Technics SP-10 MKIIA tonearms

IME tonearms were what Technics did best. In terms of quality, I consider the EPA-100MkII to be at the top of the Japanese-made tonearms (or at least very close to it). Even today, the MkII is more than competitive with most tonearms.

cheers, jonathan carr

Hi Gents

Is the EPA 100MK2 still a preferable arm to put on a Technics SL-1000MK3D, or will a Graham Phantom of similar perform better or just different?

I see that the tonearm can only handle up to 10 gm cartridges, and that is with a 9.5 gm headshell. Not so great for today's heavier MC carts.
There is a local guy that makes a heavier counterweight that enables all heavy carts to be used with this arm, so maybe this is not a much of an issue with this.

any thoughts are appreciated.

You can even fit the Jelco SA-750lb 12" onto the SH-B3 "Obsidian" plinth. I had to make a new armboard from aluminum plate though and you need to measure precisely to get the correct spindle/pivot while ensuring you get the arm as far to the right as you can so that the back of the arm does not foul the lid. It's a tight fit but it can be done if you are careful. It's documented with photos on the Hifi Wigwam site.

Downunder, I don't think the mating of a tonearm to a turntable is nearly as critical as mating a tonearm to a cartridge of choice. So, my response to your question would be to choose between the EPA and the Graham based on the cartridge preference. As to a head to head comparison between the EPA 100Mk2 and the Graham Phantom, one's innate bias would lead one to think that the Phantom might be superior in most ways, since it is a modern design beautifully crafted. But at one point in history, the same could be said of the EPA 100Mk2. So you just have to try both and choose, if your cartridge mates equally well with both. One practical point: We know the EPA 100Mk2 will mount on your Technics base; just make sure the Phantom will also fit. There is some space limitation imposed by the square escutcheon that surrounds the platter of the SP10 series. My Triplanar is a poor fit on my SP10 Mk3, for one example, because the Triplanar has the VTA adjust column to the left of its pivot point, and its base conflicts with that escutcheon. I can make it work, but the Triplanar must be mounted far forward on the plinth and at rest it extends over the LP surface. Not good. This is also a problem for the 9-inch Reed and others with similar design.

Dear Downunder: The Technics EPA100MK2 is IMHO even today an " unbeatable " tonearm design, a piece of real art design.

Technics knew very well how fulfil the cartridge needs that unfortunatelly today we can say the same from other tonearm designs.

It is a static balanced design for good reasons that the designers of dynamic balanced tonearms can't understand it even today. Build material is unique: boron as the cartridge cantilever. Comer with a wise dynamic damping mechanism unique in the audio industry. For a gimbal tonearm bearing design its vertical/horizontal friction is lower than 5mg: unbeatable till today. Its VTA adjustement on the fly mechanism is the best ever designed and an " orgasm " to use it.

Been a removable headshell design contribute to its versatility with almost any cartridge. The Technics MK2 headshell was made from boron too.

Could be other tonearms that are better " looking " ones but I think can't beats it.

If the unit you are looking for is in good operation condition and flawless in any way then I think the choose for it is a " close eyes " one.

Btw, your 100MK4 will make you " cry " of hapiness when you hear it mounted in the MK2.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.