Hifi (rather than DJ) stylus/cart upgrade for Technics sl1210 mk2

Hey Everyone.

So I've been using an Ortofon OM cart and an Ortofon Pro S stylus on a Technics headshell. I actually sold my other turntable a few years back so I'm mainly using the deck for home listening/hifi/sampling rather than anything else.

I'd like to upgrade the cartridge/stylus to something more designed for home listening situations - i.e. improved tracking accuracy/precision. 

What do peeps recommend? I'd prefer not to have to break the bank but something sort of entry-mid level.

I always liked the sound of Grado Prestige Red cartridges but I found with a direct drive turntable the lack of any kind of shielding made them pick up way too much hum from the motor.  I'm using a Technics SP-15 (someone left it in a snow bank years ago, in perfect working condition, because one of the leads got unplugged from the cartridge!) and it has a tone arm that needs a pretty high compliance stylus compared to most modern turntables, so the only real option I had that wasn't punishingly expensive was an  Ortofon OM and it sounds much better on this particular machine than the Grado did, even though it's a cheaper and arguably lower grade stylus.  Matching the stylus compliance to the arm made a huge difference for me, the Grado wasn't a very good match and even though the OM was probably a downgrade in terms of specs, having a better match made a huge difference in the amount of distortion I get near the end of a side.

But for a 1200 (which has a smaller motor and doesn't have the compliance issues the SP15 does) a Grado Red might be the way to go, I really loved them on the turntables Ihad before the SP-15 (some kind of non-Technics direct drive thing from the 70s, I forget the model now).

The downside of the Grados (other than the potential for picking up hum) is that the way they design their cartridges means you're replacing almost all of the mechanism every time you replace the stylus, so every year or two (depending on how many records you play - when I worked at home and listened to 30 or more albums a week I'd get maybe 10 months out of a stylus if I was lucky) you're going to be dropping another $100 or so on a replacement stylus, which isn't a lot in corksniffer, audiophile, $8000 hand-wound cartridge terms but in real people terms is a pretty big concern.

Putting an Ortofon Stylus 30 or 40 on the cartridge body you already have is going to be a great bang for buck upgrade. It doesn't really matter if it isn't a "Super" OM body. I had a Stylus 30 on a cheapo black Concorde body and that combo was my favorite for a good while, too high compliance on paper but it works in practice.

Good tips! Thank you! I was considering replacing the whole cart including a new stylus but perhaps I can just change the stylus yeah.

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Yikes! A stylus 30 is like £200!

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The stylus 20 is £125 though so perhaps that's more doable. I had no idea it'd be this much. I expect it'll be well worth it though.

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i am using an Audio-Technica AT440MLA on my SL-1210MK2, it is best budget cartridge I've ever tried in my life.

Thanks for tips! I'll look into that. I like the idea of getting a fresh cart/stylus thing so it's all prealigned without any faff needed

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  On 12/17/2017 at 12:13 PM, lipsvago said:

i am using an Audio-Technica AT440MLA on my SL-1210MK2, it is best budget cartridge I've ever tried in my life.

I just checked, that's a $250-$500 cartridge now, depending on where you get it. Just a replacement stylus alone costs more than any cartridge I've been able to afford.  I think they're discontinued though, which would explain it.

I take back my previous posts, this is obviously the only practical solution.

Made with rare blue stones and secret, ancinent Japanese swordmaking technology or something.

hahaa what the hell!

Yeah, so I'm still not really sure what the buy!

Lalalalala

  On 12/17/2017 at 4:35 PM, RSP said:

 

  On 12/17/2017 at 12:13 PM, lipsvago said:

i am using an Audio-Technica AT440MLA on my SL-1210MK2, it is best budget cartridge I've ever tried in my life.

 

 

I just checked, that's a $250-$500 cartridge now, depending on where you get it. Just a replacement stylus alone costs more than any cartridge I've been able to afford.  I think they're discontinued though, which would explain it.

 

It has been replaced by the AT440MLB, which is supposed to be even slightly better. Amazon.com is selling it at $ 199.00, there's many enthusiastic reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT440MLB-Phonograph-Cartridge/dp/B00OQUJ1QO

  On 12/17/2017 at 10:24 PM, lipsvago said:

 

  On 12/17/2017 at 4:35 PM, RSP said:

 

  On 12/17/2017 at 12:13 PM, lipsvago said:

i am using an Audio-Technica AT440MLA on my SL-1210MK2, it is best budget cartridge I've ever tried in my life.

 

 

I just checked, that's a $250-$500 cartridge now, depending on where you get it. Just a replacement stylus alone costs more than any cartridge I've been able to afford.  I think they're discontinued though, which would explain it.

 

 

It has been replaced by the AT440MLB, which is supposed to be even slightly better. Amazon.com is selling it at $ 199.00, there's many enthusiastic reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT440MLB-Phonograph-Cartridge/dp/B00OQUJ1QO

 

That makes sense.  I'd call that more mid-range though, for me "budget" ends well below $100 and in that range, for my tone arm, the Ortofon OM series is just about the only good option.  Even in the under $200 range there aren't many good choices, unfortunately - it's really picky about compliance, and in the opposite direction from what most tone arms these days want.

Obviously that's not useful though, since the OM is what we're discussing upgrading from, so from here on out I'll limit myself to stupid practical suggestions.

Say whaaaaaaat!!!!

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