Denon 103 any good for techie

[Lee Henley]

Well with christmas around the corner I was contemplating a low output MC cart for my stock SL 1210 MK2 and my CA 640P phono stage and came across the Denon 103 MC cart, Ive set a budget of around £150 maximum as Ive also asked for an Achromat 1200.

So would this be ok to use with the stock SL1210 and the CA 640P's MC phono stage, or should I look at something else

Listen to all sorts but love rock music, blues and jazz, don't do allot of classical at the moment on vinyl

Any help much appreciated
Thanks
Lee

[Reid Malenfant]

Others on here are vastly more knowledgeable than me, but I suspect it would work fine as long as increase the arm mass by fitting something like a Sumiko headshell.

I have a 103 here that has an alloy plate glued to it (can't remember the name of this thing but it's commercially available) which also adds mass & corrects for the 103s low overall height.

I suspect the two mods would get you in the ballpark range of arm mass needed to get the best out of the cartridge ;)


But wait & see what others say, I'm an amateur with TTs :)

[Gromit]

Hi Lee - the 103's a great cartridge, and I'm a long-time fan of it having owned more of them then I care to remember. :)

The 103 will work in the 1210's arm - up to a point. A couple of things which Mark has touched upon are very important with the Denon though - firstly with the std arm you'll need a spacer on top of the cartridge as the arm won't go low enough to allow for correct vta. IME the 103 likes to sit absolutely parallel to the record. Also, the Achromat is thinner than the std Tecchy mat which exacerbates this problem.

Still, it's not unsurmountable and where there's a will etc. :)

Also very important - or at least very desirable - is to get some mass into the arm, the easiest way being to add ballast to the headshell. The Sumiko HS12 headshell works well (weighs 12g strangely enough ;) ) and is readily available at sensible money. Add another 6-10g of mass to this (spacers/mass plates are available - Google should help here) and the Denon will be singing sweetly.

Have fun! :)

[Dominic Harper]

I agree with Richard and Mark. The 103 is a good inexpensive fun cartridge. Add some mass to the headshell and use the extra , small counterweight to help balance the arm, plus add much needed mass. As stated, add some shims to the headshell, otherwise the arm will be too high and stylus rake will be wrong making the denon sound harsh and unbalanced. Tracking force is stated at 2.5g, but experiment with this. Once extra mass is added, you may find lowering this to 2.3 will reap rewards. The denon should be roughly parallel to the record surface and in some cases slightly tail down.
Worth tinkering with all cartridges for best results.

[Lee Henley]

As always guys excellent information and stuff I had not considered, would there be any alternatives to the 103 at a similar price point that would not need the extra mass and spacers?

[MartinT]

Denon DL-160 high output MC was a lovely cartridge but sadly no more - however, some dealers may still have stock.

[Beobloke]

As always guys excellent information and stuff I had not considered, would there be any alternatives to the 103 at a similar price point that would not need the extra mass and spacers?

A Goldring 2200 is cheaper and will be a better match for the Technics arm.

It would be my choice at the price.

[freefallrob]

A Goldring 2200 is cheaper and will be a better match for the Technics arm.

It would be my choice at the price.

Nice cartridge, I stupidly sold mine!

Here's link to an amateur review I did a few years back:rolleyes:.

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/84/846724.html