Hi all, Has anyone upgraded the arm on the 1200G and or the PSU. I was looking at the Jelco TK -850S or maybe something from SME. Is there much improvement to be had on changing the arm out or is money better spent on cart or PSU for instance. Thanks Sean
I considered upgrading to a Jelco TK-850, but after some discussion in the general 1200G/GR thread, I concluded that it would be more of a lateral step instead of a step up. PSU is a snakeoil “upgrade”. A KAB TD-1000 tonearm damper is an upgrade worth considering when you’re running high compliance cartridges. If you’re running MM cartridges, a low capacitance phono cable can be a big upgrade.
I have two decks. One with SME 309 arm and the 1200G standard apart from mat and phono cables. I don't think the SME is better but maybe will give you a darker tonality. You might achieve the same by experimenting with different head shells. Both SME and Jelco cannot be purchased new any more so unless you have a spare arm around or buy used. I think there is some audiofool law out there that is suggesting the arm on the G is not up to the job but it is very good and you will likely need to spend near the price of the deck to significantly better it these days. In the end what sounds better might come down to synergy with the cartridge being used. Try different head shells first and/or the CAB damper. Either will cost relatively little money.
My experience is a few rungs down the ladder, that of SL1500C with KAB damper versus Jelco SA-750D. There's not much difference in performance with my cartridges though the Jelco feels and handles vastly better, which goes some way in creating a placebo performance upgrade.
This is probably the best solution so ?, SME and Rega are highly regarded as far as I know. Thanks Sean
I was looking at this and it could be a nice addition for sure,is it only high compliance cartridges that benefit do you know ? Thanks
I swapped my 1200g arm for a Fidelity Research FR64fx tonearm (which is similar to, but does not have as much mass as the FR64s) because I wanted to try some low compliance cartridges like a Koetsu, and have been happy with the result. I got an arm mounting plate from Ammonite Audio and the installation was really easy (just a lot of screws).
You will get the most benefit from high compliance cartridges. There is improvement generally but it is fairly subtle. The cart I run right now has a compliance of approximately 23 CU. I wouldn't run it without the damper, but that's just me and for my own peace of mind.
A 1200G with a 9” Schick would be a dream set up for me and my Zu cartridge. At least on paper - never actually used either of those.
Fair point, especially tracking on warps gets better with nearly all cartridges… but in terms of sound I found there to be little difference when using low compliance Concorde cartridges for example, while an average AT-OC9 or 2M Black seems to benefit quite a lot. Idk if it’s just my imagination, but it also appears as if cartridges have less tendency to slam into the lead-in groove when lowered, because of that damper.
I’m running the damper with a DL-103 and it cleaned up a few idiosyncrasies that I’m sure were related to the low compliance. Before the damper, if I dropped the stylus into the lead-in groove using the cueing lever, it would skitter inward. When it hit a warp, the speaker cones would flutter. The damper solved all that and I think it also improved things sonically a bit.
Yea, I think tonearm damping nearly always improves the feel and cueing action of the tonearm, hard to dispute that, and can definitely help with damping subsonic movements, but the sound quality subject is a much more controversial subject. It hinges very much on the design of the arm and cartridge, and shape and size of damping mechanism, viscosity of oil, etc, so many variables. I think most people that use damping wind up with their arm way overdamped, same as happens with soft rubber mats, you lose some of the liveliness, so would encourage people to experiment with much lower viscosity oils. Start with just a little damping, maybe get some 5k cst oil, and then try removing a little and adding some of the KAB 60k cst in its place until you optimize both the sound and feel. May wind up around 10k, that's about where I am in my arm and cartridge, probably under, my baseline fill was with 2k cst, and then trimmed with 50k, but my arm is pretty heavy, and my paddle is bigger than the KAB, so results will be different. Valuable accessory, no doubt, but I think a moderate amount of damping sounds much better than too much. Pretty cheap to experiment, under $10 for a bottle of silicone oil that will last a few lifetimes.
Hi... I am very interested in this. Created account on this site to ask you about it. I have a Technics 1200gr running a Koetsu Rosewood standard. Have a 18g headshell and extra counterweight to help with getting the mass up there. Its sounding pretty good but I really would like to try a more appropriate arm and possibly better table for this cart. I don't think I can afford the upgrade to the 1200g and upgrade the arm just now so was wondering if it might be a good idea to try the arm upgrade as you have done. I was looking to go for the FR64x as it would be slightly more versatile for other carts and from what I hear it is also a good match for koetsu's. Maybe i use the heavier head shell too if I want more mass. What do you think about this idea? I have been looking for one of these arms and the only ones available i can find are on eBay Japan. I have never ordered something like this from eBay overseas but I get the feeling if I am careful with who i buy from it should be ok. What do you think?. they are priced between about 1k and 3k. The 3k version is called version 2 . I can't find any information on what the V2 is compared to the V1. I know you said you got lucky with the internal wiring but do you think I should expect to get it serviced on arrival?. Any ideas who or how much this would cost? Ok this is allot I know and thank you in advance if you find the time to reply. K
Shameless plug: I present to you, the Fidelity Research FR-64S Tonearm The FR-64S is the better arm to look for. A good condition one should run you around $2,000 give or take a few hundred.
I was at Commonwave Hifi in Los Angeles a few weeks back. They perform arm changes and spoke about the impact very positively, and I am inclined to believe them.
do you think it is too good an arm for the 1200GR ? I guess if get the 64s I won't be able to switch out my medium compliance carts with it.
Personally, I’d upgrade to a 1200G instead of upgrading the arm on the GR. You can always upgrade the arm on the G further down the line and will get more out of that upgrade when the time comes. And yes, the 64S is primarily for low compliance carts, so you may have some challenges with medium/high compliance carts.
