What cartridge for Technics sl-1200mkII?

The 103 has appeared stock on many a Japanese direct drive. It was also the broadcast standard and still could be, I'm not sure. the arm does work best on medium to heavy mass arms ideally with a detachable headshell.

For cheap, this will work:

http://cgi.ebay.com/DENON-MODEL-AU-...oryZ3283QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is better and still relatively cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270216643950&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

This even better:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280206803393&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

Holy Grail:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270217643373&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

You can also get the K&K Lundahl SUT or a head amp. The transformers are magical, read about it here:

http://members.myactv.net/~je2a3/mic-mcstep-up.htm

 

Altecs over the Cinemags? I heard the latter with a DL-103 and thought it was "it", never tried the Altecs...how would you compare the two? I haven't spent any money yet so its not too late.

 

They are very similar and all of the mic transformers are good, so any of them could be your 'it' for sure. The 4722's are absolutely magical if you like that bit of euphonic air they are famous for: a little more space around the instruments, a little more magic if you will.

If I remember correctly, the Cinemags are designed and built by the son of the Peerless Altec 4722 designer (Ed Reichenbach), correct me if I wrong on that one. I can't remember if Ed was responsible for the Altecs or not...

I've heard the Lundahls, Beyer Dynamics and the Denon step up as well and they are all very good, the 4722's are just a bit better to my ears. Some Joe listers did a shoot out and decided on the 4722's also. Joseph Esmilla uses them in his reference system.

The problem is finding them together, that unit on ebay will probably go for a bundle, as they are rarely in a pair anymore. I had to buy mine separately over the course of a month for around $125 apiece and I then built the case and wired them up (which is dead easy BTW). The cinemags are cheaper though and have pre-attached wires so, you don't have to use a socket and solder connection there.

I've heard the Auditorium 23 unit is a great too, but it's a couple of thousand or so.

One last thought on the 103 and I'll shut up already:

Salvatore has a Denon 103 page that is fairly interesting. It is easy to underestimate the 103 and look down on it as a 'budget cart' but it is a magnificent cartridge. I've heard a lot of super high end carts and I can promise you that they don't beat the pants off a 103 in any way that matter, especially when the 103 has been optimized for great performance. The problem is that most of the time the 103 is mounted on an arm that is not a correct match or it has not been loaded correctly.

Salvatore's 103 page:

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Denon.html

I have a feeling that detachable headshells and S shaped arms are going to come back in vogue. Unipivot designs certainly did, they were considered 'old technology' until recently, along with silicone damping, both are mainstays in the high-end now. What's trendy now may be obsolete in the near future and vice versa. The 103 was built to last... or at least for five hundred hours or so.

 

After about 40 hours of listening with the Continuum, it's really pointless to use it with anything less than the best cartridges and phono preamps available.

I know we were joking about putting the M97 on it, but the table is capable of so much resolution, anything lest than the best stuff and the magic is gone. Take a few steps down in cartridge or phono preamp and the magic is gone, I'd just as soon listen to my Rega P9, but if you get everything dialed, it's awesome.

Same goes for your records. As someone who's record collection is maybe 25% audiophile pressings, decent remasters and early pressings, my record collection is really not worthy of this thing....

It does a great job with ok records and certainly pulls a lot more detail from them than a lesser turntable, but it doesn't really shine unless you have the killer records. Then it is truly breathtaking.

Considering that the Continuum takes about 3 hours to set up for a new cartridge, I'm probably not going to go any further down the food chain than my Shelter 9000.

Sorry boys, it's way too much work to dial this thing in to put ten cartridges on it....

 

Hmm...didn't know it took that long to dial in a cart on that thing...still, hope you try the Zu-103 on something other than the A-T!

And Chad, thanks much for the info...file me under those who thought the 103 was "crap" before I even heard it used correctly...after that...sold!

 

I am using a Denon DL-160 with good results. Not quite as good as the 10x5 I have mounted, but close at half the price. I also plan on trying out the 103 sometime.

 

No problem Toka, it's happened to quite a few people, many whom own the worlds finest carts. The 103 might not retrieve as much detail as some, but it just gets everything right.

 

I got the $250 ruby cantilever and line-contact stylus. Took about four weeks turnaround time.
The workmanship is first rate. I looked at the assembly through a jeweler's loup and its beautiful.
I've only got about 7 hours on it (I use a digital kitchen timer and a spreadsheet to keep track of cartridge hours) and it's still sounding a bit thin.
But it's really pulling up a lot of detail, more than the AT440MLa.

