Soundsmith "Cartright" : Impressions?

[Victor]

It's been a while since this debuted at RMAF...

http://www.sound-smith.com/cartright/index.html

I know that Rich mentioned he'd seen it exhibited in his Vinylphile report.

Has anyone heard it in action yet? Does it get really close to correct adjustment or does each process still need final fine tuning by ear?

 

[Gordon Gray]

MF has a review in the most current Stereophile.

 

[Victor]

Thanks Gordon, very kind of you......I will look that up....

 

[slowGEEZR]

Of course that came out right after I got my Fozgometer.

 

[RichTeer]

Of course that came out right after I got my Fozgometer.

Don't kick yourself too hard; there's a big difference in price between the two.

Hmm, I should contact Peter and ask for a review sample...

 

[twich54]

Don't kick yourself too hard; there's a big difference in price between the two..

Agreed........I'd rather spend the $$ on new Lp's !

 

[slowGEEZR]

Agreed........I'd rather spend the $$ on new Lp's ![/QUOTE

Oh yeah! I think I've double my collection in the last few years, mostly 45rpms.

 

[Bernard]

Of course that came out right after I got my Fozgometer.

Steve, what do you think of the Fozgometer? I don't know if you saw my post, but when I hooked it up and played the test record, both channels measured exactly the same. Was this the case with you as well, or were they different?

 

[slowGEEZR]

Steve, what do you think of the Fozgometer? I don't know if you saw my post, but when I hooked it up and played the test record, both channels measured exactly the same. Was this the case with you as well, or were they different?

I'm not yet sold on it. I haven't yet downloaded the files to burn the calibration CD. I did use it as it came, but according to it, my left channel puts out more than my right. Also, I had to rotate my tonearm to a ridiculous angle to achieve better azimuth according to the meter/instructions. So, I'll let you know after I burn the calibration CD and calibrate the Fozgometer and redo the process.

 

[Bernard]

I'm not yet sold on it. I haven't yet downloaded the files to burn the calibration CD. I did use it as it came, but according to it, my left channel puts out more than my right. Also, I had to rotate my tonearm to a ridiculous angle to achieve better azimuth according to the meter/instructions. So, I'll let you know after I burn the calibration CD and calibrate the Fozgometer and redo the process.

What calibration CD? This is the first I've heard of it.

 

[slowGEEZR]

It's in the instructions, which by the way are arse backwards, near the end. You go to website, download the files, burn a cd, play the cd in a cd player and calibrate the Fozgometer. In all the advertising for the Fozgometer, I never read of the calibration, either. Perhaps there was mention in one of the reviews, but I don't remember one. If you need the URL, let me know, or just go to the Music Direct site.

 

[Victor]

I heard on the grapevine that the product hasn't made it to market yet (!)

 

[slowGEEZR]

I heard on the grapevine that the product hasn't made it to market yet (!)

That's true. At AXPONA, they said, "soon".

Speaking of Soundsmith, I'd love to have their Strain Gauge phono cartridge system. The sound was excellent, the equipment was gorgeous and the lights on the phono amp were cool to watch.

 

[FOUNTAIN]

I'm not yet sold on it. I haven't yet downloaded the files to burn the calibration CD. I did use it as it came, but according to it, my left channel puts out more than my right. Also, I had to rotate my tonearm to a ridiculous angle to achieve better azimuth according to the meter/instructions. So, I'll let you know after I burn the calibration CD and calibrate the Fozgometer and redo the process.

I had a similar issue when I purchased the Fozzy, and could not figure out the problem at first. After using it on several different tables I discovered if your table is not level it will skew your results. I use a clearaudio bubble level and place it on the platter where the needle would set down in the middle of the record. I then began the process of leveling. After this was accomplished, I then placed the test record back on the table and readjusted my azimuth. This led to consistent results from this point forward on my table and a few others. I am now within a tick mark or less for both channels, and of course no extreme angle was required.

I too have never heard of the calibration cd. Maybe this will have to be checked on my fozgometer as well. Thanks for the head up.

Glen

 

[Bernard]

Glen,

I found the calibration tones on the Musical Surroundings web site, and will do the calibration one of these days. I'm just hoping that the process shows that the unit does not need any adjustment as the azimuth of my cartridge was just fine the first time I used the unit. If not I'll have to rotate my cartridge.

 

[FOUNTAIN]

Glen,

I found the calibration tones on the Musical Surroundings web site, and will do the calibration one of these days. I'm just hoping that the process shows that the unit does not need any adjustment as the azimuth of my cartridge was just fine the first time I use the unit. If not I'll have to rotate my cartridge.

I understand your concern Bernard. Let us know what you discover and if it changed anything. I may do the same, but since the advent of my new music server there has been little vinyl played lately.

Glen

 

[slowGEEZR]

I had a similar issue when I purchased the Fozzy, and could not figure out the problem at first. After using it on several different tables I discovered if your table is not level it will skew your results. I use a clearaudio bubble level and place it on the platter where the needle would set down in the middle of the record. I then began the process of leveling. After this was accomplished, I then placed the test record back on the table and readjusted my azimuth. This led to consistent results from this point forward on my table and a few others. I am now within a tick mark or less for both channels, and of course no extreme angle was required.

I too have never heard of the calibration cd. Maybe this will have to be checked on my fozgometer as well. Thanks for the head up.

Glen

Hmm. I responded yesterday, but it must have been one of the posts that got wiped out by the glitch. The gist of my post was that I met with one of the Foz'meter's technician/engineer at Axpona and had a nice chat with him. He said that a level table and correct anti-skating are critical for the meter to work correctly. If either is wrong, then one channel will be stronger than the other and the result is that massive cartridge rotation is needed to get a meter swing. He said the steps to take: 1) calibrate the meter with the downloaded test tones, 2) ensure the table is level, 3) ensure anti-skate is correct. The meter is very sensitive to very small cartridge movements when correctly used.

 

[FOUNTAIN]

Hmm. I responded yesterday, but it must have been one of the posts that got wiped out by the glitch. The gist of my post was that I met with one of the Foz'meter's technician/engineer at Axpona and had a nice chat with him. He said that a level table and correct anti-skating are critical for the meter to work correctly. If either is wrong, then one channel will be stronger than the other and the result is that massive cartridge rotation is needed to get a meter swing. He said the steps to take: 1) calibrate the meter with the downloaded test tones, 2) ensure the table is level, 3) ensure anti-skate is correct. The meter is very sensitive to very small cartridge movements when correctly used.

Yeah Steve, it appears your message got deleted. I read the original and responded, but now both messages are gone. Oh well. Anyway, I definitely did #2 but was unaware of #1 until you pointed out that calibration was even offered. As for the anti skate, my table only has one setting for this and it did not seem to affect the fozzy. However, leveling the table was paramount for me to get the settings right on both channels without some weird extreme angle. Let us know how it all turns out and thanks for the heads up on calibration.

Glen