I need a headshell recommendation for Technics 1200 GAE

Yamamoto HS-4 if the weight (about 11 grams) is ok for you. 

A very substantial upgrade over the stock Jelco headshell for me at a reasonable price; typically available on Ebay around $100 U.S. 

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.

Here ya go!
https://www.lpgear.com/category/HEADSHELLS.html

@invictus005

Since most of this mass happens to be at the end, effective mass of the tonearm can increase to 19-25 grams, or so.

You can not change effective mass by adding heavier headshell, the effective mass in not just a mass, it is not that simple to change effective mass and it was explained here by experienced users.


@jbhiller

I will add a few pictures, i use all those shells, i have EPA-100 mkII tonearm.

Most of the shells i have listed are lightweight, especially the Orsonic (light version, not the heavy one), Stax (with azymuth/overhang adjustment), Grace HS-6 (carbon), and Technics own vintage Headshells. This Kenwood headshell is great to match in color to the new Technics arm (LOL). Victor headshells are also nice. They are all about 10-12g max. No problem to use them with Technics tonearm. You don’t have to stick to 8g headshell, just because Technics shell is about 8g! 10-13g is an average mass of the shell in the modern world.

ZYX LIVE-18 is great high-end headshell, but very expensive.  

@chakster Yes absolutely you can change effective mass by adding mass to the tonearm, especially at the headshell. It's just very difficult to calculate exactly what the new effective mass will be.

But the exact number really doesn't matter. Example, extra 10 grams at the headshell may calculate in the end to increase the overall effective mass by 8 grams. It may not be the entire 10 grams, but it's still a lot.