What Cartridges are you using on the Technics SL1200/1210 GR TT's

1200mk2: all KAB mods. Denon DL 110 and/or 301mk2; started with KAB /Ortofon Concrod 30. All 3 sound good to me, but the Denons seem to have a wider stage and more detail to my ears. Also, they handle less than ideal condition vinyl better. The 301mk2 is a real step up from the DL-110, but will require mc phone pre (DL110 has high enough output for most mm phone stages I think). Nice thing about the Concords though is no Adjustments (other than arm height) required. Check KAB Website, i think he even has one for 78s. I have seen many comments that the OM series, both Concord and conventional carts from Ortofon are a better value than the newer 2M series.

 

VM540ML

 

I'd love one of those - just not easily found any longer V15Xmr(whatever it is called). I think I simply missed the boat on this cartridge - crazy expensive.

 

Can't agree more. I inherited my dad's XSV3000 and a spare OEM stylus.

 

Had a lot of fun with a Concorde borrowed from a friend last month. So much so I picked up a super cheap Pro S body and just waiting for an OM40 stylus to arrive this week.

 

Denon Dl110 has worked perfectly for my Technics SL1200Mk5!

 

Dynavector 20xl2. Nice synergy. Also using Yanamoto HS-4 carbon fiber headshell on my 1200 GR.

 

Yes! I recently acquired a Stanton 981HZS. I’ve got a NOS Pickering D5000 stylus on it now, and I found another NOS Stanton D98 II-S for when that one wears out. Nobody has yet been able to duplicate the phenomenal Stanton/Pickering suspension that allows these to track to 100uM at only 1.25 grams. I’d like to find the low impedance body as well.

I’m using that on an SL-1200G. I also have a Benz Micro Wood SL and the KAB Ortofon Concorde Pro S 40. Different sounds, but I like both. I’m using the stock headshell for the Benz and Stanton.

 

Yeah I love my Stanton 881S as it still has the low hour stock stylus from when I bought it back in 1980 to go on my then new Technics 1700MKII.

I have a spare NOS stylus for it and also a Jico Shibata which sounds good but is a little brighter. Maybe it will settle down when I finally go with it and put some hours on it.

Great neutral cartridge which tracks anything at 1.25 grams. Pity they don't make OEM stylus for these anymore.

Right now I still have the Pickering XSV3000 on my GR and it is very similar sounding to the 881S but maybe a little more mellow? Hard to quantify.

 

The best cartridge combination I have heard so far on my 1210GR has been the Audio Technica AT33PTG/II.

 

Still slumming it with my KAB SL-1200 MK. II (Cardas arm wire, fluid damper, outboard power supply) and have enjoyed the Denon DL-160 and then DL-103r but the current DL-301 MkII takes the cake. Bass, detail, dynamics, tracking. I'm using a Sumiko HS-12 headshell but apparently it works great (maybe better in terms of compliance) with the stock headshell.

 

I'm also running a Denon DL-103R on my SL-1200 MkII (with arm rewire and fluid damper) and couldn't be happier... of course, this thread had to come along and start giving me ideas...

 

My top five: Nagaoka MP-110; Shure V15 iv; Shure m91ed; Denon DL-110; and Denon DL-103.

 

AT33Sa on my GR
Just Fantastic

 

This.

 

Question(s).

You have a dedicated cartridge for 78's. Check. You need that!

For the new cartridge you are shopping:

- Assuming you can only run MM carts, or is MC an option too?
- Are all your LP's stereo LP? Any mono? Then any LP's pre- 1970?
- Why did you limit the choice to just Bronze or Blue, and then Ortofon?

 

On my SL-1210GR, I tried a VM740ML, DL-110, and stayed with the Cadenza Red for now.

 

On my 12oo mkII, i use a Hana SL. Love it.

 

Dr J

I would love to hear more about those carts you those are some well respected units. Do you care to comment about what may set them apart from each other. If you were forced at gunpoint to live with two, which would they be?

 

DL-110 is a great choice! Here is a drop using an SL-1200mk2. It even cuts through all the format degradation on its path to YouTube.


More of the same cart/TT combo here. Pick any one they all are SL-1200mk2/DL-110.

 

This is the way you do Ortofon, beats the 2M line, can do 78 to conical to elliptical, to Fritz Gyger. Versatile like old Stanton 680/681/Pickering XV 15 was.

 

And no alignment required. It’s appealing, for sure (assuming you can trust the alignment is on as it comes).

However, is the compliance OK with the SL-1200 arm? It seems like 25 uM/mN might be kind of high? Or am I not understanding the spec correctly?

 

Man, that's tough. I forgot to add the Shure SC35C, which I was playing yesterday all day: very easy cart to live with for everyday spinning. It's euphonic and no nonsense. I see now that Jico makes an SAS for this cart. If I could have only one, I would get an SAS for the SC35C and swap styli out between it and the .7 conical for mono and VG- records.

But since you ask about the others, the DL-103 is similar enough to the SC35C so that I will probably not buy another Denon DL-103. The V15 iv is neutral to a fault, which makes it boring after a while. The m91ed is not boring: awesome bass and fairly extended highs. So between the Denon DL-110 and Nagaoka, it's close but the DL-110 is the better cart: quieter in the groove and bigger soundstage. However, the bass is a bit wooly compared to the Nag, which beats most carts <$200 in the bass department. I seem to be in the minority opinion: I don't think the Nag is dark sounding. In fact, I find it neutral. It's just not etched in the upper registers compared to AT carts. In short, I would keep the Nagaoka for everyday spinning and the m91ed with an SAS for when more refinement and detail is needed.

 

Vm740ml, very close to mc sound

 

An Amazon reviewer mentioned that the vm740ml was unforgiving of surface noise whereas a lot of reviewers of the vm540ml have noted that it's quiet and forgiving of surface noise. Can you speak to this? Don't they have the same size diamonds and cantilevers? So with different generators the only big diffeence why would the 740 be more pronounced?