Technics 1200MKII or1210M5G? M5G worth it?

Looking at the MG5's added features and how they apply to audiophile use:

1) Pitch Control - does not apply (on either table)

2) LED Cue Light - does not apply (does any audiophile use the cue light?)

3) Upgraded wiring - applies only if a future KAB wiring mod is not being
considered

4) Spare Headshell Socket - you got me there

5) Metallic Black Plinth - well...

IMO, the only feature that would favor the MG5 is the upgraded wire, and
only if a KAB Cardas rewire was definitely never going to be considered.

If it were me, I'd pay less for a matte black MK II and apply the remaining
funds toward KAB upgrades, or a better cartridge, or good isolation

I have found the posts in this thread to be very interesting. Thanks. For me, the decision was simple. The additional cost of the M5G is less than the MKII plus arm rewire. The general concensus is that the M5G wire is "almost" as good as the Cardas and for me, that will be good enough. I understand those wanting to get the last bit of performance not being satisfied with the M5G wiring and opting for the Cardas.

One thing that seems to remain constant is that a lot of folks really seem to enjoy ther 12x0 tables. That is a good sign.

and don't forget to buy the cardas headshell leads. Those make a big improvement too.

LED Cue Light Is very GOOD in blue because you automatically see all the white lint and dust on the album surface so using a carbon fiber brush you can make sure to get it all off.. Think of a Black light in a college dorm room and seeing all the fuzz on somebodys black shirt it works very well honestly..

And yes for 50 bucks more on an ebay or even new in many cases at a guitar center etc... The M5G is the superior table in my opinion, the finish is much nicer in the paint on the black, and the wire is far better sounding and equal already to the Cardas or better honestly, I have tried both in the past. Again the price differential is so small, the gloss finish on the M5G is a little better for cleaning the table, and the cue light, along with wiring is the better buy in my opinion, and yes it has pitch control but has a switch that just shuts it off and auto sets it to zero anyway...

This is my 2 cents if your buying from scratch on a technics table unless you find one for about 200 bucks used with none of the extras go for it, but for the prices I am seeing between 400 and 575 for any of them including the Grandmaster M5G get the top one if you can. Also they are coming out with a new M6 version or something, but it will be 100% DJ toys with probably only the gold color tone arm or something from what I hear.

Best upgrade champion still on the technics is however the KAB fluid damper.

Do the captive factory Technics tonearm interconnects have a separate
ground wire?

I'm asking because I never saw my MK II in stock form since I shipped it
directly to KAB, so I don't know if it had a ground wire.

The KAB rewire comes with an RCA (or DIN) junction box with a ground post.
Kevin grounds the tonearm wire at junction box.

This became important for me when I purchased an Atma-Sphere preamp
that is fully balanced with XLR inputs. Since the KAB rewire included the
grounded junction box, it was a simple matter for Ralph Karsten to make a
set of balanced phono interconnects that had RCA connectors plus a ground
wire at one end and XLR connectors on the other.

Without the KAB grounded junction box, the fully balanced design of a phono
cartridge would have been wasted.