Cartridge for Technics SL-1200GAE

@chayro 

Denon 103 was always a good match for the Technics arm.

That's not true as the Denon 103 is a fairly low compliance cartridge and works fine ONLY on super heavy high mass tonearms. Since you don't even know the effective mass of the new GAE tonearm i believe you're talking about old technics arm that comes with SL1200mk2 and related. I'm sure you don't know the effective mass of this tonearm if you think Denon is a good match. You should know that Technics tonearms (including their best EPA-100 series) were designed for MM cartridges with mid or high compliance. Technics headshell is a super lightweight headshell. People who use Denon 103 of SL1200mk2 knows nothing about cartridge/tonearm matching. This is the worst tonearm for low compliance cartridges! Some people use heavy headshell to mount Denon 103, but it will be much better if people will use what was expected by the manufacturer from the start (mid compliance MM cartridges). For Denon 103 heavy tonearms (mostly "12 inch arms) like Ortofon, SME, Schick are much better, Fidelity Research, Lustre or even Jelco also fine!    

@chakster,

I suggest you read my post correctly before going off on a tirade.  I clearly stated that the Denon WAS a match for the Technics arms, which you agree with.  I also said that nobody knows the specs of the new arms, which you also pointed out.  So there we are.  

All of the following cartridges sound just fine on my GAE: Ortofon: Per Windfeld, Cadenza Black, 2M Black, 2M Mono SE; Audio Technica: AT150ANV, AT 33 Mono ANV; Stanton 881.  The arm is a medium mass arm, very similar the MK2 arm it replaced, ~9 grams.  I strongly recommend using a better headshell and have found the Zupreme from LP Gear to be particularly nice.  You need to listen to some cartridges if possible.  Hana is a good option.  Ortofon 2M series is another good option.  A lot of people like the AT150 series, and they are good, but I have been disappointed with mine.  I think the AT33 series is better for similar money.  You might also want to consider the Goldring 1012 or1042, classics and still in production.  I would buy new unless you are very sure of the source.

How about the AT ART9, so beloved on another thread here? Cheers,
Spencer

@chayro

I clearly stated that the Denon WAS a match for the Technics arms, which you agree with.

No, i don’t agree. Denon 103 and Technics tonearm is the worst combination. No matter old arm or new arm, they are both NOT heavy enough for low compliance Denon 103. It’s like mounting low compliance cartridges on Black Widow arm with a few coins sticked on top, those arms are not for oldschool low compliance monsters even if you change headshell for a heavy one. It;s like putting Ortofon SPU on the tonearm designed for lightweight MM cartridges of mid compliance.