103s in the buff

[Chris]

Could a kind soul please explain why there are so many who strip their 103s, leaving them with their dangly bits in the air. If it is because the plastic body reverbs and things, could it not be enclosed in a nasty mastic goo to achieve a similar result and extra weight at the same time ?
If I am talking out of my ar**, please feel free to teach me the error of my ways.

[Beechwoods]

Hi Chris! There was a discussion about this a while back. I've not read it for a while, but it should worth looking at for some of the other forum user's thoughts about 'nuding' the 103. A few here have some experience of this rather tricky procedure

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=907

[Marco]

'Nuding' a 103 can work wonders, but it's down to personal preference and system balance. I'm sceptical about it, hence why I've never gone down that route even though I've played around with more 103s than I've had hot dinners...

I prefer to use models where any detrimental sonic effect of the cartridge body has been eliminated (103SA for example). I also think that 'nuding' the 103 makes it look butt-ugly!

The clue is in the saying: 'Different doesn't necessarily mean better'. I'll leave you with that thought

Marco.

[Chris]

Marco,
You mention the 103SA - what´s it got that the Pro hasn´t ? Has Denon improved the body, suspension, coils, tip or a bit of everything ? When the time comes would you retip a Pro or go for the SA ? Now I´ve got my Haufe trannies, I can´t see myself betraying the marque. This is mine´s third Christmas.
Chris

[Marco]

Hi Chris,

The Pro is very good, but to my ears the SA has the edge, and by a fairly significant margin. It's simply the most 'sorted' 103 I've heard, sonically, in terms of the (slightly) ragged top end (even with the Pro when optimally set-up) being completed ameliorated, allowing the full talents of the cartridge for the first time to shine through, and allowing one to fully appreciate its addictive way of music making

To answer your question, the Pro has advantages in terms of an increased high frequency response, but the SA (electrically the same as a 103R) has a completely different, improved, body (glass fibre composite epoxy), along with more closely matched electrical output parameters (SA's are selected from the production run to meet specific guidelines) and to my ears the combined effect of this is more significant.

If you can afford one (around £440 on Ebay) I would thoroughly recommend it. I won't be going back to my Pro or 103R in hurry! In fact, they'll be kept just for emergencies.

Marco.

[Chris]

Will the SA match the 40 ohms of the Haufes or is it designed into 14 ohms as (I believe) the 103R is ?

[Marco]

Chris, if the SA didn't work properly with the Haufe-specified A23 SUT I wouldn't be using it!

Rest assured, it's a phenomenal sounding combination (with the right deck, tonearm, and phono stage).

Marco.

[Billericay Dickie]

Could a kind soul please explain why there are so many who strip their 103s, leaving them with their dangly bits in the air. If it is because the plastic body reverbs and things, could it not be enclosed in a nasty mastic goo to achieve a similar result and extra weight at the same time ?
If I am talking out of my ar**, please feel free to teach me the error of my ways.

E = MC squared.

Mmmm this is old hat, I did an SPU back in the early 80's, then Van den Hul introduced a production off the shelf version, can't remember the model no.

The difference in sound was stunning, mounted on a Lux tonearm fitted to an EMT Thorens TD150BC.

How I got to do this was I bought I broken cantelevered SPU at a London sunday market and repaired it. In the process I obviously had to remove the cartridge body and after mending it I had to try it out to test it prior to re-assembly.

Awesome sound that improved even further when I added a warm up 6.3V torch light bulb situated beneath the SPU when at rest. ;D

Try it, oh and Decca's, don't get me started, hehe!!

[Marco]

That's interesting and thanks for that. I've heard of similar results being obtained with 103s. However, quite simply, if the cartridge body is made of the right material and designed optimally in the first place (properly damped, etc) then there's no issue to address, and hence no need to remove the body.

Marco.