Mark Levinson No.12
The Mark Levinson No.12 is a phono cartridge from a company best known for huge, expensive solid-state electronics. That makes it an odd one.
The surviving record shows a low-output MM design with a claimed 0.5 mV output. That is unusually low for a moving magnet, which typically puts out 3-5 mV. The cartridge specified a 47k ohm load, a 1.6 ±0.4 gram tracking force, and a 0.2 x 0.7 mil stylus. Frequency response was rated at 20-20 kHz ±1 dB, with channel separation of 26 dB and channel balance of 0.5 dB. Compliance was listed at 18 cu.
High Fidelity Trade News (April 1983, p.44) covered the No.12 in its new products section. It noted the cartridge's design emphasis on phono section performance. The mention is brief, but it confirms the model was on the market by early 1983 and was positioned as a serious component rather than an afterthought.
Beyond that, the record is sparse. No original MSRP has surfaced, and no third-party critical reviews from the major audio magazines have been located. A single marketplace listing described it as a "quality vintage low output single coil cartridge" that "sounds great," and one sold listing shows a $499 asking price. Whether the No.12 shared lineage with other Mark Levinson cartridges of the era isn't documented.
- Type: Moving magnet (MM)
- Output: 0.5 mV
- Frequency response: 20–20 kHz ±1 dB
- Tracking force: 1.6 ±0.4 g
- Weight: 5 g
- Compliance: 18 cu
- Recommended load: 47k ohms
- Channel separation: 26 dB
- Channel balance: 0.5 dB
- Stylus: 0.2 x 0.7 mil
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