[Victorious25]

Hey everyone,
I'm pretty young myself (21) and don't have much of any idea what I'm looking for when it comes to turn tables, so I'm looking for a little guidance.
My grandfather on my mothers side had a Technics Quartz SL-1200MK2 Direct Drive Turntable System, and when he died my parents ended up with it. The problem is it has no cartridge anymore, or the cartridge is busted and needs to be replaced. Other than this, it works perfectly. For Christmas for my father I'm looking for a replacement cartridge for this so that he can use his vinyl collection that hasn't seen any play in 25 years or so.
I was perusing the internet looking for hints and someone said that they use a Shure V15 Type V MR cartridge with it. In looking, I don't really know where to even purchase a cartridge that would work for this model, and the only place I looked that even has cartridges for sale is TTVJ, and most of those models are way more expensive than I can afford, although there are some Grado options in the $60-$90 range that would work for me, but I don't know if they would work for the machine. Anyone have some advice on what I'm looking for?

Thanks a bunch,
Victor

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victorious25 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey everyone, I'm pretty young myself (21) and don't have much of any idea what I'm looking for when it comes to turn tables, so I'm looking for a little guidance. My grandfather on my mothers side had a Technics Quartz SL-1200MK2 Direct Drive Turntable System, and when he died my parents ended up with it. The problem is it has no cartridge anymore, or the cartridge is busted and needs to be replaced. Other than this, it works perfectly. For Christmas for my father I'm looking for a replacement cartridge for this so that he can use his vinyl collection that hasn't seen any play in 25 years or so. I was perusing the internet looking for hints and someone said that they use a Shure V15 Type V MR cartridge with it. In looking, I don't really know where to even purchase a cartridge that would work for this model, and the only place I looked that even has cartridges for sale is TTVJ, and most of those models are way more expensive than I can afford, although there are some Grado options in the $60-$90 range that would work for me, but I don't know if they would work for the machine. Anyone have some advice on what I'm looking for? Thanks a bunch, Victor

Any standard 1/2" mount cartridge will fit. The Denon DL-110 cartridge @ $140 is often recommended for the Technics SL-1200MK2 because of the slightly heavy tonearm. You could get an Audio Technics AT120E or AT95E for less money if that is all you could spend. LPGear carries all of these cartridges. Look at needledoctor and Garage A' Records also.

 

[rederanged]

I don't think the V15 is made any more. The Shure M97xe is a good, fairly neutral cartridge in the sub-$100 range, and works well with the SL-1200. (I ran one on mine for a while.) The Audio Technica AT120E is another popular option in that price range. A Grado would also work.

Also make sure that your folks have a receiver with a phono input. You can't use a regular line-level input (like for a CD player) straight from a turntable. If they don't, you'll need to get a phono preamp as well.