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I picked up both a Technics SL-1600 MK2 with an AT330 cartridge and a Dual 1019 with a AT3482p cartridge both in nice condition from a super gentleman this week. He sold both for $200 total (pics below)

The Technics works perfectly, and sounds great, except that one of the channels will drop out depending on the position of the RCA cable as it comes out the back. I'm going to replace the cable which is probably the original cable.

Also the black VTA adjustment collar at the base of the tonearm is stuck despite unlocking the adjacent lock lever. Does anyone know the best way to free it up? My first reaction is to spray WD40 around it, but something tells me that it is probably not a good idea.

The Technics has a AT 330 cartridge. I can't seem to find much information on this model. How does that compare the AT440?

[neobop]

Hi,
VE has the service manual for the 1600, maybe you should look at that first. Is the handle on the lever disconnected from the contact pin, or is the whole lever disengaged, but the arm is stuck?

Don't know about the AT-330, it's probably not a relative of the 440.  AT had so many carts over the years, there are even some duplications, I'm told.  Is there any other designation like 330E or 330LC ?  Usually the complete model number is on the top, under the headshell.
neo   

[JackD]

The AT-330 is another model number for the AT-10 family

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It just says AT300, no other markings. I'm not familiar with the AT-10 family. What's your opinion quality wise?

The lock lever has a lot of play in it. With the lever in the lock position, there is resistance, otherwise it is very loose in the unlock position. Not sure if is really engaging the mechanism. This is my first Technics with a VTA. I have no comparison experience. Right now, the tonearm appears fairly level when playing, but will be nice to make fine adjustments.

[JackD]

That family of cartridges consisted of several models distinguished by the stylus type and shape. They were included with many Japanese turntables of that era.  The following is a link to the various styli available in that family.

http://www.stereoneedles.com/audio-technica.html

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JackD, I had no idea that AT made so many models. It looks like the AT330 has a conical tip, Do you know if there is an elliptical stylus that will fit? What's your opinion of the AT-10 family of cartridges?

[JackD]

They are not bad cartridge bodies and if you put on of the high end styli on there they become pretty good.  If you don't want to change the cartridge I would just put the ATS12 on there and be fine as long as you are getting equal ouput out of both channels.  If you want to change cartridges and like the AT sound then you can buy a new AT-95E from Amazon for under $40.  I probably have four or five of those bodies lying around with various model numbers on them

Jack

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JackD, I'm wondering if getting a new AT440 instead of updating the AT330 with the ATS12 stylus would give even better results. What do you think?  Since the Technics 1600 MK2 only cost me $100, if have enough in my budget to splurge with a higher end cartridge. I would even consider the AT150MLX.

[JackD]

That is going to depend on two things, one do you like the AT "house sound" and second your associated equipment.  If your other equipment is at all forward the AT sound would to me be too much, but if you like that then either one is good.  From what I have read on other forums the cantilever assembly on the 150 is very delicate and you have to decide how comfortable with something delicate at this point. I think if you want to splurge for a higher end cartridge and still save money I would buy a Denon DL-110 from ND and take advantage of the free shipping.  Also if you go get on there mailing list now, they usually have 10% coupons for Valentines Day. 

Jack

[neobop]

It just says AT300, no other markings. I'm not familiar with the AT-10 family. What's your opinion quality wise?

The lock lever has a lot of play in it. With the lever in the lock position, there is resistance, otherwise it is very loose in the unlock position. Not sure if is really engaging the mechanism. This is my first Technics with a VTA. I have no comparison experience. Right now, the tonearm appears fairly level when playing, but will be nice to make fine adjustments.

Trackball,
Your description, lock lever, sounds like VTA on the fly like the 1200.  Did you download the service manual?  If it's VTAF, the collar around the arm moves the pillar up and down. When the lever is disengaged, that collar should move. You tighten the lever to lock the collar in place. I think this is done by compressing the collar against the pillar.

