Technics SL-Q200 turntable replacement cartridge

Hello all! I own a Technics SL-Q200 turntable. It uses a P-mount cartridge. The current one is a Pickering TL-66 Stereohedron (purchased in 1985 for $53), which I was very happy with, but apparently has seen better days & needs to be replaced (rumble coming out of the right speaker that wasn't there before was the giveaway). My first inclination was to get another Pickering, but they seem to have vanished. So, after way too much research, I'm considering:

• Grado Black 1
• Sure M92E
• Audio Technica AT92ECD

Of course, You see 50% glowing reviews for each, and the other half are scathing reviews. What to do? The Grado gets the best overall sound-quality reviews, but there are accounts of hum and flimsy cantilever construction. The Sure and AT haven't gotten the flimsy complaints, but some reviews complain of sibilant highs & overall less warm sound.

My record collection is mostly classic rock/pop/soul 12" & 7" black vinyl, coloured vinyl, & picture discs. My budget maxes at about the price of the Grado.
Looking for opinions on these (or any other possible contenders), because the research has my head spinning...

 

https://www.thakker.eu/en/pickup/digitrac-300-se-cartridge/a-4958/

Whoops - just seen the budget - sorry. (I think this is probably worth the extra, though - it's basically an Ortofon OMP30 for half the price)

Have a look here for some others - Including a few Pickerings: https://www.thakker.eu/en/cartridges/?aoff=s&categoriesListItemsPerPage=18

 

You just hit the nail on the head, the selection for T4p mount is very limited (in terms of current production) and even at peak times less than 10% of 1/2" options.

 

Does your Technics SL-Q200 allow for fine tuning of the weight? The P-mount spec allowed for a little play between 1 and 1.5 G with 1.25 being the optimal design characteristic. From what I understand, Grado P-mount cartridges are happier at the higher end 1.5 G. I had a Grado Green on a Denon DP-7F and it didn't sound as good as my Audio Technica 311EP (which has identical specs to the AT92ECD). The Grado had lots of inner groove distortion. But it could have just been a bad match for my table. If you go with the Grado crank your pressure to 1.5G,

However, as with all turntables - the same cart will have different sound on different tables. Some are a better fit than others.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these. I can recommend the 311EP based on my experience. I don't know how it compares to the 92ECD they have the same specs on paper but the 311EP has a higher list price. I think it can be found for about the same price.

Nice TT BTW - those P-mount quartz lock Technics DD tables are real sleepers.

 

I have been through a whole slew of vintage and modern Pmount carts on my SL-M3. To my ears, nothing sounds better than the Shure M92E with the Jico SAS stylus. Honorable mention goes to the original Technics moving magnet cartridges such as P23, P24, P28 etc. The consensus is they are all the same construction (laminated cores) and all that differed were the styli installed back in the day. Relatively cheap too - but word is starting to get out.

I had the Grado Pmounts - no hum on my direct drive, but blanket over the speaker sound. Also, IIRC, they need to track higher than Pmount spec to sound their best. I emailed Grado about this and they told me to try to track it at 1.7 to 2.0.

 

Great responses - and VERY appreciated. I'll address a few things here:

Yes, it does allow adjustment between 1.0 - 1.5. It's currently at the midway point with the Pickering. I did some research on the two AT cartridges: apparently the AT311EP has a higher output voltage than the AT92ECD (5.0 vs. 3.5 mV) - which is supposed to afford a greater STN ratio (for whatever that's worth).

Since my turntable won't track beyond 1.5...and there's those pesky hum & cantilever issues, I'm leaning away from the Grado at the moment.

I thought the Pickering company was history (?). That Digitrac 300 SE has all the specs I'm looking for (but at double the budget I set myself). From what I'm reading, it's no longer being made. I'm in the U.S., and the only place I could find one was an eBay seller who is based in Germany.

Since I'm not 100% certain the rumble I'm hearing out of the right speaker is stylus/cartridge related, I'm thinking of going with one of these AT's or maybe the Sure (still undecided which), since they're affordable enough. If the rumble disappears then I'll feel confident about looking into a higher end cartridge (maybe that Digitrac 300 SE?).

 

I have one of these. Sounds so good I actually mounted it onto a regular Technics headshell and use it with my 1200 MK2:

http://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATSER05S.html

I LOVE the shibata stylus!

