Interesting tip on the Mothers product Perfectionist. Have you tried it on your M5G yet?
Before settling on the 1210, I owned a VPI jr/PT6 and Tecnodec/modded RB250 and I think that the Technics deck sounds better than both. Granted, there were a few minor changes and tweaks here and there in my system, but the fact that the Technics sounded better to my ears at the end of it all really says a lot about its value.
Regarding the Technics arm, I agree that it is a pretty high quality arm. I was skeptical before I got a 1210 because it didn't seem to look the part of a high quality arm but I would have to say that this thing really holds its own. It is the most full-featured arm of the bunch and feels really precise. One thing I liked iss that the cueing mechanism drops faster than the RB250 or PT6. I was a little nervous at first but realized that it drops fast enough so that you can usually get the needle exactly where you want it without the anti-skating pulling it a few grooves back, but slow enough not to destroy the suspension.
Carts used for all 3 tables were the Denon DL-160 and Dynavector 10x5. Strangely enough, both carts tracked better in the Technics for some reason than the other two tables. I was using the Sumiko headshell with the Denon and stock headshell with the Dyna. I tried the Dynavector in the Sumiko and thought it sounded better in the stock headshell. I guess adding mass at the headshell and counterbalancing with the aux weight was a little too much for it, plus compliance is slightly higher than the Denon. YMMV with other carts.
The only thing I'm waiting on now is the fluid damper but Kevin says that they are in production and wont be available for a few weeks.
