philip67 6 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Hi , I am looking at a Technics SL 1200 mk2,for $500,it is missing the headshell, Are other brand headshells compatable?,as I have a spare older Sansui headshell,would it work? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,274 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Don't know about Sansui but the bayonet fit/screw collar headshell are widely available. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jebediah 343 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 I've been using a Jelco HS-25 without issue. It's got azimuth adjustment. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
philip67 6 Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 Thanks for the info guys, I will look into it 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mloutfie 1,033 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 any brand is compatible it's an SME type mount 3 Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Yep just about any 20 dollar Chinese SME will fit, actually some of the cheap Chinese ones are really good just make sure they are aluminium as some are not. The best of the cheap rip off ones are better than Technics original. Chris 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Herbs 84 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Ortofon sh4 if you want something decent bout 75$ delivered, look very similar to the original technics. Some carts come pre mounted will screw straight in, nothing to setup except weight 1 Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 33 minutes ago, Herbs said: Ortofon sh4 if you want something decent bout 75$ delivered, look very similar to the original technics. Some carts come pre mounted will screw straight in, nothing to setup except weight Some of the 20 dollar ones are far far better than the Technics original, I have 200 dollar headshells and 70 odd carts some Chinese are naff some are fantastic. Chris Link to post Share on other sites
Herbs 84 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Whatever you end up using, technics recommend a distance of 52mm from the black washer, the face of the tonearm that you can see in the photo above to the point of the stylus. Theres a proper technics guage, but I just use a tape measure. Its more accurate if you use 100 and 152 on a tape because the front of tapes always have play. To set weight have your cart and headshell mounted, anti skate on zero, to find zero grams, the tone arm should float just above the record in mid air and not move. Move the number dial to zero, then twist the back of the counter weight to what your cart specifies. If it floats like that its very close to zero, ive cross referenced with a digital scale 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Herbs 84 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 By the way a mkii for 500 is a good buy if its in reasonable condition Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 (edited) 1 hour ago, Herbs said: Whatever you end up using, technics recommend a distance of 52mm from the black washer, the face of the tonearm that you can see in the photo above to the point of the stylus. Theres a proper technics guage, but I just use a tape measure. Its more accurate if you use 100 and 152 on a tape because the front of tapes always have play. To set weight have your cart and headshell mounted, anti skate on zero, to find zero grams, the tone arm should float just above the record in mid air and not move. Move the number dial to zero, then twist the back of the counter weight to what your cart specifies. If it floats like that its very close to zero, ive cross referenced with a digital scale Download the arc protractor from Vinyl Engine and laminate it, this way you can easily properly align any cart in minutes. Also get yourself a rubber mat the slip mat is no use for hifi you need the mass of the rubber mat and its damping, the felt mass is no good. Chris Edited January 21 by cafe latte Link to post Share on other sites
Herbs 84 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Yeah alotta work, keep it simple. And felt matts sound more open IMO Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 16 minutes ago, Herbs said: Yeah alotta work, keep it simple. And felt matts sound more open IMO Not on the Technics you need the weight of the rubber, put felt on top if you want but the rubber mat is part of the platter weight it is needed. Chris Just now, cafe latte said: Not on the Technics you need the weight of the rubber, put felt on top if you want but the rubber mat is part of the platter weight it is needed. Chris Also the Technics platter rings like a bell without the rubber not good. Chris Link to post Share on other sites
audiofeline 2,555 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 23 hours ago, cafe latte said: Some of the 20 dollar ones (headshells) are far far better than the Technics original, ... some Chinese (headshells) are naff some are fantastic. Chris Any tips on identifying the "fantastic" Chinese headshells from the "naff" ones? Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 3 minutes ago, audiofeline said: Any tips on identifying the "fantastic" Chinese headshells from the "naff" ones? I will have a look through my ebay purchases tomorrow and see if I can post some leads. Working in the morning so might be PM. Chris 1 Link to post Share on other sites
audiofeline 2,555 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 minute ago, cafe latte said: I will have a look through my ebay purchases tomorrow and see if I can post some leads. Working in the morning so might be PM. Chris No rush, I asked mostly out of curiosity. Post here when you have time so others can also benefit (if that's OK with you). Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 minute ago, audiofeline said: No rush, I asked mostly out of curiosity. Post here when you have time so others can also benefit (if that's OK with you). I will have a look, I have bought a lot as I have about 70 carts and bought another today and bidding on another so I need headshells. Last I got were really good really very good actually and they had Bum written on them, clearly it does not translate the same in Chinese I have bought a lot of OK ones all IMO are from same factory as long as the seller says it is aluminium likely to be OK. There are a few companies selling coloured ones with gold pins IMO all the same again these are really good indeed. I will try to post a few links tomorrow, but even what I have said should give a few hints to the good ones, the ones with gold pins in different colours really are nice IMO. 20 odd bucks and you can get a nice headshell which is good when you buy as many as I do Chris 1 Link to post Share on other sites
audiofeline 2,555 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Two styles of coloured Chinese eBay headshells:, one with holes in the top and the other with no holes (other than mounting holes) 1. What I think of as a "DJ" style, with additional holes in the headshell. Version 2, without holes in the top Link to post Share on other sites
cafe latte 198 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 9 hours ago, audiofeline said: Two styles of coloured Chinese eBay headshells:, one with holes in the top and the other with no holes (other than mounting holes) 1. What I think of as a "DJ" style, with additional holes in the headshell. Version 2, without holes in the top They are the ones, really good in my opinion. Get the one with the hole not the red type as this type is renowned (Chinese one) for not being correct angle, the others are great. Chris 2 Link to post Share on other sites
audiofeline 2,555 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I've felt that (based on the pics) that they are solid, and would be much more substantial compared to the thin pressed aluminium style that were on many vintage budget record players. I can't say I like the look of the ones in the top pic, they look too "cheap DJ" for a good hifi system, whereas I think the lower style (red) is a much nicer looking design. However, my purchases are dictated by sound. The top style (with holes in the top) are also available in a gold-plate finish, for those who want a bit of bling in their system. Link to post Share on other sites
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