Denon DL 103 Cart

[myriad]

Hello friends,
Yesterday i received my Denon DL 103 cart from needledoctor. Out of the box the sound of this cart is lively and open. The highs and mid are to die for in compare to Shure 97xE and Sumiko Pearl which i was using till now. The cart is run in for 4 hours till now. I am sure it's going ti get better with more burn in.
Regards
vasu

 

[meprateek]

hi Myriad,

How much did you pay for shipping? did you pay anything towards customs duty too?

Regards.

 

[myriad]

hi Myriad,

How much did you pay for shipping? did you pay anything towards customs duty too?

Regards.

Paid Rs.3500 as custom duty for cart and Project counterweight.
Regards

 

[anm]

which TT are you using it on?

 

[myriad]

which TT are you using it on?

Project RPM4

 

[anm]

I searched after I asked

Is this a high output? I saw 2 versions on amazon, 103 and 103R. Which one is yours?

 

[myriad]

I searched after I asked

Is this a high output? I saw 2 versions on amazon, 103 and 103R. Which one is yours?

Mine is 103. It's a low output MC. I have a Project Box SE which accepts MM and MC. MM at 47kohm and MC at 100 and 220 ohm loading.

 

[mksharan]

Hi Mr. Vasu,
Give us an update about the DL 103 cart. How is it doing it with the Project phono-amplifier or any upgrade on that front.

Regards,
Manoj

 

[myriad]

Hi Mr. Vasu,
Give us an update about the DL 103 cart. How is it doing it with the Project phono-amplifier or any upgrade on that front.

Regards,
Manoj

Manoj,
I have not heard many TTs. Whatever i have heard are the budget ones.
DL 103 is a superior cart than Sumiko Pearl & Shure97xE which i was using before. It's more open and lively with good tracking capability.
I haven't thought of upgrading my vinyl rig for now. I need to listen some good deck and carts and then think of upgrading provided funds permit.
Regards

 

[shaizada]

The Denon 103 series are absolutely fantastic. I would suggest you get the DL 103R. It is also low output at 0.25mv, but it has 6n pure copper windings which really makes the cartridge sing. Myriad, maybe you can sell the DL103 locally to another music enthusiast and pursue the 103R. It does sound more nuanced and musical, despite the fact that the regular 103 sounds amazing as well.

I wanted to share my experience of Denon since you have already taken a liking to its sound signature. What VTF are you tracking at currently with the 103? Try it at 2.5g. Also try both your loadings of 100ohm and 220ohm. Depending on the rest of the setup, you might like one over the other. 220ohms will be more open sounding.

 

[myriad]

The Denon 103 series are absolutely fantastic. I would suggest you get the DL 103R. It is also low output at 0.25mv, but it has 6n pure copper windings which really makes the cartridge sing. Myriad, maybe you can sell the DL103 locally to another music enthusiast and pursue the 103R. It does sound more nuanced and musical, despite the fact that the regular 103 sounds amazing as well.

I wanted to share my experience of Denon since you have already taken a liking to its sound signature. What VTF are you tracking at currently with the 103? Try it at 2.5g. Also try both your loadings of 100ohm and 220ohm. Depending on the rest of the setup, you might like one over the other. 220ohms will be more open sounding.

Shaizada,
I think i will stick with plain DL103 because my TT is entry level. I don't want to spend more on upgrading the cart or cables on this TT. If i upgrade, i will upgrade the TT itself with a good cart.
I am playing with the VTF at 2.5 gms and 100 ohms loading. I will try 220 ohm loading and see.
Regards

 

[mpw]

how do i decide of my tonearm mass is suitable for the Dl103 ?

The instruction manual of the technics SL23 says ma cart weight 8.5 gm and the Denon Dl103 is at 8.5 gm.

This will be a border line case.

any comments ?

do i have to go in for a slightly weightier headshell or counterweight. I am aware its not like increasing the mass of the arm but was thinking of options in case of the DL103.

mpw

 

[omishra]

how do i decide of my tonearm mass is suitable for the Dl103 ?