 

I wouldn't rule out the Grado simply because its max tracking force is 1.5 grams. Your table clearly handles it, I wouldn't be intimidated about 'maxing out' the weight; in the grand scheme of things 1.5 grams is not that much weight.

Anyway, close your eyes and pick one; I'm sure they all sound good.

 

AT92ECD is a good one - it sounds very nice, it's cheap and there's lots of stylus upgrade options for it.

Or, if you can find an old Technics p-mount cartridge body and buy a new stylus for it....

 

Yes. The fact that your table can handle the higher tracking force (1.5 which is not very high really) is a plus for the Grado, though I personally didn't have a good experience with mine.

 

You guys are amazing. I can't thank You all enough for the input.

I placed an Amazon order for the AT311EP last night. As I said, I want to be sure a new stylus rectifies the rumble I'm hearing. $30 wasn't too bad a gamble to take to find out. Besides, that Pickering I have now is old and needed to be retired anyway. If the AT rectifies the rumble, I'll keep it as a spare for the older, scratchier records and look into a better one for the rest.
But which?
The Grado Black
The Digitrac 300
some other?

Now...discuss!

 

Keep the AT311EP and upgrade the stylus to a Jico Hyperelliptical/Shibata - they make both for that cartridge.

 

I have LPGears shibata-tipped "AT" and it's a fine sounding cart on my Technics SL-QL1.

And I also use a Jico SAS on the original P22 body to great effect.

 

I used to have a Shure MP94E on my Technics TT, and I loved it. They say rhe new MP92e are the same as the old 94e, so go for it.

 

I've had all three of those I would rank by SQ

1. Grado
2. Shure
3. AT

I've bitched here about Grado cantilevers being over delicate and I still insist that's true after going through about four of them. But I really like their sound. I disagree there's a "blanket" over the sound and to my ears ATs always sound strident. The Shure is a nice middle of the road selection, but I think the Grado extracts more detail while still retaining a plseasant warmth. But because I use my P-Mounts on "fun" tables i.e, lower end technic tables that I'll plop a record on for a party, I now use the Shure on them as they're rugged and cheap.

BTW that pickering you had will outclass any of the above, and you can pick up an old one fairly cheap used, the trouble is getting a new stylus. My favorite stylus after much trial and error on vintage Picks and Stantons is the 606-DEG stylus from Turntable Needles .com. I forget if it fits on the p-mount version, however.

 

Wow, $149. Talk about a kick myself is the a** mistake. When the news that those were rebranded Ortofons broke on audiokarma about seven years ago, you could buy them from a guy in Texas who must have bought all the leftover stock from digitrac. They were $14 apiece shipped on ebay. I bought three or four and should have bought 50. and they were so cheap I gave they away on various tables I sold over the years. Now they've been priced gouged out of reason, as saavy dealers soon swooped in and snapped them all up within a year at $14. Duh! Good thing I don't run Ortofons, anymore or I'd still be sulking. The styluses were excellent, but you had a 50/50 chance or greater of getting a dead cart body. But I never used the bodies, I have a couple of those laying around somewhere, I just threw the styluses on newer lower end OM bodies. I bet that poor sucker in Texas REALLY feels bad. If he had hung onto them longer, he'd probably $300,000 richer.

 

This wouldn't surprise me. I have an old Stanton L 737-E- body with a Stereohedron D74S stylus on it. It's worn and old and I don't trust the needle on anything except problem records. It is the most skip resistant cart ever, and the stereohedron stylus opened up the sound amazingly. Alas a new stylus would be extremely expensive so it sits as a backup. Pickering and Stanton were/are the same company I'll bet it's similar to the OPs. Compared to the 311EP (which I paid $80 for at a high end stereo shop in the late 90s), the high end on the Stanton is smoother, with less distortion - however the bass is a little bloated sounding. The different is not dramatic and the 311EP is a little more neutral with much tighter bass, the bloated bass of the Stanton is a bit much.

 

Hi Mickactual. I just pulled out my old TT SL-Q200. I bought an album for my brother and want to surprise him with it and the TT. It needs a new needle and I don't know what to buy. May I ask what you decided to buy and what works well? Thanks so much, LauraS