Ortofon RMG-212i

F456GTM

VIP/Donor
Oct 21, 2015
110
28
405
Pinecrest, FL
In my search for a Groovemaster I have been offered several Ortofon RMG-212i, the arm's effective length of 228mm will fit perfectly in my plinth, no mods.

The price range is between $1.4K for a mint arm and $2K for a new boxed. Neither tonearm comes with a headshell. The Ortofon GPU I had was included in the SME sale, I only have a light FR headshell.

As I mentioned in another post I should look for a cartridge with good detail and good treble extension. My choice would be the AT AT33PTG/II, a superb cartridge but I have no idea if it will be a good match compliance for the Ortofon. If it is, what headshell should I get, there is a world out there.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
 

Shuggie

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2020
103
127
113
UK
ammonite-audio.co.uk
In my search for a Groovemaster I have been offered several Ortofon RMG-212i, the arm's effective length of 228mm will fit perfectly in my plinth, no mods.

The price range is between $1.4K for a mint arm and $2K for a new boxed. Neither tonearm comes with a headshell. The Ortofon GPU I had was included in the SME sale, I only have a light FR headshell.

As I mentioned in another post I should look for a cartridge with good detail and good treble extension. My choice would be the AT AT33PTG/II, a superb cartridge but I have no idea if it will be a good match compliance for the Ortofon. If it is, what headshell should I get, there is a world out there.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
The AT33PTG is a relatively high compliance cartridge that would work very nicely with an SME tonearm, but there is a very strong risk that the high effective mass RMG-212i would be too much, resulting in significant low frequency instability. With that arm, stick to SPUs or other genuinely low compliance cartridges.

If your 'light FR headshell' is the RS-121, then keep it - it's one of the best headshells around.
 
Last edited:

Don_Camillo

Well-Known Member
Jun 26, 2022
158
194
50
Vienna
tempo333.blogspot.com
The AT-33 PTG/ II is a nice sounding pickup but with a CU of 10 at 100Hz equals to round about 14 at 10Hz you should look for a tonearm with about 18 gr effective mass.

The old RMG-212 was designed to meet 8 Hz resonant frequency when paired with a contemporary 31gr. SPU cartridge in G shell. This hypthesis shall be valid for the moder modern RMG-212i as well.

Re-calculating the RMG-212 with such a heavy G-shell results in 13 gr effective mass only. With the SPU motor weighting about 13 gr there´s some room for matching the AT-33 PTG to the RMG with a headshell weight that ranges between 10 and 18 gr.

This is my 212 collection - AS-212, RMG-212i and SMG-212

IMGP1788.jpg
 

F456GTM

VIP/Donor
Oct 21, 2015
110
28
405
Pinecrest, FL
I just bought an AS-212, brand new in box from a friend in Denmark whose father worked assembling Scan Dyna turntables that used AS-212 tonearms. It has been stored in hisfather's drawer since the mid seventies. It is quite rare to find examples with the genuine Ortofon lift installed.

It is now at a friend's shop in the UK ready to be rewired.

On a side note, I have the whole collection of Guareschi's books in Italian. But that is Fernandel, un pretaccio maledetto!!!
 

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Don_Camillo

Well-Known Member
Jun 26, 2022
158
194
50
Vienna
tempo333.blogspot.com
Yes, examples of the AS-212 with the genuine lift installed are quite rare. Mine is one of those examples but has also the 5 pin connector ex works installed an no loose cabling
 

F456GTM

VIP/Donor
Oct 21, 2015
110
28
405
Pinecrest, FL
Interesting facts about the AS-212.

All Scan-Dyna versions of the AS212 are with silver counterweight and headshell, orange or light grey plastic parts, original Ortofon lift, short axle for horizontal movement, and flying leads (same production setup as Scan-Dyna). My Breuer Dynamic tonearms also came with flying leads, Ehrard Breuer never liked DIN connectors.

All Telefunken AS212s are without lift, as it is integrated in the player, black counterweight and headshell, extended axle for the horizontal bearings to enable mounting of a lever for the automatic shut off functionality. Plastic parts are black, some different surfaces on the AS212 arm tubing over time, both glossy and satin, polished, anodized and plated as required for the specific surface on the aluminum vary over the years.

The Telefunken S500 uses the AS212, the S600 uses the AS212 MKII, which uses the strengthened base, more suitable for application with external lifts. A very late version of this, apparently features a screw mounted headshell socket.

Scan-Dyna used the AS212's for their 1400-1402 turntable.

Cheers,
 

asb

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2017
43
12
138
"My Breuer Dynamic tonearms also came with flying leads, Ehrard Breuer never liked DIN connectors".
Early Breuer arms have been equipped with DIN style connectors.
 

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