The Official *Technics SL-1200* Owners Club

New member. 1200 Mk2. Need to aquire an appropriate cartridgeView attachment 1421374 now.
Hi there, and welcome to AK! I’ve got an SL1200 too, and there’s a lot of carts that work great with them.
What’s your budget? D’you have a headshell? I kinda assume ya do with those other Technics decks you’ve got too. I see you’ve got one of the old school thicker Technics platter mats, which are great too.

- Nick
 
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Hi there, and welcome to AK! I’ve got an SL1200 too, and there’s a lot of carts that work great with them.
What’s your budget? D’you have a headshell? I kinda assume ya do with those other Technics decks you’ve got too. I see you’ve got one of the old school thicker Technics platter mats, which are great too.

- Nick
Hi, yes I have a technics headshell with the +4g weight. Budget is flexible, but trying to keep it appropriate for the deck, maybe 100-250?
 
Hi, yes I have a technics headshell with the +4g weight. Budget is flexible, but trying to keep it appropriate for the deck, maybe 100-250?
I’ve had great luck with my Nagaoka MP-110. They’re only about $120.

I recently upgraded to a Goldring 1006 which is just a stunning sounding cartridge. The good thing about the Goldring 10xx series of carts is that you can upgrade the stylus without having to upgrade the body of the cart. There’s 4 tiers, the 1006 having a .3 x .7 mil elliptical stylus (I believe), but being the lowest in the line, I wanted to make sure I liked it before thinking of upgrading. They’re made in the UK, and I bought mine from a place called turntable world for aprox. $225 including shipping. That’s the lowest price I’ve seen for one, as the same model goes for $350-$400 on ebay and the likes.
Again though, you definitely can’t go wrong with the Nagaoka MP-110 or 150 even, and you’d most likely not even need the +4g weight.

Grado also is making some fantastic cartridges with their newer Prestige2 series. Again, another cart that you only need to upgrade the stylus. I’ve got a few different versions of that cartridge, and I really like the Blue2.

In the end though, I love my Goldring the most, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them.
Hope that helped out a bit in your search!

- Nick
 
Don't be afraid of exceeding the limits of the SL1200. Owners have successfully used carts of $500 or more. If you've got the budget, go for it.
Very true. SL1200’s are almost endlessly upgradeable and moddable too. You can coax a lot out of em, not to say there’s anything wrong with a stock model. I’m not sure what the current cost of a stock 1200 in good condition is, but they’re truly excellent decks. The design has pretty much stayed the same since the 70’s, and I can’t think of too many other turntables that can say that.
 
If you want to go vintage, the Stanton and Pickering carts work well on that arm.
 
How are things going for your cartridge search?
Also, if you’re not familiar with it, check out KAB. It’s basically an all SL1200 site.
There are a lot of choices! Still in due diligence mode... I have one of those $11 AT3600L's on it for the moment.
 
Already a proud member but happy to say that yesterday - SCROE!!! Out and about yesterday with 51% of the vote and had just finished lunch at a new place we wanted to try when I spied a nearby pawnshop. I'm typically not a pawnshop aficionado but thought I'd check out this place. And there sitting on a shelf was a DJ case. Opened the case and, voila, a rather dirty but seemingly fully intact SL1200, MK2 (black format). I asked the proprietress if I could give it a spin and she cleared a shelf with access to an outlet. Ran the tonearm through a few tests (pass w/flying colors), powered up the unit and checked out the platter rotation - spot on speed and zero wobble. Stanton cart with Shure SC35C cart (no surprise) mounted with sheered stylus (also no surprise). Bottom line - the unit is need of a good cleaning but is otherwise in great shape. I won't get into list price and haggle but I walked out the door with the case and sl1200 with $200 less in my pocket than when I walked in. I'll post more details in Dollars and Sense. Pics below.
 

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Already a proud member but happy to say that yesterday - SCROE!!! Out and about yesterday with 51% of the vote and had just finished lunch at a new place we wanted to try when I spied a nearby pawnshop. I'm typically not a pawnshop aficionado but thought I'd check out this place. And there sitting on a shelf was a DJ case. Opened the case and, voila, a rather dirty but seemingly fully intact SL1200, MK2 (black format). I asked the proprietress if I could give it a spin and she cleared a shelf with access to an outlet. Ran the tonearm through a few tests (pass w/flying colors), powered up the unit and checked out the platter rotation - spot on speed and zero wobble. Stanton cart with Shure SC35C cart (no surprise) mounted with sheered stylus (also no surprise). Bottom line - the unit is need of a good cleaning but is otherwise in great shape. I won't get into list price and haggle but I walked out the door with the case and sl1200 with $200 less in my pocket than when I walked in. I'll post more details in Dollars and Sense. Pics below.

Sweeet!!!!!!
 
Since this is my second SL1200 mk2 it'll be interesting to run a comparison between the 'new' one and the one I have had for years. The 'new' one is completely stock. The one I've had has the KAB tonearm cardas rewire. I'll report back.
 
Given that my ears aren't the keenest it'll be a challenge to tell but I'll give my best.
 
Very true. SL1200’s are almost endlessly upgradeable and moddable too. You can coax a lot out of em, not to say there’s anything wrong with a stock model. I’m not sure what the current cost of a stock 1200 in good condition is, but they’re truly excellent decks. The design has pretty much stayed the same since the 70’s, and I can’t think of too many other turntables that can say that.

Change the arm and never look back. The world is then your oyster regarding which cartridge to fit.

I use a Roksan Tabriz and 2M Black - others are available.
 
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