Technics SL-1210G Headshells, Record Weights, and Mats


I just received a new Technics SL-1210G and am really enjoying it with my Pure Fidelity Stratos cartridge.  Does anyone have any favorite record weights, head shells or record mats that they are using with the SL-1200/10G series?  I may also add another cartridge to the setup and swap around.  Any favorites there?  

Thanks!

badgerdms

Showing 3 responses by billstevenson

I bought me GAE new in 2016 and have done a lot of experimenting and am still learning.  Some of the lessons have been hard.  Recently I bought AnalogMagik software for turntable setup and learned that the head shell that I have been using is heavy enough to cause the resonance frequency of the arm/cartridge combination to be too high.  My advice to you all is to stick with the OEM head shell.  I have tried every mat mentioned in this discussion plus ones made of leather, acrylic, the VPI one that came with my HW-40 (why not?), and old record, and a few more.  By far the best for me so far is the Origin Stratos.  I have spent big bucks on record weights, but keep coming back to the KAB record clamp as the best overall.  I honestly prefer clamps to weights.

I forgot to mention that Origin offers their mats in a special version for Technics TTs, that it slightly smaller in diameter than their standard mats.  I prefer their standard mat.  Either works fine, the sound is identical, they are the same price.  I bought one of each size, one for my GAE and one for my VPI HW-40, so I was able to compare them.  Trust me on this and buy their standard size mat.  

Also, I probably should explain that the head shell thing is quite important.  The OEM head shell that came with my GAE weighs ~7.5 grams, the ones that I have been using for years (Jelco) weigh ~12.0 grams.  That small difference required use of an extra counter weight on the back of the tonearm to balance any of the cartridges that I mounted.  The combination of the extra head shell weight and the extra counter weight resulted in a resonance that measured in excess if 20 Hz in both lateral and vertical planes.  By comparison, substituting the OEM head shell eliminated the need for the counter weight and the resonance dropped to just over 8 Hz for an Ortofon 2M Black LVB.  Bob's your uncle, better tracking and better sound were the result.