Uncle Ants
I'm a Shop Keeper
The old ADC magnesium headshells are the best I've ever come across if a light headshell is what's required. Light at about 7g and very rigid. I wouldn't have said it was much better than the Sumiko 12g headshell which is I think the same as the stock Jelco, but it is 5g lighter. As has been said, which is better (lighter or heavier) is entirely down to which provides the best match when taking the mass of the cartridge, eff. Mass of the arm and cart compliance into account. Rigidity is important though and obviously harder to achieve with a lighter shell without recourse to smart use of design and materials. If you plan to run different carts, it may be best to have several different weight's of headshell in the armoury. ADC headshells come up reasonably regularly on eBay (I'm bidding on one myself right now, so hands off ). Ortofon currently do a headshell which is about as good and about the same weight that has a couple of additional weights to fine tune ... But it's a bit too funky looking for the retro look most of these arms have. No doubt it appeals to DJs it is a good alternative though.
The counterweight is part of the effective mass equation yes, but it isn't necessarily the case that a heavier one ups the effective mass. A heavier counterweight, all else being equal will sit closer to the pivot, which has the effect of lowering eff. Mass, so the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Glad you sorted the issue out anyway. Spindle to pivot isn't something that needs to be set in stone. Alignment can be achieved so long as it's not more out than the headshell slots will allow. Just be aware that you really need to use a two point protactor unless you are 101% sure it's spot on. Arm specific 1 point protractors rely on the absolute accuracy of the spindle to pivot distance, 2 point ones don't.
The counterweight is part of the effective mass equation yes, but it isn't necessarily the case that a heavier one ups the effective mass. A heavier counterweight, all else being equal will sit closer to the pivot, which has the effect of lowering eff. Mass, so the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Glad you sorted the issue out anyway. Spindle to pivot isn't something that needs to be set in stone. Alignment can be achieved so long as it's not more out than the headshell slots will allow. Just be aware that you really need to use a two point protactor unless you are 101% sure it's spot on. Arm specific 1 point protractors rely on the absolute accuracy of the spindle to pivot distance, 2 point ones don't.