Many of the older ATs are a little more mellow than the 440/150. All of them should be terminated with less than 200pF shunt capacitance.  That's often not feasible because it's preamp + cables + arm wire. Too much capacitance will make it brighter and roll off the extreme high end.  Also, they seem to have a long break in. The 150 has a boron cantilever.  Yes it's delicate and replacement is around $250.  If you want the sound of a 150, the 100E ($90) has the same generator in a plastic body. It will accept any modern 120/440 stylus. The DL110 is a great cart in its class, for med/heavy arms. If you break that cantilever though, it's a throwaway. Re-tipping would cost more than the cart.  Still, it's a good buy.
neo   

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neobop, yes, the 1600 MK2 has the VTA on the fly black collar, with the lock lever disengaged it still will not rotate. I believe the 1600 MK2 is quite similar to the 1200, except that is has automatic functions is is built for home use and not for DJs. The build quality and weight is far superior to my Technics SL-D2. I downloaded the manual and can't figure it out how to service the tone arm, let alone remove the top cover. I think I'm going to have to send it to a repair shop.

I have been listening to the AT300 that came with the Technics with the setting of 200pf on my phono pre-amp (Nova Phonomena). Trying to get used to the AT "house sound" as JackD mentioned. Certainly sounds different than my Grado on my Harman Kardon T60. I'm not sure I really like the AT sound. I need to listen more. Switching from my Gainclone Amp to my tube amp seems to tame some of the bright and sibilant highs. The mids are somewhat recessed. I am not sure about the DenonDL110 with the non replaceable stylus.

Any other cartridge suggestions?  Shure or Ortofon?

[neobop]

What top cover?  To get inside the table, remove the platter, remove the headshell/counterweight and tie down the arm, turn it upside down, remove the feet (probably), then take off the bottom panel.  Did you download the service manual or user manual, or both?  Before you do that, see if the arm is just stuck to that black collar. Don't think you can fix it from underneath anyway. Maybe someone spilled some soft drink on it, then tried to wipe it off with peanut butter on their fingers. Maybe it's stuck from being in the same position for 30 years. Loosen the lever and see if you can force the collar to turn. Use a tiny bit of WD-40 or Blaster, it won't hurt anything. Just don't kill it, you don't want to totally break it, if it's not already. 

See, that's what I mean about misloaded.  Doesn't the Nova have a setting for 100pF or zero?  < 200pF is recommended for total capacitance.  Your arm wire and interconnect cable could be as high as 120 - 150pF, so zero or 50pF should get it, 200pF is making it brighter.  I'd be reluctant to use that old stylus. I'm not sure where exactly where the 300 fits in, but the AT-10 was a budget cart and came with a spherical stylus, I think. You can use replacements up to and including AT-12, and 15/20 if you trim some plastic. Of course arm height is critical as Murphy and his law rears his head once again. From that era, I think the AT-12S and SA are the better ones.  The AT-15/20 are outstanding.  The AT "house sound" is only characterized by good transient response IMO, and amplitude response varies somewhat. I loaded the 440 at 32K to get it to sound right. The 15SS or AT-95 sound pretty decent at 47K.
neo 

[JackD]

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If you like the Grado sound, you might want to consider finding another Grado body, I like the older ones before the Prestige line better but my opinion, and mounting an 8MZ stylus.  Or just buy another Black and swap the stylus, then you will have a new cartridge and a spare stylus to boot.   And you can get a new JICO sourced stylus for the AT for under $16

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEREO-RECORD-PLAYER-NEEDLE-STYLUS-ATS-12-AT-12E-AT11E-Fisher-ST35VD-629-DE-/200832574481?pt=US_Record_Player_Turntable_Parts&hash=item2ec28de411

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neobop, my pre-amp only has two settings (200 or 300pf) and nothing lower. I'm going to give a shot of WD-40 into the collar and let it sit for a day. My homework for this weekend is to download and manual and get inside the table. Hard to make the time during a busy work week. Need to replace the RCA cables. I did the same thing for my Technics SL-D2 a few months ago, so this will not be the first time for me. I'm going to use either Blue Jeans cable (12pf/ft) or Liberty Cable (10pf/ft). I wonder if it is possible to measure the entire system capacitance after the cable is swapped? I will also experiment with reducing the load to 32k as mentioned.

If all else fails, I can get rid of the AT and go with something else, or get a new preamp just  for the Technics. Do you have any recommendations for a preamp under $1000 that goes well with AT cartridges?

JackD, I moved my Grado Reference to my Dual 1019 as pictured above. No hum, and it sounds even better on the Dual than on my Harman Kardon T60. Hard to explain why, but the Dual sounds more powerful, better bass, and more defined and solid. I like the match. Great for jazz and vocals. I would like to have my Technics be my go to table for rock, dance and electronic music.

