I adore my 1200 Mk5. Unfortunately, I have little experience with its stock arm as I have never used it!
You definitely need to play to the arms strengths and choose a cartridge that allows optimal synergy. Numbers don’t always tell the story and I would give more credit to actual users.
FWIW, you might consider a suitable headshell spacer since the stock arm height adjuster does not always allow the tonearm to go low enough for optimal VTA with many cartridges. https://www.analogueseduction.net/headshell-leads-cartridge-fitting-essentials/oyaide-mcs-cf-head-sh...
You definitely need to play to the arms strengths and choose a cartridge that allows optimal synergy. Numbers don’t always tell the story and I would give more credit to actual users.
FWIW, you might consider a suitable headshell spacer since the stock arm height adjuster does not always allow the tonearm to go low enough for optimal VTA with many cartridges. https://www.analogueseduction.net/headshell-leads-cartridge-fitting-essentials/oyaide-mcs-cf-head-sh...