This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! What is azimuth and how do I "set" it? Jeff Maggard <maggard@subpac.enet.dec.com> posted (10/7/93): "Probably the single most important 'trick' to making good tapes is to make sure the azimuth on the playback head matches the azimuth on the playback tape, especially if someone else's deck recorded that tape. There is a small azimuth adjustment screw on one side of the head that adjusts the angle of the head w/r/t the tape (that angle-relationship is called the head-azimuth, in case you didn't figure that out yet ;-). A very few expensive decks like the Nak CR-7A can adjust azimuth via a manual knob or automatically on the fly... ...and don't confuse this feature with the 'playback trim' feature on some NAD equipment (eg 6300), because that 'trim' knob is just a fancy EQ curve control, which IMtechnicalO is a cheap shortcut that doesn't solve the real problem! Decks like the CR-7A can cost more than $1000 new, so consider moving to DAT if you can afford to be that lazy ;-) Mis-adjusted azimuth can do a number of things including: give you poor frequency response and/or muffled sound if you use Dolby NR, cause the music to be out of phase, which can kill the stereo image, decrease the overall S/N ratio..." The Wordsmith <wsmith@wordsmith.org> A.Word.A.Day for 10/28/97: az.i.muth n. 1. The horizontal angular distance from a fixed reference direction to a position, object, or object referent, as to a great circle intersecting a celestial body, usually measured clockwise in degrees along the horizon from a point due south. 2. The lateral deviation of a projectile or bomb.[ME azimut [OFr. [Ar. as-sumut : as, the + sumut, pl. of samt, compass bearing] [disclaimer: The following suggestions may be errant, even though they're not intended to be. I can't be responsible for what you do to your tape deck(s), whether my information is good or not, so don't do anything that might damage your deck!] Anyway, if you pop in a commercially recorded tape (one of the newer-higher-quality ones), and turn the azimuth-adjust-screw (a small spring-loaded screw on the side of the head assembly), you can hear big-time changes in the high-frequency response of the sound. In general, most commercially recorded tapes will be recorded with something close to 'proper' azimuth, but to do the job properly, have a properly-trained technician at a hi-fi do it for you. ... When the azimuth is set properly, both tape-hiss and high-frequency response will increase together, so you don't necessarily hear any DRASTIC improvements in the S/N, but if you're using Dolby B/C NR, it can make the difference between a clear playback and a VERY MUFFLED playback. That difference is quite obvious, and is the sole cause of dolby-induced generational signal degradation in my experience. ... With _ANY_ tape recorded on someone elses deck, there will ALWAYS be a finite amount of azimuth adjustment necessary for optimal playback on your deck -- no 2 decks can be 'perfectly' aligned -- and it's better to play back the tape with the same azimuth that it was recorded with, whether it's 'properly adjusted for zero azimuth' or not. ... If you deliberately (or not deliberately) mis-align the azimuth and record a tape, that signal on the tape will be recorded with that particular azimuth, and in order to maximize the sound quality on playback, you need to have the azimuth the same as it was during recording. WARNING: *** USE A PLASTIC SCREWDRIVER WHEN PERFORMING THE FOLLOWING ADJUSTMENTS!!!!! NEVER GET ANYTHING METAL OR MAGNETIC NEAR THE HEAD(S) OF YOUR TAPEDECK!!!! *** Electrostatic discharge can damage the delicate circuits in and around your tape deck. Make sure you are properly grounded to the deck before dorking with it. If you don't understand what this means, then you shouldn't be dorkin' with it in the first place! You can do this experiment with your dubbing deck: 1) Clean both transports and de-mag both heads. 2) Set the azimuth on your record head to any arbitrary angle and record from a CD onto a tape. You can also use FM radio noise if you like listening to hiss. You will probably have to remove the door on the cassette deck in order to do this. Most decks allow this -- and don't blame me if yours doesn't and you break your deck! 3) Play back the tape (with the same head/well) and compare it with the CD. It _should_ sound the same... or at least be pretty damn close! 4) Now, deliberately mis-adjust the azimuth on the same head and play back again and compare with the CD. You should be able to hear quite a difference. 5) Now, playing back the same tape recorded in (2), turn the azimuth adjust screw until you get the 'best' sound -- typically, the high-frequencies will be the loudest, and most-similar to the CD, as it was in (3). 6) You've just passed "Azimuth 101" with flying colors! 8-) 7) Azimuth 102 is basically the same adjustment, only made on a tape that someone else has sent you and with your playback deck instead of your record deck. 8) Your goal is to get the 'best' sound out of that tape so the folks you trade with will get a clone that is MOST-SIMILAR to the quality of the tape that you received. 9) If you can't set the azimuth on your record deck so that the head is perfectly parallel to the tape, then you should set the azimuth of your record deck to a 'standard.' The low-budget way to do this is to use a commercially-recorded tape. I use Junta for my deck..the cymbals in Divided Sky and David Bowie make for easier calibration. 10) So basically, what you will do is reset the azimuth on your record deck to a standard such as a commercially available tape like Junta -- better yet, take it to a hi-fi shop and have them set it PROPERLY; and to set the azimuth on your playback deck to match that which was used to record the source tape. ps - SUPPORT TERRAPIN TAPES! 800 677 8650. "There is music wherever there is harmony, order, or proportion."" -- Thomas Browne (1605-1682)" This page last updated January 24, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.