Thoughts on moving from a 1200G to Sota Saphire or above

Hey Chakster, I was actually looking at those Zu cables this week. They seem reasonably priced and I like the return policy. Speaking of return policy, I’m probably going to order a cart from Music Direct because I can return/exchange a cart if I don’t like it. I’m targeting a brand where I can get the cart rebuilt by the company when it wears out. In my price range it’s the Van Den Hul Frog, Soundsmith low output and the Kiseki Purple Heart. Also open to options under $3K. 

Mrm, I tried to answer the question you seemed to be asking. Incidentally, all hum is AC by definition. I inferred that sometimes you can reduce hum, if hum is a problem, by NOT grounding the TT/ tonearm to the phono stage. Also, note that the trade off for shielding is increased capacitance. The first thing I would want to try is low capacitance unshielded cables that are kept as short as possible between the tonearm and the phono stage. It is not a given that every unshielded cable will bring in RF interference. That is something you can experiment with in your home environment. If you can get away without shielding, then you have reduced the total capacitance of the cable, for any given length.

Like these https://www.kimber.com/products/carbon-int

2. Dynamics: Everything sounded smaller and controlled in 1200G compared to the other TTs. The explosive dynamics were missing. The SP10mk2 was better. The idlers were simply in a different league. My previous TT was a Platine Verdier and that too had an effortless seemingly unlimited dynamics. 1200G sounds puny compared to them. If that's your concern then no tonearm or cart upgrade will cure it.

@pani  I ran into this with the stock SL1200G too, but I solved it by replacing the platter pad- its not a drive issue. The rubber one supplied with the 'table is too soft and since the stylus is exerting 1,000's pounds/square inch on the vinyl, its important that the pad support it properly or dynamic impact is reduced. I've used the Oracle pad with good results. But it has an adhesive backing so you can't install the hardware fixing the platter to the motor. But as long as you have gravity that isn't a problem.

lewm,

Thanks for your explanations. Wasn't my intent to second guess you as my electical expertise is very limited at best. 

I had a very bad ground hum problem with my TT awhile back, and found going from a cheap switching power supply to a linear power supply solved the problem. Go figure.