SL1200 upgrade tonearm or replace cartridge?

Hi Nick,

Have you tried a Trans-fi Terminator T3 tonearm? I have seen a number of them used on Technics 1200 (check youtube and Vic's customer corner). See Dave Garretson's detailed review on AudioAsylum.

Johnny I had already seen that review, thank you. I think i read it in one of your others posts. It is one of the things motivating me to go along this route.

In the passed I had tried the Ortofon 2M blue, it wasn't bad for the money but the Benz Glider was a big improvement and I am not going back to a MM cartridge. Although the AT150 has always intrigued me. As for the SME M2, I do not know how much better it could be from the stock tonearm but by the looks of it the difference would appear marginal. If I am going to upgrade I want it to make a big improvements. Finally if I up grade the arm and decide thereafter to upgrade the turntable I will have a high quality arm on which to build.

The trans-fi tonearm definitely looks amazing, it would be fun to try. But it also looks very complex and that something I am not ready to own.

Concerning the Benz I would strongly suggest replacement with the new S-Class cartridge. I've read some time back that Benz suspended the re-tip and upgrade for a period of time.

I have an original version of the SL 1200. I also was loaned a much older Thorens 124 with an Ortofon SP which seems like a clanky deck but it simply out classed the Technics.

I've since purchased a trashed Well Tempered for $250. Brought it back to life and running a Benz Ruby Z (upgraded from an L Wood). I mounted the Ruby on the SL 1200 and that deck seems to suck the life out of the presentation. I'm not knowledgable enough to explain the shortcoming but I wouldn't gamble on upgrading a Technics unless it was an SP-10 III.

There are simply too many other choices out there.

Vic which tonearm were you running on sl1200?

Original arm.

I read somewhere, and maybe someone else can speak more definitively, that the servo circuit within the SL motor is constantly hunting for the proper rpm. While looking at the strobe it appears to be visually stable but the motor is continuously compensating.

I believe this function was accomplished with regulation independent and outboard of the motor in the SP-10 whose subsequent versions improved on those electronic controls and its power supply.

Back in the day most of the radio stations my wife worked at as well as others I visited the SP-10 and 15 became the mainstay in the last days of vinyl. The arm most often used was an older Ortofon RMG 309 (I think), with an Ortofon SP cartridge. I'm sure there is a newer more elegant and expensive version.

These things were a very long dog leg and were also used in conjunction with the older idler tables. With the table off the disc jockey would spin and queue the track, hold the queued record while he turned the table on and the felt topped plater would spin under the queued record then let go.