2. analog
  3. 1173032625

Technics SL-1200MKII and AT-440MLa, very good

This may have been posted before but I just wanted to let others know my experiance and setup that has worked out great. Now after 50 hours of playing time the soundstage has really started to open up and I'm starting to hear some very good depth to sound. AT really have done a good job with the AT440MLa cartridge and I thought I would never hear a cart in this price range sound this good, not only match well with my Technics SL-1200MKII but also with my Electrocompaniet ECP-1 phono preamp that I upgraded a few years back and is just finally breaking in also. The recordings I have done to CD on my computer have come out really nice and sound better than the store bought ones, more real. This is my secondary system in the room but I would like to try the Technics and AT440MLa on my main system or even better with the Teres 255 I have with the ET2 arm, I have a ceond tonearm for the ET2 and I may just do this. I used to own a Technics 1600MKII back in the ealy 80's and right up to 95 then I bought the Linn LP12 then Teres255, but I never thought the Technics SL-1200 could sound so good but I do remember on some material back when I had the 1600MKII that the sound was really nice. I going to do a side by side comparision with the 1200MKII and Teres 255 both with the AT440MLa cart just to see how close they come or don't to each other. This could be very interesting.

It was really a great buy and I will be getting more of the AT440MLa's
coouugar

Showing 4 responses by johnnyb53

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Perfectionist sez: " I prolly really need to do a phono pre. I may try to pick up a used Gram amp 2 here on Agon. I just don't want to sink too much money into this rig."
My SL1210 is up against stiffer competition from the CD player. I have a recent Sony ES SACD/CD carousel which totally smoked the 1998 CEC single-play CD player that it replaced. Yet the TT rig bests the new Sony CD player in musicality, rhythm, bass, fleshing out the timbres, and subjective emotional involvement. So if an older Kenwood changer isn't beating your SL1200, it may be the phono section.

For $249, you could get a Bellari VP 129, which is a tubed MM phono stage. It also has Michael Fremer's enthusiastic recommendation and has a Stereophile Class B rating--right in there with the $1500 phono stages. For $150 the Parasound ZPhono and NAD stages come well recommended, but not as highly as the Bellari.

Has anybody else noticed that 3 carts recommended for the SL 1200, especially for opening up the soundstage--the AT-440 and the Denon 110 or 160--all have nude square stylii?
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
> I believe that would be nude, square shank, stylii.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm just getting back into vinyl after a 25-year hiatus and I have some catching up to do.

Another question--what's with the round stylus on the Denon 103 and 103R?
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
The Bellari VP 129 lists at $300, but most places still sell it at $249, including Audio Advisor, Needle Doctor, and Music Direct. Recently I got a mailer froM Audio Advisor who had a demo VP 129 for something like $217. Hard to beat for a Stereophile Class B. Also, in the same price range as the NAD is the Paragon ZPhono in their half-chassis Z series. I have a line level amp and preamp from that series and it's tasty stuff.

> This stupid little phono pre has opened up a varitable pandora's box for me! For the first time in a long time, I actually enjoyed the quality of sound I was hearing last night. Man what a difference! What's better? Simply put, all of it.

Hear hear! I got a Technics SL 1210 M5G and Ortofon OM 10 plugged into a pawnshop Amber Model 17 preamp and am having the time of my life. In every case where I have an LP and CD of the same recording, the LP trounces the CD for musical satisfaction, rhythm, and timbre.

Today I came home with 22 LPs from the 99-cent bin for $22--about the price of 1-1/2 to 2 CDs. My yield included a pristine Brothers in Arms and a still-sealed ECM-era Pat Metheny.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
To Perfectionist: I just got a Technics SL1210 M5G (Grandmaster), and also got a Shure M97xE because of all the buzz. I also had an Ortofon OMP 10 lying around, so got a second headshell and 1/2" cart adapter. I much prefer the Ortofon. It has about as much slam, but is smoother through the midrange, has more inner detail, and just "feels" better when I listen with it. The Shure by comparison gets congested and hollow-sounding in the midrange when things get busy (i.e., crescendos bringing in lots of instruments/voices).

Also, this humble rig has had no trouble smoking the CD/SACD players I have in the house. It's certainly as dynamic, bass is fuller, and the timbres are much better fleshed out. I have an Amber 17 preamp, and maybe it's spoiling me. If you're plugging into a phono section in a receiver, that may be why you're underwhelmed.

Also, experiment with the Shure--try it with the damper brush up and down, and with different tracking forces. I also tried it with both the extra headshell weight and the extra tonearm counterweight to increase tonearm mass. That seemed to open up some detail, but I still prefer the Ortofon w/o the extra weight.
More to discover