Headshell recommendations for AT33SA on SL1200G

The AT33Sa has a compliance of around 17-18 @ 10Hz, so it's not particularly low.  The stock headshell should work just fine, but the Audio-Technica AT-LH series of headshells measure better than most available alternatives and might be a (very) slight upgrade.

Hi, I am running a Technics turntable with an AT33Sa cartridge
and the standard head shell that came with the table. I went to a heavier Technics headshell and the combination was too heavy. I went back to the original head shell and everything sounds great.
Try the one that came with the table before you spend more money is my suggestion.
carter

Use this calculator.

https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_resonance_evaluator.php?eff_mass=16&submit=Submit

Look for Ortofon LH-9000 Resonance Free headshell, i hope you can find used one for reasonable price, new one is expensive. It's heavier than stock Technics and it has azimuth adjustment. 

**Some if my favorite vintage headshells:

Grace HS-8 -metal 
Grace HS-6 -carbon fiber (another image)
AudioCraft  -this one is heavy for LOMC (another image)
another AudioCraft (also available in silver) 
Kenwood - basic, but very nice 
Stax -with overhang and azimuth adjustment 
Entre DAS-1 (also available in black) just basic headshell 
Fidelity-Research -nice one  

**And one more NEW (very expensive):

ZYX Live-18 (also available in silver). 

+1

Look for Ortofon LH-9000 Resonance Free headshell, i hope you can find used one for reasonable price, new one is expensive. It's heavier than stock Technics and it has azimuth adjustment.

Try an Arche headshell with silver leads.

The Ortofon LH-9000 would seem to me to be a bizarre recommendation in this case.

Cartridge/Tonearm resonance is just about ideal with the OP's combination currently and if Pintree's experience is to be believed (and I see no reason why it shouldn't), it doesn't really make sense to replace a 7 gram headshell with one that weighs almost 17 grams. 

I really like the Yamamoto HS4 for the money, but even it comes in just
under 11 grams so I would not be inclined to recommend it in this case. 

If I was the OP, I'd be looking at headshells that weigh in the 7-9
gram range. Yamamoto Boxwood is cheap and might be worth a try at around 8 grams (no experience with it and it may be horrible!). But I certainly wouldn't be spending a lot of money on any headshell weighing much more than that (at least not before auditioning, which is clearly difficult to do with headshells!) if I was the OP and committed to that cartridge/tonearm combination. 

Dear @diceman72 : No, you don't have to change the Technics headshell with that new cartridge.

What is my advise is to change the headshell leads/wires for a better quality ones and when you do that you will listen at once the quality improvement no matters what. Of course you listen that new cartridge with the original headshell leads and then listen it after the better leads change.

You have to go step by stwep on your analog up-grades.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

@rauliruegas 
Do you have any recommendations for headshell leads?

Dynamic compliance of the AT33SA is 10×10-6cm/dyne (100Hz)
It will be around 17cu @ 10Hz and this is a starting point for calculation.

AT33Sa weight is 6.9g

I think 12g headshell could be more optimal than stock Technics headshell which is also nice.

Anyway it's important to have different headshell in the arsenal, Technics is super lightweight and better for high-ish compliance, Ortofon LH-9000 is heavy one for low compliance. 

Maybe one more in the middle and you're done for mid compliance (for any cartridge). 

Dear @ericsch  : I tested all these and even the Ikeda all silver that's very good as the cooper " brother ":

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ikeda-S40-Cartridge-Copper-Leads-MADE-JAPAN-/282890456369?hash=item41dd95cd31

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SME-5899-vdH-MCS-150-Wire-Cartridge-connection-leads-/273788176403?hash=item3fbf0c0813

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Oyaide-HSR-AG-5N-Pure-Silver-Headshell-Leads-F-S-from-Japan/233219643836?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225074%26meid%3Daf58f1497a064789b39c4911210b6b21%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D174204263341%26itm%3D233219643836%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWeb&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851


https://zavfinousa.com/collections/vinyl-accessories/products/cryolitz-ag-pure-silver-headshell-leads

R.

I use the stock Technics headshell with my AT-33PTG/II on a Technics SL-1800MKII. I was concerned about weight of the headshell. I mounted the cartridge using bolts&nuts that are slightly longer than needed and upside down. That way the threaded ends extend a bit above the headshell. That configurations allowed me secure that little additional weight that came with my Denon DL-103 cartridge. I didn’t notice a huge difference. Adjusting the VTA helped too.

What is the tonearms effective mass with and without standard head shell?

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and the recommendations so far!

I have done some research on the subject myself in the meantime, and it would appear that, in line with the feedback provided by @agrippa, @pintree, @hdm & @rauliruegas, the stock headshell weight is in the sweetspot for a 6.9g cartridge with & 17cu @ 10Hz compliance, at least according to the calculator provided by @ericsh, and as long as my assumption is correct that the stock arm and headshell have a combined effective mass of around 12g.

If this is all correct, I will stick with the stock Technics headshell for now, and assess the sound to give me a baseline for any future upgrades.

@diceman72

You can read this artricle and calculate, anything within this range is fine.
But you have to know toneam effective mass before you will make any calculation, if it’s not given by the manufacturer your calculation can be wrong unless someone who own Hi-Fi Test LP can measure the actual resonance frequency. I have Technics turntables and i’m using Hi-Fi Test LP (highly recommended) to measure vertical/lateral resonance.

Using a test record you don’t have to know anything about cartridge compliance or tonearm effective mass. You will measure it with the record and you will see the result by your own eyes.  

How can you do that online if you’re not sure about tonearm effective mass ?

Or not sure about cartridge compliance, because you convert it from 100Hz to 10Hz first and it is not 100% accurate.

Technics headshell is fine, but you need Hi-Fi Test LP to measure (and you will see it) the resonance of your particular cartridge on your particular tonearm.

All online calculation is theory and can be wrong practically, if you want to make sure you have to measure your own cartridge/tonearm resonant frequency using HI-Fi TEST LP with recorded signal on it, you will see when your cartridge and tonearm will start shaking at certain frequency and the voice on the record counting resonance frequency. This is what you need.

This is what you get with Hi-Fi Test LP:

"Tracks 2 & 3: Cartridge & Arm, Lateral & Vertical Resonance Test
These two tracks are used to test the resonant frequency or your tonearm and cartridge combination in both the vertical and horizontal domains. These tracks offer both a visual and auditory indication of the resonant frequency; the stylus will “wobble” and the test tone will warble. A resonant frequency between 8 - 15Hz is ideal."

For different cartridges on your Technics tonearm you need different headshells, you can get lighter one and heavier one for use with different cartridges (if the compliance is different), then you are fine in any situation. But you have to check it (always) with Hi-Fi Test LP, not with online calculators.

The AT33 carts are very short and you will need a headshell spacer. I’ve tried many and the best for this cart on that arm are sold on eBay (seller: voiddone). They’re made out of black delrin plastic and include 1.5mm and 3.2mm thicknesses. Don’t bother with the plastic mounting hardware that’s included because the screw head’s diameter, washers and nuts are all slightly too big for the cart and the headshell slots.
I’d use the Technics headshell with the 3.2mm delrin spacer. Replace the stock headshell wiring with the leads that come with the cartridge; the gold plated clips are the right size and the wiring is an upgrade. Use the mounting hardware that comes with the cartridge. Done.

The AT33 carts are very short and you will need a headshell spacer.

In this situation thicker mat can be used instead of cartridge/headshell spacer, something like SAEC SS-300 or Micro CU-500  (best mats ever made in my opinion).