In praise of the Denon 103...

[Martyn Miles]

I have been running an Entre MC cartridge ( purchased in 1979 ) with an LP12 / Misson 774 combination for as long as I can remember.
The Entre has had many new styli over the years, fitted by Expert Pickups.
Recently a broken Denon 103 came into my possession, so I thought I’d get Expert to fit a new cantilever and stylus. After about 4 weeks it returned and I removed the Entre and fitted the Denon.
What a revelation.
A vast soundstage and a bass end I had never experienced with the Entre.
As the Entre had a recently fitted stylus I sold it very easily and the buyer is very happy with it.
If anyone is considering a ‘103, don’t hesitate.

[RobbieGong]

The 103 has a great reputation and is well regarded as a wonderfully musical thing for relatively small change, in the scheme of things.

It's not everybodies cup of tea but although I've never heard one myself, I've read untold instances of very happy audiophiles who use one in its many guises / variants.

It is a cart that clearly has something that hits the spot, hence it being that 'go to' cart for so many, for so long.

[karma67]

the one i had was a bit special,its been said before but the 103 is so musical,i enjoyed it a lot.

[nickbaba]

I have both a standard DL-103 and a DL-103-SA (Jamie's one). The SA is indeed a bit special, more detailed and refined presentation than the 103, but the 103 absolutely great too, and I'm a fan.
I think they used to be industry standard for broadcast transcription turntables, so that tells you something.

[montesquieu]

Dissenting voice here, I have owned many of all sort of flavours, stock and modded, over the years, and could never get worked up about them. Their charms do not outweight their flaws in my book and if strapped for cash I'd rather run a decent MM (as, indeed, I do on the 401 in my study system).

[walpurgis]

Dissenting voice here

More or less the same here.

For the money I suppose you can't really complain, at least the 103 is a taste of MC sound at (comparatively) minimal cost.

I've had a few basic 103's and one 103R, which I thought was a much better cartridge and again good value.

However, for about eighty quid extra, the Goldring Eroica LX is available and that is much more fun.

[Vrajbasi]

Dissenting voice here, I have owned many of all sort of flavours, stock and modded, over the years, and could never get worked up about them. Their charms do not outweight their flaws in my book and if strapped for cash I'd rather run a decent MM (as, indeed, I do on the 401 in my study system).

Have to agree on this I never got on with the cartridge, I can see the attraction because of the price etc I just find them rather uninspiring, while if I had more to spend a good moving coil wins, you do get alot more bang for your buck with a decent MM with alot more body and scale while not the ultimate detail of the great MC cartridges out there.

[tlscapital]

Have to agree on this I never got on with the cartridge, I can see the attraction because of the price etc I just find them rather uninspiring, while if I had more to spend a good moving coil wins, you do get alot more bang for your buck with a decent MM with alot more body and scale while not the ultimate detail of the great MC cartridges out there.

This is where I was trying to see if maybe the DL-103, that which I don't have nor know, was actually on the exotic side like it's forefather the DL-102 that I have set by ear (nothing like in the book) on my adjustable preamp with the Load impedance @ 100 ohms, the Capacitance @ 100 pF and Gain @ 60dB. Since I done that, believe me I do get much more juice out of my cartridge and it's a pleasure to hear it. Before those adjustments and the tonearm mass consecutive enhancements, it was simply good (cleaner MONO groove pick-up) without much "charm, character or depth" to it...

[Marco]

I always find these discussions about the 'ol DL-103 quite fascinating. I've been using various versions of it now, on and off, for the last 35 years (as when optimised I love how it plays music), and so trust me, I know what this cartridge is all about - and also exactly how to hear it at its best.

With that in mind, it's clear that many of its detractors, for perfectly understandable reasons, haven't had that experience and enjoyed what this truly wonderful cartridge is capable of when used optimally in the right context. I say that because I *know* that if I demonstrated my own DL-103, in my system, or even took my turntable, fitted with one (and perhaps also my preamp/phono-stage and head amp) to a bake off, that most would be very impressed indeed with the sound, even if they still ultimately preferred something else

Ok, so let's establish a few facts about the DL-103, and also what it needs to perform *optimally*:

1) Price: it's only 'cheap' because of economies of scale, having been in commercial production by Denon (Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd) since 1968, and so many thousands have been made in that time, and therefore the associated costs of production have long since been paid for.

Every part contained on the cartridge, aside from its stock plastic shell, is of the highest quality, and if it were produced instead by a smaller 'renowned high-end cartridge manufacturer', not tooled up to make it in the way Denon are, and priced to appeal to 'audiophile snobs', it would cost around £1000, instead of its current £250, especially if housed in a metal body-shell.

2) The latter is key, because that's where the bulk of the cost cutting has been done. It's also the SINGLE most contributory factor towards its sonic limitations. Remove said plastic shell (and use it 'nude') or house the cartridge in any of the superb aftermarket wooden or metal body-shells available, and quite simply it becomes a different animal.

3) DL-103s produced by Nippon Columbia, up until the mid 1990s, sound markedly better than those produced after that era, especially those in current production. I believe that's largely because of the switch from alnico to rare-earth magnets.

4) Therefore, bearing the above in mind, you simply *haven't* heard a DL-103 properly unless:

a) It's been 'nuded' or rehoused in a superior body-shell, as the stock plastic one massively limits its performance.

b) It's fitted onto a high/medium-mass classic Japanese tonearm, with detachable headshell, and the partnering headshell in particular is of the optimum mass (minimum 15g) and very rigid/well-damped. DL-103s simply do not work on the vast majority of modern tonearms!!

c) It's preferably used with a direct-drive or idler-driven turntable, fitted with a high-torque motor unit, which is able to combat the effect of stylus drag, generated from the existence of the above mass/weight, combined with high tracking forces of 2.5g+

d) It's preferably used with a valve MM phono stage and SUT or head amp, the combination of which loads it optimally and provides sufficient gain, but *most importantly* is a correct match, sonically/tonally, in order to release its true potential. I've never heard a DL-103 sound right through a standalone MC phono stage.

e) The example you own, or have heard, is from the Nippon Columbia era, pre-1995.

Therefore, folks, because I *really do* know what I'm talking about on this particular subject, I can say with absolute certainty that unless you can tick ALL of the above boxes, you simply haven't heard what this deservedly iconic cartridge is capable of, and therefore that will naturally influence your opinion of it accordingly

Marco.

[Beobloke]

The DL103 is a funny old thing, but, as Marco says, it needs very careful matching to give of its best.

In my experience, most of the time it sounds "nice" - inoffensive and certainly enjoyable and good value for money, but nothing special. In an Empire 598 it sounded superb. In a Yamaha GT-2000 it sounds nothing short of spellbinding.

In fact, the GT-2000 experience has impressed me so much that I've even found myself eyeing up the posh versions on eBay...