 

Dave, thank you very much! My records and ears appreciate it.

 

Chiming in late to clarify what I meant earlier about elliptical styli - my experience is that they don't track well toward the inner groove. I don't use spherical styli for stereo or modern mono records (which are V cut) - I don't think they track well on such records either, though they do work very nicely on vintage mono records with U shaped grooves in my experience.

I like microline styli, they track much better than elliptical in my experience, at least on the 2 tables I've had (Nottingham spacedeck and Technics SL1200mk2).

 

I to have the tech 1200 mk 2, the best cart. I've found is the denon dl 160. Tracks like a blood hound, sounds amazing, no mods just mounted to stock head shell, did sound better on mc setting on preamp. After about 30 hours of use cart. came alive, put dire straights on the tt and close your eyes and you swear mark knopfler was playing live five feet in front of you. I hope to up grade to the dl 304 in the future. Oddude55 I am also using the grace now for a back up, I was offer 600.00 to sell the grace to the dealer I order the denon from, I passed,

 

Great summary post olddude55!

You are spot on on the 440mla and your conclusion about the importance of inner-groove tracking and becoming a line-contact stylus fan - me too, and there's no going back. When I upgraded from the 440mla, I only considered other stylus geometry designed to track inner grooves as well as the 440mla. I ended up with a Clearaudio Maestro and I am very happy with it.

I might have been a bit more generous on the M97xe assessment, but between that and the 440mla, I'd pick the 440 in most cases.

Alberto

P.S. I keep thinking of the Denon 103 because people keep recommending it, but I was concerned about the inner groove issues which some people dismiss or discount. Since it sounds like you and I have very similar tastes and reached similar conclusions, you saved me a few hundred bucks .

 

You're welcome!

 

I installed the 97 yesterday. It sounds quieter than the other one used, a numark. I think it needs broken in, its pretty bright bass tad weak imo. I have it calibrated, but will give it a while.

 

I just heard the Zu cartridge on the AT 'table at Jeff's and I'll tell you right now it is KILLER! I'm going to try it on my 1200 to see if it's the same or not. If it's anything close, this will be THE cartridge for the 1200 IMO. It simply transformed the AT.

 

I'll be interested to read your findings. I'm a recent convert to the '103 (after years of dismissing it out-of-hand, just like I used to do with the '1200, ironically enough), and I've suspected they would match very well (with perhaps a bit of added mass to the tonearm...though the compliance isn't as low as people make it out to be). The Zu mod appears to address the areas of concern, and the price is nice, so I hope it works out.

 

Compare it to the 150MLX first!

 

I've heard the 150 on a 1200 already. Nice, but the Zu is in a different league, at least on the AT-120. In a recent review, Art Dudley called the Zu the best cartridge under $1000. I think he may be right.

 

I see. Thanks for letting me know...is the Zu an MM or MC?

 

Its an MC...low output. Click the link below for more info. Like the '1200, its an old warhorse thats been around forever, and like the '1200, its been tweaked stateside. East meets West I guess. It didn't really jive with me (stock) until I heard one through a SUT (Cinemag, to be exact). When I did...WOW!! Not the "most" in any one area, but "right" in all of them. Bold and vivid. Especially great on older records cut with a tracing simulator. Decca (among others) used the '103 as their in-house reference back in the day.

http://www.zuaudio.com/dl_103.htm

 

Ok, cool. Thanks.

 

Sure thing. But fret not, the 150MLX is better than good, in fact, its probably the best MM out there today (would love to compare it head-to-head with an Ortofon 2M Black, but doubt I'll get the chance. The Ortofon costs more than twice as much anyway).

 

I concur about the 150MLX...I'm very happy with it.

 

I like the 150, but I don't think it's in the league of a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood or the Maestro. Those are my favorite MMs. I do have an Ortofon 2M Blue, and it's by far my fave for $200.

 

Nice, I love my DL-103 + Cinemag SUT + Bottlehead Seduction combo. Bold and vivid indeed, and rich as well, without any of the brightness often associated with the DL-103.

Two things I really want to try are peeling the casing off a DL-103 and mounting it on a brass plate to run nude, and of course the Zu. Glad to hear the positive impressions of the Zu in this thread.