Denon DL-103R, accidental

[eksiil]

with my Music Maker III nearing the end of its natural life (bought it around 2011, 100-150 hours' use a year), it occurred to me to widen my horizons before I sent the MMIII off to be retipped. so, courtesy of Russ /Weeman1973, I acquired a nearly new Denon 103R along with a Beyer Dynamic SUT.

having set up the Denon by sight (using a spirit level & a grid that came with a now-sold Audiomods tone arm) I thought "not bad at all." less involving, but somewhat better resolving. all in all a respectable stand-in for a month or two.

but I knew the VTA was off, the arm sitting a little too high on the TT. I had bought an Isolator for the MMIII so I thought perhaps I could even the odds. the result I would not classify as a "stroke of genius," but thought interesting enough to share. I had to hand a few pieces of thin noise isolation foam, from which I cut out my own "isolator."

I've now been listening to LPs for a couple of hours & mostly what I notice are differences. the 103R still has less drive, but I can now hear its delicate presentation. Richard Hawley actually seems to sound better. Nick Cave & Ane Brun suddenly sound fragile. on Oscar Peterson's "You Look Good Tonight" the raspy double bass no longer distorts (my classically trained girlfriend tells me), etc. all in all a very interesting evening at a third of the cost of a new MMIII.

is the Denon "worse" than the MMIII? the short answer is no. at the cost of "attack" voices & smaller scale sounds gain a lot in intricacy. I would certainly miss it were I to replace the MMIII. perhaps enough to look further down the mc rabbit hole.

i tried to include a pic, but all i can seem to manage is a link, sorry.

https://imgur.com/a/WaPhmPF