Something to keep in mind... The original SL-1200GAE headshell including wire leads is approximately 7.6 grams.
Most of the headshells being recommended here are 12-16 grams without wire leads and without mounting screws. Which can add an additional 3-4 grams. S shaped tonearms without headshells have an average effective mass of 4-5 grams, this includes the SL-1200GAE.
Since most of this mass happens to be at the end, effective mass of the tonearm can increase to 19-25 grams, or so.
If we take a modern MM, such as the 2M Black, which has a little above average compliance of 22 and mass of 7.2 grams, this will put the cartridge resonance at 6Hz. A horrible result, which will drastically and negatively impact performance, sound, trackability, etc.
These modern headshells and a lot of other turntable related components, are geared towards modern low compliance MC cartridges. It’s unfortunate.
One MC exception is the Audio Technica ART9. It is a very high compliance cartridge, unlike any other MC on the market. Compliance is rated at 18 (Japanese 100Hz), or 27-32 (European 10Hz)! It needs the lowest mass headshell, or lowest effective mass tonearm, such as SME 309 or vintage SME III.
