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Swapping the MMF 5 for an SL-1210M5G

Hey everyone:

What are your thoughts on this move?? My original record player was a Yamaha YP-D6 from the late 70s and though it was a little jittery and such, there was something about the bass control on a direct drive that I miss now when compared to the MMF 5. I have to admit though, when I swapped out the TTs (while keeping the same phono cartridge) there was a noticable improvement on it's smootheness and the music rounded out very nicely.
neway317
tvad
9,467 posts
 
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.
radioheadokplayer
173 posts
 
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
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Look into a Denon or Benz Micro model mentioned in one of your other threads. Both brands offer carts that Technics SL12xx owners are using with good results.
undertow
1,032 posts
 
Yeah the cart is an issue period, first off not that great of a cart. secondly its not set up right on top of it! With a dartzeel phono section you could take a fisher price turntable and sound better than most CD's! Something is matched wrong for sure.
radioheadokplayer
173 posts
 

Undertow,

you are right about the fisher price comment sadly its appears to be my fisher price level intelligence that is holding me back thus far!

any other low output moving cartridges to consider than the denon or benz micro since the dj dealer does not have a wide selection and probably won't let me return the cartridge for a refund. Mind you its only $100 but nonetheless. He tends to have orotofon, shure, and stanton. Unfortunately, I did not see much there in the $299 and below category that is low output.

thanks

Michael
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