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Technics SL-5200 tonearm counterweight help

Bama Brian

Don't be scared of the volume!
Please advise! I am trying to mount an Ortofon Concorde 30 w/ 30 stylus on my Technics SL-5200. The factory counterweight is to heavy. Is there smaller after market counterweights available or am I just out of luck mounting this particular cart? Thanks in advance, Brian.
 
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The actual problem is that there is no headshell. It is the Concorde 30 I am trying to mount.
 
I thought I read somewhere that you can turn the counter weight around so the scale is to the rear of the tonearm, on the 1200s anyway
 
You must have one of the original hi-fi* Concordes, whose great beauty was that they were so light (6.3g) that they enabled high compliance styli to match perfectly with medium-weight tonearms like the Technics, with an ideal resonant frequency of around 10Hz. The problem was of course, that most tonearms couldn’t be balanced for an integrated plug-in headshell/cartridge combination that light, so they needed a much lighter counterweight, and one was supplied with each cartridge when new.

They came complete with special lightweight 70g Ortofon screw-fixed counterweights so that tonearms like the Technics one could be balanced. The counterweights supplied with the cartridge had 15mm holes, but if they didn’t suit your particular tonearm, Ortofon would exchange them free-of-charge for alternatives with 12mm or 18mm holes.

Seeing as how you don’t have the special light counterweights, another option is to buy another counterweight, which should be easy to find for Technics tonearms, and lighten it by drilling or cutting part of it off. Although drastic, that's a better alternative than making the cartridge heavier, because that defeats its major advantage - light weight, which enabled it to track even badly warped records spectacularly well on medium-weight tonearms.

* There are also now some DJ Concordes sold by Ortofon, which are much heavier (18g). Although the same shape similar to the aircraft, they really should have been given a different name, given that they’re not designed for high fidelity, and lack several of the originals’ great attributes, such as adjustable overhang and low mass.
 
You must have one of the original hi-fi* Concordes, whose great beauty was that they were so light (6.3g) that they enabled high compliance styli to match perfectly with medium-weight tonearms like the Technics, with an ideal resonant frequency of around 10Hz. The problem was of course, that most tonearms couldn’t be balanced for an integrated plug-in headshell/cartridge combination that light, so they needed a much lighter counterweight, and one was supplied with each cartridge when new.

They came complete with special lightweight 70g Ortofon screw-fixed counterweights so that tonearms like the Technics one could be balanced. The counterweights supplied with the cartridge had 15mm holes, but if they didn’t suit your particular tonearm, Ortofon would exchange them free-of-charge for alternatives with 12mm or 18mm holes.

Seeing as how you don’t have the special light counterweights, another option is to buy another counterweight, which should be easy to find for Technics tonearms, and lighten it by drilling or cutting part of it off. Although drastic, that's a better alternative than making the cartridge heavier, because that defeats its major advantage - light weight, which enabled it to track even badly warped records spectacularly well on medium-weight tonearms.

* There are also now some DJ Concordes sold by Ortofon, which are much heavier (18g). Although the same shape similar to the aircraft, they really should have been given a different name, given that they’re not designed for high fidelity, and lack several of the originals’ great attributes, such as adjustable overhang and low mass.
Thank you for the info! I'll contact Ortofon and inquire about the counterweights. If they no longer support the cart, ebay is my friend. Thanks again, Brian.
 
Thank you for the info! I'll contact Ortofon and inquire about the counterweights. If they no longer support the cart, ebay is my friend. Thanks again, Brian.

The problem is that they were first sold new in about 1980, so almost 40 years ago, and they’ll probably no longer be available from Ortofon. But they may show up on Ebay.
 
The problem is that they were first sold new in about 1980, so almost 40 years ago, and they’ll probably no longer be available from Ortofon. But they may show up on Ebay.
It looks like I will have to make my own. A piece of round brass stock drilled, polished with a stainless set screw would look nice I believe. Thank you so much for the info again.
 
Try installing the counterweight backward. It should work but you'll then need to adjust the tracking force with a scale.
 
Solved the problem with 2 options.
1) I bought a Technics SL-1200 MK2. KAB has the aftermarket weights I need that will work just fine on the 1200.
2) I bought a Goldring 1042 to use instead.
I will still do the ortofon project because I have always been interested in how the HIFI Concorde would sound. Thank everyone for taking the time to reply.
 
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