The instruction manual of the technics SL23 says ma cart weight 8.5 gm and the Denon Dl103 is at 8.5 gm.

This will be a border line case.

any comments ?

do i have to go in for a slightly weightier headshell or counterweight. I am aware its not like increasing the mass of the arm but was thinking of options in case of the DL103.

mpw

IMO it should not matter, my 1200mkII headshell plus 103 weighed 15.6 gram. Still sounded fantastic.

 

[mpw]

om,

do you still get a good bass output from the DL103 ?

If the tonearm mass is insufficient.. wont it affect the bass ?

The other option is the denon DL110 but i understand the DL103 is the way to go.

I wonder if i could get to try it on my tonearm before i purchase. Its epensive so i want to get it right the first time.

I can measure my headshell weight but i wonder how do i measure the tonearm weight.

mpw

 

[Tanoj]

Hi

Just thought of sharing my exp with Denon DL 160 cart

The stylus was very very thin almost invisible , and it used to sit in the grove as if never wanna jump even though bad setting

as such the highs were bright, and mid was sounding like cd, mid bass was missing, lower bass was present

over all it was transparent and i liked it, though sounds like bass guitar etc was lagging ...

i used it with Philips AF 842 TT, it has low mass tonearm.. so may be that was the problem

Tanoj

 

[Hiten]

Very low compliance cartridge would benefit from good matching mass tonearm provided your speakers has good low end reproduction and If one has wide band phono preamp. Even though tonearm resonance of around 10 hz is achieved by matching, the harmonics will get amplified. Specially with High gain phono pre. And low end will sound muddied. High end fqs. are attenuated so no problem. Is your phono pre wide band and high gain ?
Simple rough way to measure tonearm weight is remove Counterweight and with headhshell+fastner+cartridge weight with digital scale and calculate the resonant frequency.
OR
Why take hassles . pick any warped and/or offcenter record from your collection and listen to silent passage between songs or lead out groove. if you can't hear it or can not see speaker cone movement I think it is OK.
Regds.

 

[omishra]

om,

do you still get a good bass output from the DL103 ?

If the tonearm mass is insufficient.. wont it affect the bass ?

The other option is the denon DL110 but i understand the DL103 is the way to go.

I wonder if i could get to try it on my tonearm before i purchase. Its epensive so i want to get it right the first time.

I can measure my headshell weight but i wonder how do i measure the tonearm weight.

mpw

DL 110 does not sound good with OEM technics headshell. Either I needed to add 2 gm weight or moved to new American DJ headshell got from fellow member. Otherwise it sounds screechy and harsh, no bass. This new headshell is 2.5gm heavier than OEM one and 1.5mm longer too. This given me perfect alignment at tip of headshell. Now it sounds excellent (defeat CD) but still not as musically refined as 103 and 103R.

DL 103 and 103R both are sounding with good bass at my table, it's medium compliance tonearm. Hiten explained it better. Trying out cart looks difficult. They are thinnest hollow cantilever and could be easily sacrificed on mistake.

All above settings trials were with proper tonearm height.

 

[mpw]

which is this headshell om.. that you are talking about ?

is there an internet link available ?

i think i will weigh my headshell tomorrow but i epect that it wont be a "rocking" one .. it will be more or less standard stock types.

mpw

 

[sachu888]

You can also buy original Technics/Stanton headshell with removeble 5 gram weight TECHNICS SL 1200 1210 MK5 M5G MK5G SILVER HEADSHELL WITH WEIGHT | eBay
STANTON H4-S Headshell Reviews - alaTest.com

Regards,
Sachin

 

[omishra]

which is this headshell om.. that you are talking about ?

is there an internet link available ?

i think i will weigh my headshell tomorrow but i epect that it wont be a "rocking" one .. it will be more or less standard stock types.

mpw

For DL-110, I found this matches perfect
Amazon.com: American DJ Turntable Headshell: Home Audio & Theater YMMV

For DL-103/R , OEM techincs works fine. Only the height of tonearm needed to be adjusted for 15mm cart height which is 2mm lesser than shure. On 1200mkII, rotary dial of tonearm height adjuster goes left side of zero (almost -1 could be).