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
I just received a Denon DL160 and Sumiko Headshell. This is a fine combination. It balanced without the counterweight. The Denon has plenty of gain with my MM stage, no need to go to MC.

Very dynamic cart and detailed. I like it so far.
Tigertwoodkhorns...

WAIT! The best is yet to come. Once the cart/stylus breaks in you will not believe how beautiful the DL-160 sounds with the right recordings. I have about 40 hours on my DL-160 and I have jumped out of my seat more than once hearing sounds that are far beyond the soundstage. They shouldn't be where they came from!

Regards,

Jan
Folks...

Can anyone quantify the improvement with the KAB fluid damper? Will my 54 year old ears be able to hear the difference on my SL-1210M5G with a DL-160. Right now the combo sounds great to me w/o the KAB mod. I have a thick Technics rubber mat, record weight and the standard M5G headshell.

And NO... I will NOT give up the DL-160!

Regards,

Jan
Jan,

I look forward to it. This is really a nice cart, especially for the price. I was worried about its output because I used to have a Dynavector 20X and I really had to turn up the volume. The Denon is just right.

Here is a review of the fluid damper that is linked to the KAB site:

http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/m1200.htm

I am not rushing out to buy one just yet.
04-08-08: Jsmoller
Can anyone quantify the improvement with the KAB fluid damper? Will my 54 year old ears be able to hear the difference on my SL-1210M5G with a DL-160. Right now the combo sounds great to me w/o the KAB mod. I have a thick Technics rubber mat, record weight and the standard M5G headshell.
I am a 54-year-old with an SL-1210M5G outfitted with Denon DL-160 cartridge, Sumiko headshell, and KAB fluid damper. I definitely hear a difference and definitely consider it money well spent.

I added the fluid damper a couple months after I'd installed the DL-160. When I ordered the fluid damper from KAB, I also got a tube of bearing oil. While installing the fluid damper I also added several drops of oil to the turntable motor bearing. I think this lowered the noise floor and also made the platter spin more smoothly, requiring less speed correction from the DD quartz lock circuitry (my guess).

Anyway, it's important to not overfill the damping trough with the silicone fluid. When I first installed it, I filled the trough about 2/3 full. KAB recommends 1/2. The result at 2/3 full was that the sound was smooth but not very involving. Noise floor was way down, but initial transients were rounded off and blunted while there was improved resolution of room ambience and better note decay at the other end. I lowered the fluid level to 1/3 and that's where I really liked the results. Transients are quick and sharp as ever. I hear the room better, and there is much more natural decay of both instrument resonance and room ambience.

There are two other audible benefits at least:

Stylus movement is better controlled, tracking is better, there is much less overshoot and "groove clatter." This is most noticeable on percussion. Bells, cymbals, brushes, tambourine--all those percussion instruments that make complex overtones in the treble punctuated by strong transients--their sounds are now much better sorted out, more musical. The trough imparts a sense of refinement to the tracking. I think Kevin's right. With the right amount of fluid in the trough, the SL12x0 tonearm sounds refined and in control. You'd never guess it to be the built-in tonearm on a mass-produced turntable. You hear more music, less noise, less overshoot, less clatter.

The second benefit is how the fluid damper enables the arm to track *anything.* By that I mean I have some bargain-bin LPs that are hideously warped--the outer track undulates by 1/2" or more. These records launch most arm setups right into the air, only to land who-knows-where, sustaining who-knows-what damage. Not so with the fluid damper. The stylus simply traces the groove, period. The bigger ramification here is that if a 1/2" warp can't throw the stylus out of the groove, the warp and arm/cart compliance resonances are also well-damped by several dB. This imparts more clarity and extension to bass and more inner detail and clarity overall, without sounding etched or harsh, as the damping also minimizes groove clatter and overshoot.

I still recommend putting the DL-160 on a Sumiko headshell for its additional rigidity, better wire leads and clips, superior coupler to the tonearm, and azimuth adjustment capability.

Also, how much benefit you hear from the fluid damper may depend some on what all else you've done to control vibration. I have replaced the stock feet with threaded brass cones sitting on a butcher block cutting board which itself is supported by Vibrapods. I also use an Oracle sorbothane Groove Isolator mat and KAB's rubber record grip clamp. I also noticed a drop in noise floor by putting the stock Technics felt slipmat under the Groove Isolator. Seems that a heavy mat over the felt mat damps the platter ring more effectively.

The less of this that you've done, the harder the fluid damper has to work. You may hear a more dramatic improvement that way, but the cumulative results of a multilateral approach to vibration control is better.