I'm using an Audio Technica OC-9 MKII on my 1200 MKII table and it sounds terrific! What a joke, I bought the table for $80.00, adjusted the loose play in the tonearm and it sounds better than more expensive tables that I have owned. I have also used a Denon DL-110 which sounded very good but not as nice as the OC-9. I am using a Graham Slee Era Gold MK V phono stage with cinemag transformers for the low output OC-9. I am actually content with this setup and don't feel the need to upgrade. I think this table deserves a good phono stage along with a good cartridge to hear what it can really do.