Technics 1200MKII or1210M5G? M5G worth it?

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.

John, I just bought an M5G from Kevin with the fluid damper. I first played a few records without the fluid (which sounded amazing by itself) then I added the fluid and wow! The bass was very clear, better than my old deck (a vintage Sansui) using the same cart. (original Shure V15 III). I listen to a lot of electronic music and the bass was very tight and not as muddy as it use to be. I put on NIN "Pretty Hate Machine" and it has never sounded so good, and it is not what I would call a high quality pressing, but it is a recording that I own on both formats and very familiar with. I am still putting it through the tests but so far it has passed with flying colors.

I originally thought about doing the tonearm re-wire but decided to give the Technics wiring a chance. I will probably have this done at some point but I doubt I will see the improvement I have seen with the fluid damper. If money is not an issue then just go ahead and get the works and be done with it.

Thanks Jlc, I like you already ... money not an issue ha ha! When has money NOT been an issue for me? Sure, the full blown KAB table would be my first choice but I have resigned myself to being happy with the M5G unless I hit the lottery. I do plan to get the arm damping and the bearing oil as soon as possible but even that will probably wait until after Christmas since I have gifts to buy for other people and not myself. I'm sure I'll be able to muddle through with just the M5G and the Excel VX cart.

As a point of curiosity, the last several tables I've owned have employed a record clamping system which is making me feel that I "need" a record clamp. However, I have noticed that very few actual 12x0 users speak of the record clamp as a "major" improvement to the table. It sure seems the favorite upgrades are the rewire, damping, and power supply upgrades. Pretty much in that order.

Anyhow all this talk of the table has me filled with anticipation. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I have the table spinning records but once I do I'll try to post some initial impressions for those interested.