[JackD]

I use Stantons for that type of music, as did the radio stations, but NOS stylus are getting hard to find.  Popular choices for those genres seem to be the Shure M97xe and the Nagaoka MP-110.  Both have solid bass and just warm of neutral top end.  The Shure however does require low capacitance to even out the treble or it can sound recessed.  I have not heard of the Nagaoka having those issues.  At to preamps I would look at the V-LPS, the DB Systems DB-8 or even the the Vista that apparently has the ability to load capacitance and resistance,.

[neobop]

Track,
There seems to be a new phono stage coming out every week.  I've read good things about the Simaudio Moon LP110, and 2 Soundsmith pieces.  The more expensive one is for MCs and is said to be exceptional. The other MM one for $500, I think, is also supposed to be great.  I haven't heard either.  The Vista that Jack mentioned also gets raves for the price. 

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-16131-simaudio-moon-110lp-phono-preamp.aspx

http://www.sound-smith.com/preamp/

There are probably others in the $1K range.  Your Nova Phonomena seems highly regarded, but if you want another anyway.....
neo

BTW, the M97 in stock form is a dull, rolled off cart.  250pF must be maintained, but around 62K is preferred resistance.  See TNT-Loading the Magnets.  With SAS stylus, it's another story. IMO the Stanton 681EEE is another compromised cart with over 1K pF. Maybe if you have an overly bright system it would be OK, but an 881 is the minimum with the old Stantons. Styli are impossible to find.

[JackD]

Neobop

I personally agree with your assesment of the M97, but others love it with a really low capacitance.  When I run it, I have run it at 47k and a total capacitance of 150pf and it was o.k.  Also have run it the prefered way of 62k abd 150pf  and it is better.  It does kind of work best for classic rock and other genres of music that are recorded more forward. Haven't heard the Nagaoka MP series as I only have the JT-555, but they get raves on AK and VE as rock and roll cartridges.   The new model of the Vista which according to another thread is the same price has the ability to load different resistances including and below 47k and multiple gain settings, though the impedance seems to be high at 150pf.  The V-LPS on the other hand was tested at 50K and 70pf.  I think David at DB can set up the DB-8 however you want. 

I also run the Stanton/Pickering bodies at 47k and 150 total pf.

Maybe an Ortofon OM would fit his needs unless he wants to look for one of the old models like you recently sold as that would fit the bill.  My F15 works very well with 70's rock music.

[JackD]

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If you are not already a member you might want to consider joining www.audiokarma.org and ask your question about the VTA ring over there.  That is kind of the unofficial internet home of all things SL-1xxx related.  There are multiple guys over there that have taken all of those models completely apart and reassembled them.  Someone there if anywhere will have answer.

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Thanks for all of your help. I'm really learning a lot. This is great

I'll look into the suggested pre-amps by Simaudio and Sound Smith as well as the others.

I'm very interested in the Nagaoka. There seems to be quite a few models and price ranges. Plus, they have replaceable styli. If I can use the current Nova Phonomema pre-amp with the Nagaoka, I am willing to spend more on the cartridge. Do you have any suggestions on the various models above the MP-110?

Out of curiosity, what is the optimal capacitance for the Grado cartridge?

I just joined AudioKarma. Yes, I'm planning to post a question about the stuck VTA. In the meantime, I'm letting the WD40 just sit there for a while.

[JackD]

The most popular model of the Nagaoka is the 110 because of it's price and renowned tracking and lack of surface noise.  It appears from looking at specs that the MP-150 is similar.  I don't think that you get into the finer styli until you get to the MP-500 at $600. The differences between the models below seem to be in the choice of cantilever material.  If this is not your primary then I would just try the MP-110 as it seems to be universally raved about and it should be fine with the Nova.  One day I may just try the MP-110 to see for myself, but with over 30 mounted cartridges I really don't need anymore. 

According to the Grado guru on AK the Grado's are not capacitance sensitive and I have tried various and that seems to be true.  My preamp lets me choose between 50,100,200,300 and 400pf and I don't hear a difference with any of the three bodies and four styli I have. Some of the 700 ohm bodies are supposed to benefit from a lower resistance, but I tried it and didn't really hear a significant difference.

If you want to try the new Vista with the selectable loading and gain, I would assume that he could change the default capacitance from the standard 150pf to 50pf since they are all had built.

Jack