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Technics SL1200MK2 Cartridge Discussion

Hi,

I'd like to have a thread on cartridges that work with the Technics SL1200MK series tables.

I want to buy a Technics SL1210MK2 (the new black version from Musicians Friend) and need a cartridge recommendation. I am using a Musical Fidelity A308CR preamp that has MM/MC capability. My amps are Bryston 7B ST's and I have a pair of B&W Signature 800's on the way to replace my N801's. The MF Preamp is rolled off on top and the system is very listenable for long lengths of time. I'd describe it as detailed, but not too bright.

I really want to try the Technics table as it is relaible and inexpensive ($400 shipped or less for a used table if I go the ebay route). Please do not try to talk me into a different table. I had a VPI Scout and Dynavector 20x (High output) that I sold because I just wasn't using it. I'd like to keep this cheap so that I have decent TT available when and if I want to use it.

What can you recommed for a cart? I'd like to keep $160 to $200 as a max and stay lower if possible. Here is what I am considering:

Denon 103 (not the R)
Denon 110
Denon 160

Audio Technica 440 MLa

Shure M97xe

I do not know what carts work well with the Technics tonearm. I know that it is light and some threads recommend a Sumiko headshell for the Denons. What do I need to know here before buying a table and cart.

Thanks.
tigerwoodkhorns
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
02-27-08: Cytocycle
Skip the Shure it's a dud on the SL1200
Hear hear! Finally someone who agrees that the Shure is dull as dishwater. For $60-80 I'd rather have a Grado Black or Green. At $100 I'd look at the AT440MLa, the Ortofon 2M Red, the Grado Blue, the Sumiko Pearl.

At $140 and $180, the Denon DL-110/160 are really hard to beat.

Another thing I don't like about the Shure--I've seen a frequency graph on it, and it rises to a peak output at 100 Hz and then gradually trails off in amplitude from 100 Hz on up to its HF limit. You have to keep overall capacitance low (<150pF) to have much treble at all.

This corroborates my experience: The Shure is particularly sensitve to 100-150 Hz resonances, such as in-room footfalls and thumps transmitted up through the Technics' structure. In other words, the Shure magnifies one of the Technics' weak points--resonance control in the 100-150 Hz range. This also kills inner detail and overall clarity.
tigerwoodkhorns OP
130 posts
 
The AT 440 MLa is listed as out of stock on the lpgear website.

The Denon Dl-110 and 160 with a Sumiko headshell seem to be the way to go. What about the DL 103 that is available for about $150. Is the 110 or 160 superior?
perfectionist
197 posts
 


02-27-08: Johnnyb53
the Shure is dull as dishwater.

That is about the best description I've heard yet! I am said friend to Cytocycle, and I'm in total agreement. I personally think they should just stop manufacturing it, it sucks that bad. Kevin at KAB (who sold me this cart when I got back into vinyl) is a great guy and very knowledgable, but why he endorses this cart is beyond me. I am running the 440MLa on my 1210M5G in my main rig, and I'm here to tell you, at $100 bucks (give or take), it's a pretty decent cart. And my main rig is a fairly hi-rez system. IMO, the M97xE is not even in the same league with the 440MLa. About all it's good for is cleaning the grooves of a thrift store album...
johnss
564 posts
 
be sure to add the 199.00 benz micro, at what ever output level works.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 

02-27-08: Tigerwoodkhorns
The Denon Dl-110 and 160 with a Sumiko headshell seem to be the way to go. What about the DL 103 that is available for about $150. Is the 110 or 160 superior?
I've never had a Denon DL-103, but I get the impression that while it's capable of performance well beyond its price range, it has to be dialed in just right in terms of compliance match with the arm, tracking force, and how the output is preamplified. That the DL-103 is a low-output MC makes its interface more complicated than the high-output DL-110 and 160.

Several aficionados seem to prefer using a DL-103 with a voltage-matched stepup transformer into a MM phono stage, rather than plugging into a generic MC stage.

Furthermore, given the DL-103's very low compliance, I speculate that it can't really show its stuff with a Technics table without the fluid damper.

My point is that it may be better to start with the DL-110/160 and learn about the mysteries of VTF, VTA, overhang, damping, and compliance-matching before tackling the additonal tuning challenges in getting the best out of the DL-103.
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