Agreed. These manufacturers want to maintain consistency so they control as many aspects of the tonearm as possible and a revolving door of different head shells would muddy how folks perceive their arm's performance. Same with tonearm cables. Most are continuous wire from the cartridge connectors to the RCAs keeping the end user from selecting head shell wires and the tonearm cable except at the time of purchase. I wish you luck finding an arm that meets your parameters and maybe this Fidelity-Research arm (high eff mass though) could be made to work.
If it was in the budget right now that would be en route for once I have this sp10 project finished. Doesn’t fit ops criteria however.
I read he wanted removable head shells and accidentally overlooked his desire for "standard" ones. A Reed only gets him halfway to his goal.
No thread crapping, just a legitimate question. But be free to believe what you want, of course. Cheers.
Good catch! I saw ViV once on a show (forgot which one), very impressive, but not sure it's mounting will work with Technics..
...and yet it seems Kuzma and SME itself had time on their hands to redesign the already perfect connector. Perhaps they were seeking increased incompatibility. Some tone-arm makers, for example Well Tempered, do not see rigidity as a goal, whereas others, for example Rega, Kuzma, Brinkmann, Clear Audio, Graham, Swedish Analogue Technologies, Continuum, TW Acustic, Linn, Naim, Project and many others do. I know it's a sine-qua-non for you, but if you were prepared to relax your requirement for the SME bayonet, a world of superb and affordable tone-arms would open up. In this age it seems like limiting your selection of a new car to those which still have an iPod dock.
Yes it seems to be out of fashion nowadays… that’s why I’ll probably have to take a closer look at vintage/NOS options.
Rather than "fashion", there is another possibility: that "higher end" tone-arm designers have identified that the ancient light-bulb socket is detrimental to their goal of higher fidelity and musical expression. If you think these engineer-designers are "fashion" victims then I can heartily recommend building your own tone-arm, which can be as unfashionable as you like. If you were to use modern bearing principles it might very well be the best sounding SME-bayonet arm ever.
I never knew this was just as triggering as the more commonly found BD vs DD and tone controls vs purist debates…
8K Euros to spend - sell the 1200G and buy an SP10R and a third party plinth. Then fit a Groovemaster or Glanz tonearm. These arms will probably fit the 1200G with appropriate fittings (9"). Glanz actually do a £8K arm but I think that is a bit overkill on a £4K TT. Tonearms Archives I'm not convinced the 1200G arm is that lacking and once you get to the higher prices a turntable upgrade would be a better bet. There are of course some cartridges that demand a heavier arm. Need to budget £200 for an armboard - Technics Turntable SL-1200 Upgrades Archives
Perhaps you’re right (50% chance lol)… I thought, first a tonearm upgrade, maybe later on a plinth/drive system… Basically what comes first; the chicken or the egg. However, I do think that most the sound character of a turntable comes from the tonearm, so that would provide the biggest audible improvement. But selling the 1200G will get me about 3k at most, so 11k in total. I don’t think that’s sufficient to get an SP10R, plinth and (cheaper) arm. And somehow I’ve got a suspicion that I’ll regret selling this one later on - even if it enables me to get a higher level of sound performance.
If you weren't stuck on SME head shells I would suggest looking at Vertere or Kuzma for around £11k TT +Arm package or maybe Feickert. Though I assume you want DD. The TT design makes most difference but different models work best with particular arm choices. I don't see a big leap with the cartridges you have over the Technics arm. Maybe save up for an SP10R.
Preferably, but not necessarily. Final result is what counts. In fact, I’ve considered getting a Linn LP12 Majik before I eventually chose the 1200G. Perhaps… definitely worth considering.
Arm on the SL1000R is just a 10" version of that on the 1200G. It comes without head shell which tells you Technics think that is the weakest component.
The Technics EPA-100 was an excellent tonearm that meets all your criteria. They've been out-of-production for about 40 years though, so finding one in good condition might be a challenge. Technics EPA 100 Variable Dynamic Damping Universal Tonearm Manual | Vinyl Engine
I’m not sure it’s so compromised as folks are making it out to be, except for it’s all responsible for adding additional mass furthest from the pivot point and is not conducive to a low effective mass outcome like op is looking for. There’s still a lot of money spent on vintage 12” arms using removable headshells, but in those cases medium to high mass is a selling point.
That's just a myth. The OP said so, so that's all settled now. I don't think "folks are making it out to be" as much as it was politely mentioned that it was a design decision and why that decision might be made. The OP declared it an audiophile myth because he had not been shown proof. Draw your own conclusions.
