The Marco-boy main system, as of August 2020

[Mikeandvan]

Lol... Which speakers are you referring to, the monster Lockwoods or the small, but perfectly formed Ditton 15s?

Ok, in terms of cartridges, yes I think that *in some areas* an MP200 would outperform the Shure. However, in the areas you mention, 60s rock and stuff, defo not. That's where the Shure excels!

As I said, if you're interested in trying one with a NOS stylus, pop me a PM

Marco.

Yep defo interested, the Lockwoods look amazing.

[Marco]

Ok folks, remember this from WAY back on 2nd September...? I'd nearly forgotten what it looked like!

Ok, I mentioned earlier that I was hopeful of imminently landing some vintage gems, and the deed has been done! These lovely things will be winging their way from Japan to chez moi...

NOS Denon DL-103GL (Gold Limited) - introduced in 1990, in a very limited run of 2000 pieces. It is, IMO, one of the finest 103s ever made, alongside the 'M' and 'SA', the latter which the GL is near-identical to:





And a lovely mint example of a 1976-vintage Denon AU-310 SUT:







$1300 for both, shipped (insured and trackable) to the UK!

It's been a while since I played around with SUTs, as I've mainly been using MC head amps, such as the Paul Hynes and Lentek. However, I wanted to revisit using this little device, as it's something I first encountered in 1982, when I bought my first DL-103, and used it with that to great effect!

The sound I remember from then was so warm and musical (but not in a euphonically coloured way), rather richly toned and lifelike, with an addictive rhythmic alacrity to the bass, so I wanted to try and recreate that, used in conjunction not just with the GL, but also my NOS, stock (Nippon Columbia-vintage) DL-103.

The GL is something I've *always* wanted, but genuine NOS ones rarely come up for sale. One of my biggest regrets (and fortunately I haven't had too many in audio) was selling my DL-103SA and buying an SPU, not because I didn't enjoy the SPU, but because I should've kept the SA!

Quite simply, it was one of the best cartridges I'd ever heard, fundamentally addressing the shortfalls of the stock 103 (introducing carbon-fibre reinforced resin casing, wound with 4N gold coils), and the music it made was simply magical!

So... Now I have the GL, which is built near-identically, and am really looking forward to hearing what it does, in conjunction with the AU-310, and also the Lentek!

Happy days

Marco.

Well, after a VERY long wait [don't ask] - bearing in mind that the freakin' thing landed in the UK on 15th September!! It's finally sitting in my local sorting office

So... Once I pay the charges due tomorrow (£230-odd BOO-HOO, but worth it), I should have both items delivered on Wednesday! Full report and review on this combo to follow!

Marco.

[Marco]

Certainly sounding mighty fine in this YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgo0...tSHo&index=410



Marco.

[Marco]

Well, the charges have been paid and the delivery is scheduled for tomorrow, so I can barely contain my excitement!

Meanwhile, here are some loving close-ups of my vintage Koss headphones....







And the equally superb sounding 'Lehmann' Chinese-made valve headphone amp, both of which compliment each other really well:



You can see the similarities: https://www.lehmannaudio.com/headphone-amplifiers.html

Main difference though is the respective price tags!!



Marco.

[The Black Adder]

Well, the charges have been paid and the delivery is scheduled for tomorrow, so I can barely contain my excitement!


Marco.

Great news... wow, that's an expensive import charge.

I think you will be really surprised with the quality of the AU-310. I'm loving it with the DL103-C1

It's a different flavour to the Lentek. It has a smoother presentation. Slightly more focussed too.

[Marco]

£229.31, matey, to be precise, but hey how much would a cartridge cost today that would compete with or outperform the GL...£3k? I kid you not. Imagine getting another 20% of musical goodness from your C1 - that's what we're talking about!

It's all in the gold coils....

So, it was still well worth it, although I'm not happy with how I was pissed about by customs, freaking ridiculous, and will be making a complaint in due course!

Yes, it'll be interesting comparing the SUT with the Lentek, and also my £1500 Paul Hynes head amp and PSU

Marco.

[The Black Adder]

£229.31, matey, but hey, how much would a cartridge cost today that would compete with or outperform the GL...£3k? I kid you not. Imagine getting another 20% of musical goodness from your C1 - that's what we're talking about!

It's all in the gold coils....

So, it was still well worth it, although I'm not happy with how I was pissed about by customs, freaking ridiculous, and will be making a complaint in due course!

Yes, it'll be interesting comparing the SUT with the Lentek, and also my £1500 Paul Hynes head amp and PSU

Marco.

Cool.

Maybe one day I'll get the SA or maybe even the GL. At the moment, I'm more than happy with the C1.

One of the best sound carts I've heard.

[Jac Hawk]

Just saw the listing on ebay mate, if it's the same place you got yours i can't believe they charge delivery as well

[Marco]

Cool.

Maybe one day I'll get the SA or maybe even the GL. At the moment, I'm more than happy with the C1.

One of the best sound carts I've heard.

Oh yeah, defo... The C1 is excellent. The GL or SA just things that bit further

Marco.

[Marco]

Just saw the listing on ebay mate, if it's the same place you got yours i can't believe they charge delivery as well

Which item and seller are you referring to, mate?

Marco.