offer the advice to save your money and to set azimuth so that the stylus tip sits symmetrically in the groove, which is usually such that azimuth equals 90 degrees, or no tilt with respect to the plane parallel to the LP surface. And you’re done.  This is why we survived so many decades without azimuth adjustment; it’s most often detrimental. Any azimuth angle above or below 90 degrees with respect to the groove walls results in aberrant wear on the stylus tip and premature damage to both stylus and LP. Surprisingly, one can live happily without equal crosstalk in both channels, which is the worst that can happen only if the internal structure of the cartridge is not perfectly symmetrical.

Not required with quality cartridges.  Many people assume that adjusting azimuth will improve channel imbalance.  Not true- usually the result of a worn stylus or defective cartridge. 

Bought V1 when it was first put on the market. It was easy to use but imo, not worth it.

Azimuth adjustment does not have much effect on channel balance, actually, and it is not good practice to adjust channel balance by changing azimuth. Azimuth affects crosstalk primarily, the amount of the R channel information that leaks into the L channel, and vice-versa.

I once experimented to see how azimuth affects channel balance, using my Triplanar tonearm and a Signet Cartridge Analyzer which reads out channel balance and crosstalk in db, and a proper test LP.  Results showed that the most extreme azimuth angle I could achieve, an angle you never would live with because it would obviously cause distortion, stylus damage, and LP damage, had a 2db effect on channel balance. Much better to use a balance control or to find out why you have an imbalance in the first place and fix that.

Greetings,

 I had the V1 but I dropped it and it no longer worked. So I purchased the V2. I enjoy having tools/toys. I do use the AP test album. You can also set the azimuth visual. To my ears setting azimuth doesn’t make Huge changes in the sound, but I believe all adjustments you make will add up to a better sounding system. If you own a pricey cartridge you need to make sure all adjustments are correct as you can get. Trying to limit wear on the needle. I also spend the time to get my less then pricey cartridge setup to the best of my abilities.

If you own a oscilloscope you might not need the Foz.

Joe