Offset Angle
Offset angle is the inward angle, viewed from above, between the line from a tonearm’s pivot to its stylus and the direction of the cartridge’s cantilever. It is stated in degrees.
A straight arm tube can still have an angled cartridge mount; tube shape alone does not tell you the offset. This horizontal angle differs from vertical tracking angle relative to the record, seen from the side, and azimuth, the cartridge’s lean viewed from the front.
Offset Angle — Tonearm
On a conventional pivoted tonearm, offset works with overhang to reduce tracking-angle error: the mismatch between the cantilever’s direction and the groove’s direction. The cantilever is the small rod carrying the stylus. Correct alignment does not remove this error everywhere on the record.
Use the specification and alignment instructions for the exact arm model and length. A smaller offset is not automatically better; it belongs to the arm’s intended geometry.
Sources
- Is the offset angle and VTA the same thing? — Goldring
- Stogi Ref instruction manual — Kuzma
- Geometry: A Brief Guide to Using an Arc Protractor — Galibier Design
- Cartridge-making Dictionary — Audio-Technica