Calling all SL-1200/1210 owners!

[Yomanze]

Even with the "aux" weight ?

Didn't get one of those

[Peter Stockwell]

Get them from pretty much any DJ shop, cost peanuts. or eBay.

[Yomanze]

Get them from pretty much any DJ shop, cost peanuts. or eBay.

Cheers for letting me know. Never really thought about it to be honest as John's custom ones look the business anyway...!

[Peter Stockwell]

John's do look a thing of beauty, But generally one has to wait for beauty

[Marco]

Interesting stuff. I am about to start sorting out a super cheap SL1210 I got off ebay. The deck itself is solid but the arm is in a state so is going off to AudioOrigami for fettling and rewiring internally and externally. When I get it back I will be putting a Denon DL110 on it initially as a baseline and will then be looking at other possibilities. I am partcularly interested in the Audio Technica AT150mlx - has anyone got opinions on this cart?

The other things I need are a counterweight and a headshell or two - who does the custom brass ones I have seen in some of the pics here?

Hi Jim,

Nice one on the bargain SL1210. I hope it works well for you

Interesting choice of cartridge with the AT150MLX. It's probably about one of the best MM cartridges on the market right now, and is superbly detailed (but not in a clinical way) in the Audio Technica tradition, beautifully built too, but in the wrong system could be somewhat bass light. AT cartridges tend to have this kind of signature but it's not a problem in well balanced systems.

Thing is though you might love the DL-110 so much that you don't want to change it. Maybe I'm just biased towards moving coils but I'm not sure moving from a DL-110 to an AT150MLX is an out-and-out upgrade. There will be differences for sure but make sure the AT is what you're looking for before shelling out the necessary funds - perhaps by arranging to listen to someone's system where one is in use?

If you're 'into' MMs more than MCs then you should also check out the new range of Nagaokas, available from Musonic (see link below). These have a more 'meaty' balance, without sounding too 'heavy', but are also nicely detailed through the top and midrange. I suppose it depends if you want a weightier presentation or one that's a bit brighter and lighter. If you like brightly coloured cartridges the Nags certainly look funky!

The MP-150 or MP-200 would be an interesting alternative to the AT-150MLX. The MP-200 was recently reviewed in Hi-fi World.

http://www.musonic.co.uk/

Click on 'Cartridges', then on 'Nagaoka'.

Marco.

[Peter Stockwell]

Interesting choice of cartridge with the AT150MLX. It's probably about one of the best MM cartridges on the market right now, and is superbly detailed (but not in a clinical way) in the Audio Technica tradition, beautifully built too, but in the wrong system could be somewhat bass light. AT cartridges tend to have this kind of signature but it's not a problem in well balanced systems.

If you're 'into' MMs more than MCs then you should also check out the new range of Nagaokas. These have a more 'meaty' balance, without sounding too 'heavy', but are also nicely detailed through the top and midrange. I suppose it depends if you want a weightier presentation or one that's a bit brighter and lighter. If you like brightly coloured cartridges the Nags certainly look funky!

The MP-150 or MP-200 would be an interesting alternative to the AT-150MLX. The MP-200 was recently reviewed in Hi-fi World.

Marco,

The AT150MLX is on my radar, but it doesn't seem to be available in the Euro Zone, or even in the EEC, so risk I import duties and VAT. Not that it would ultimately dissuade me. Afterall I've got the good stuff from KAB on order, but I won't get that until august.

I've decided to look down the Nagaoka way, I'm getting a dormant MP11 boron from Steve Shiels. I'm hesitating for one of the AT headshells, I haven't been able to decided if the LH-13, LH-15 & LH-18 differ only in weight, because I read somewhere that the LH-13 was "stubby" and maybe difficult to install a cartridge. I've seen these 'shells at $62 on ebay.

cheers

[jimb0]

Thanks for the info on the Nagaokas I will find out a bit more about them. The DL110 will definitely be going in there first for a decent amount of time first. I have got hold of a Funk Anchomat which a number of different people have recommended and have ebayed a second, 100% good, Technics arm - can't wait for it to turn up and actually spin some tunes!

[jimb0]

Second arm, brand new with all accessories arrived this morning. I fitted it and slapped the Denon cart in the headshell - a 2 minute job with removable headshell and the alignment tool. As I already had the cart total outlay was £110; result = big grin.

[Marco]

Nice one, Jim. Keep us posted of any more shenanigans

Peter,

As far as I know the AT headshells differ only in weight as per their numerical reference. Given that the Nagaokas are not excessively big cartridges I would go for the middle option and try an LH-15. The LH-18 may be too heavy in terms of mass.

Regarding the AT-150MLX, I think you can only get them form the US or Japan, but if you're set on one I wouldn't let that hold you back. There's always a chance that such a small item will 'sail through' customs without you incurring any import duty or tax charges. This has happened to me on a few occasions

Hey, I heard Gromit's bagged a PL-71 of his own from Ebay. Maybe he'll decide to post some pictures of it here, too!

Marco.

[Gromit]

Hey, I heard Gromit's bagged a PL-71 of his own from Ebay. Maybe he'll decide to post some pictures of it here, too!

Marco.

If you insist....