It might be worth having a chat with Sound Hifi/Timestep, they have done a lot of work with Technics turntables, made very nice sounds at the Bristol Show with an AT33EV fitted.
I had a Technics SL1500c for just 2 days and the Ortofon Red picked up noise/humm from my Naim SuperUniti. Noise was louder with the inernal phonostage and less so, but still annoying, with a seperate Rega Fono mm. But with a Rega carbon mm (basicly a AT 91) it was dead silent. So i would be carefull using the Ortofon 2M series again.
Or consider a Herbie’s Mat, available by mail order from the USA. They come in various widths and thicknesses, but the instructions on their website are very clear and helpful.
An SPU might not be where I’d start out with vinyl but may well be where I’ll see out my days having tasted them. I’d start with something with a replaceable stylus because it takes time to learn.
I am using a goldring 1042 on my technics 1500c in the bolthole system. I also have deployed a collaro mat.
The 1500c has a phono amp inside and i have it directly connected to a muso. To say i am happy with it is a massive understatement.
My system in my home is full blown and this “mini system” in my bolthole flat is quite extraordinary.
Is it the right alignment for a Technics, though? On Ortofon’s website it says that it’s setup for Baerwald, which means that it should come “crooked” for mounting to a 1200. The standard alignment for those is Stevenson, which you can just set with the included overhang gauge.
My understanding is that they work fine with Technics decks, but I am not a Technics owner and have not researched the matter fully. Perhaps this is a query best directed to either a dealer or direct to Ortofon.
Luckily Technics decks come with a mounting and alignment tool. Just shove in any removable headshell and align a cart’s stylus with the overhang marker and you’re golden. I’ve got a cartridge protractor but the Technics tool hasn’t been wrong yet.
My advice would have been Nagaoka JT-80bk, which is essentially the cartridge they shipped with the SL-1210GAE. For a platter mat, just seek out one of the original 6mm Technics mats that came with the mk2.