Ok, thank you so much for the help, I will look for a low compliance cartridge in that case. If I do go with a low compliance cartridge is there still any reason to decrease the weight with different screws for example? Also In the future when looking at a tonearm, is there a way to know if the tonearm's rated effective mass is including a headshell or not?
Changing out the screws won't make the arm considerably lighter. Getting a lighter headshell will give the most weight reduction. Not only the headshell itself gives the weight saving, but the couterweight will also be nearer to the fulcrum point.
However, good headshells are expensive. You can get a cheap light headshell from thakker.eu for ~€15 that weighs about 7 grams:
www.thakker.eu
www.thakker.eu
www.thakker.eu
That way you can knock 6-8 grams off the effective mass (with lighter screws), which is quite a lot.
However, quality is....hit&miss. I've read stories that a headshell sometimes isn't straight (so azimuth alignment problem).
And of course, you'll loose azimuth adjustability; that's the nice thing about the jelco headshells.
The only light headshell (in SME style) that you can buy new, that is light and has azimuth control, is I think the headshell from the technics sl-1200G/GAE.
But that one is €110, and I don't know if that screw is actually ment to change azimuth. And sitting on the underside instead of the left side, it makes it far more difficult to use, if it works at all (no experience)
Technics Headshell (black) for the new SL-1200 G and GAE
www.green-vinyl.com
Maybe someone here has another suggestion for an SME headshell with azimuth adjustability and weight around 7-8 grams?
Normally, the tonearm's effective mass is including headshell. How can you tell? if it's below 13g, it's virtually impossible to come to that eff. mass with an SME style headshell.
Best way is to actually weigh as much parts as possible and do the calculation yourself. Lots of tonearms have quoted eff. mass, or eff. mass written all over the internet from which I'm sure that that isn't correct.
Looking for low compliance cartridges is pretty difficult, most of them are MC and if you want one with a more advanced stylus and cantilever, they usually start at around €500
And a lot of them are still fairly high compliant.
The most difficult aspect is that with most japanese cartridges, the compliance is given at 100Hz. That is a measure for how well it tracks, and has nothing to do with the 10Hz resonance. There is also no real conversion factor, despite what most people on the internet will tell you.
As for the required resonance frequency, most sources will tell you that the target value is between 8Hz and 12Hz.
That said I'd rather have 8Hz than 12Hz, and I think you can go little below 8Hz.
The higher value is a value so that the resonance can't be excited by the lowest notes in music (typically ~16-20Hz).
The low resonance value (8Hz) is chosen so that warps in the record can't excite the low resonance.
However, if you have less warped records, the problem is also less.
Typically, warps have a frequency between 1 and 4Hz I guess.
So if you're close to that, say 5Hz, chances are the stylus will loose contact more easily when going over a warp (or becoming less stable on the warp, resulting in a big shift in balance from left to right in the music) than cartridges that have a higher resonance in your arm.
But it's not only the resonance frequency that determines that. Damping is another factor. This is a parameter that is not specified by cartridge manufacturers.
