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Bottom end, ortofon 2m red or blue. Top end, dynavector 10x5 or sumiko blackbird high output.
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I went for an Ortofon Black Plug and play on my 1200GR. Super easy to set up and remove when rogue children are about. Good to my ear but I'm no audiophile, I just know what I like.
The Blue and Bronze are available as Plug and play. -
Goldring 1042 worth considering.
Edit: I'd suggest that a good moving magnet cart in the £200-£300 range is about the sweet spot for an SL1210.
Once into £500+ moving coil carts, better arms / expensive phono stages become part of the equation.
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Wouldn't go mental unless you have the rest of it to back up the gains (fancy cables all the way through, £££ phono pre etc).
Have a 70s Technics SL1300 that I got with super low hours on it, all the bearings are mint, put a better set of cables out from the tone arm post back and an Nagoaka MP200. Still a MM but has a Boron rod for its little arm.
Bought blind from literally just reading around and then picking one, very happy with it, big step up from previous setups I've tried (old 70's/80's upper budget/mid priced turntable with similar used cartridges on them, Pioneer, Hitachi, Denon, B+O and an absolutely hammered Linn from the 80s that was just mangled TBH, think someone had previously used it to demolish a building).Does what I want it to do, deals with really fiddly technical sounds, isn't bothered so much by dust and dirt as others (infact only cartridge I've found that'll successfully play some rattier records), maybe its downfall is big/bold vocals, it kinda over analyses them if that makes sense? Whereas heard some peoples setup on similar Technics that really flatter those vocals.
Also its not fussy about setup, with a basic plastic protractor and 5 mins its good to go.
For me if I bother changing anything else it would be to put a fancier tone arm setup on it
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I just got my technics 1210mk2 back from being repaired (hardwired RCA cable was intermittent) and the stylus appears to be damaged in the process.
I'm not going to complain about it as its the cartridge i received the 1210 with, its an Ortofon Pro S, so a cheap 'DJ' cartridge I've wanted to replace for ages anyway,
If i set a budget of £500 but would rather spend much less if the returns are diminishing above half of that, what would you buy?