Setting up a cartridge properly takes a lot of effort. And even then you have to deal with some of the inherent inconsistencies of a handmade device. Crosstalk is one of them.
Few cartridges measure perfectly. To combat the leakage of the stereo signal from the left channel to right and vice versa, Jim Fosgate has designed a nifty new device, the Foz XT-R, which is manufactured by Mike Jolida of Jolida, Inc., that you can insert between the output of your phonostage and input of the preamplifier—assuming you don’t have an integrated unit, or, for that matter, aren’t using a mono cartridge, in which case the need for the XT-R would be obviated. There is also a bypass switch that allows you to toggle between active and off if you want to A/B test to see just what the XT-R is doing to the audio signal.
Fosgate introduced the battery-operated Fozgometer to set your azimuth a few years ago, but this device represents a more complex approach. I’ll be reviewing the XT-R soon but wanted to give anyone interested in analog a heads-up about this intriguing unit.
By Jacob Heilbrunn
The trumpet has influenced my approach to high-end audio. Like not a few audiophiles, I want it all—coherence, definition, transparency, dynamics, and fine detail.
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