Audio-Technica 12T (late 1970s)
Documentation on the Audio-Technica 12T is thin. What survives is a listing in a professional equipment survey from Studio Sound (May 1979, p.44). The survey placed the 12T among record-playing equipment used by broadcasters, recording studios, and professional discos. It appears to have been a phono cartridge, priced at £12.25 with a replacement stylus at £8.01.
Known specs from that survey:
- Stylus: elliptical, 5 × 17.8 microns, 0.45 mg mass
- Tracking force: 0.75–1.25 g, 1 g optimum
- Frequency response: 10 Hz–23 kHz
- Output: 4 mV
Beyond that listing, almost nothing is recorded. No production dates, body details, or family relationships have turned up. The trade press of the period shows Audio-Technica pushing into professional cartridges, with ads for its new ATP series in Recording Engineer (June 1978, p.85) and DB Magazine (April 1978, p.19). The 12T was evidently part of that late-1970s professional-market effort.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.