Swapping the MMF 5 for an SL-1210M5G

KAB Technics product page mentions the only difference in the MG5 is better wiring in the tonearm and interconnects. I don't believe the tonearms themselves are any different.

06-16-08: Tvad
KAB Technics product page mentions the only difference in the MG5 is better wiring in the tonearm and interconnects. I don't believe the tonearms themselves are any different.

They are a little different, but not in a meaningful audiophile way. The M5G arm has a little knurled screw in the gimbal to help keep the stylus in the groove when scratching. In fact, you have to remove it when adding the fluid damper.

I've read more than one review of a stock SL1200 that criticized its dark, closed-in presentation. I never experienced that with my M5G, which has always sounded extended and open, so my initial impression is that the better tonearm wire makes a significant difference, whether you get an aftermarket rewire of a lower-priced model or start with an M5G.

well I took the plunge and bought the sl-1210m5g turntable. the store installed the shure m97xe. I loaded up on some cheap good lp at Amoeba records. I set it up at home and off to the races I went. My first impressions were not great guys. It does sound natural and organic with good bass but it lacks the dynamics that my reference marantz cd player has. Now granted I am comparing the remastered cd to the original lp version of many albums. I am hoping that despite the fact its not skipping and the speed seems accurate that its not set up right with the tonearm. Might have to call an expert and pay someone to help out here in los angeles and propery set this up.

Michael

If you have a DartZeel NHB-18NS preamp, it's phono section is factory set for MC carts: 60dB gain, 836 ohms impedance. It is optimized for carts with outputs between .03 and 1 mV. This info is from page 6 of the DartZeel manual.

Your Shure cart is a moving magnet design with 4.0 mV output and recommended impedance load of 47 kOhm impedance.

So, I'd say to start you have a substantial cartridge/phono mismatch. Try a moving coil cart with specs within your preamp's factory settings. Or, you can change the preamp's phono settings, but the manual says it requires soldering, and why bother?

Setting up the tonearm is pretty easy if you follow the instructions in the manual. Getting it close will get you most of the performance. IMO, a specialist is not required to to this.

Mounting a properly matching cartridge is the first step.

tvad,

thanks for the information....I knew something was wrong....I will try exchanging the cartridge! I should have checked that before buying a particular cartridge but as a newbie I did not think of it. One down side of buying a technics from a dj shop is they certainly don't ask any good questions.

Michael