The Marco-boy main system, as of August 2020

[Marco]

Ah - I see what you mean:

Also, the leads have to cross one another between the headshell pins and the cartridge pins; so that will use up a bit of length.

Yeah, also see my previous post. It should be fine

I have no experience of your Denon, the only ones I have heard are my two DL103s; both of which are now down in the order of preference of my MC cartridges (having been surplanted by my EMTs, Ortofons, a Van den Hul, and my current favourite: the Ikeda C9 III (a cantileverless (à la Decca) moving-coil design, that combines the strengths of a Decca with that of a moving-coil cartridge, with none of the weaknesses).

No worries, and interesting... Didn't know about the Ikeda. When did you get that - did you post a thread about it? From your description, I like the sound of that. Also which VDH have you got?

The GL (I've heard one before, along the very similar 'SA') easily sounds as good, if not better, than any SPU I've had, and also the EMT, which as you know I've heard in my system and also love. Sonically, the GL is streets ahead of the stock 103, and indeed pretty much ANY 103. The only one that can touch it is the 103M [design-wise, quite a departure from any other 103], and of course the SA.

To all intents and purposes, the GL is a £2k MC cartridge, if made by anyone other than Denon (without access to their huge resources and economies of scale), in the days when they threw all their financial clout and know-how into cartridge design.

Marco.

[DarrenHW]

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...

Now that is one good looking 103

I'd like to get my ears around that SUT too, very interested to hear how it compares to the Lentek...

[Marco]

Cheers, mate. Hopefully it'll sound as good as it looks!

Yeah, the AU-310 SUT is an interesting one... It's pitched as being a budget model, but the sound I remember hearing, from back in the day, certainly wasn't 'budget'. I suspect that the transformers it uses from that period, based on the fact that it was introduced in 1976, would've been pretty good, hence my interest

Yes, it'll be interesting comparing it to the Lentek! Pop me a PM or give me a bell when you fancy coming round for a listen

Marco.

[Marco]

Oh, and fitting instructions:



Marco.

[matodono1]

Yes, lol! That's my next upgrade: an aluminium body. Going to use this chap in the States: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal...s/182245529410

I've no doubt it'll be as successful as what many have done with the DL-103...

Glad you're considering a Houdini. I know it may seem like a lot of dosh 'for what it is', but what it is, *is* probably one of the most dramatic upgrades you will hear, facilitating the accurate reproduction of music on vinyl - I cannot stress this enough, and indeed don't say such things lightly.

So you need to judge its cost against the level of sonic improvement it brings, and in turn the enjoyment derived from listening to your music collection. In that respect, TBH, I've heard complete arm-upgrades do far less!!

Plus, I know that the full-production item will have the Funk logo at the front (which mine doesn't), and come with professionally designed, attractive and tactile packaging, plus a set-up jig, to aid with installation - all of which will make the purchase a bit more 'luxurious' and enhance the Houdini's overall pride of ownership

However, 'fripperies' aside, what shouldn't be forgotten is that the Houdini fundamentally (and very ably), addresses a hitherto unknown problem that, undetected, has plagued vinyl replay for years, and in time I predict will become a ubiquitous accessory for all serious vinyl and turntable enthusiasts, keen to extract the maximum information from the grooves of their favourite records .

Therefore, I can give this marvellous little device no higher praise. Quite honestly, it's one of the most exciting new discoveries to hit the enthusiast hi-fi turntable scene in years!

Marco.

Interesting what you say about complete tonearms doing far less than the effect the Houdini creates. Houdini is the new great leveller. All Houdini equipped tonearms now sound pretty much the same except for very very subtle nuances.

Our latest tag line. The Houdini deletes the "tone" in tonearm.

[Barry]

No worries, and interesting... Didn't know about the Ikeda. When did you get that - did you post a thread about it? From your description, I like the sound of that. Also which VDH have you got?

The GL (I've heard one before, along the very similar 'SA') easily sounds as good, if not better, than any SPU I've had, and also the EMT, which as you know I've heard in my system and also love. Sonically, the GL is streets ahead of the stock 103, and indeed pretty much ANY 103. The only one that can touch it is the 103M [design-wise, quite a departure from any other 103], and of course the SA.

To all intents and purposes, the GL is a £2k MC cartridge, if made by anyone other than Denon (without access to their huge resources and economies of scale), in the days when they threw all their financial clout and know-how into cartridge design.

Marco.

Bought it from Tom (montesquieu): https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...+III+cartridge, and used in an Ikeda-modified Ortofon arm, the 309i (also bought from Tom).

[Wakefield Turntables]

Marco,

Sounds like your going to have a merry old time over the next few months. Good luck! I'll be certainly looking forward to what you have to report.

A

[Marco]

Interesting what you say about complete tonearms doing far less than the effect the Houdini creates. Houdini is the new great leveller. All Houdini equipped tonearms now sound pretty much the same except for very very subtle nuances.

Our latest tag line. The Houdini deletes the "tone" in tonearm.

Lol, I like that one!

The statement I made is true, quite simply because NO tonearm fixes what the Houdini does: a fundamental problem that hobbles, not only the performance of ANY arm or cartridge, but their ability to accurately retrieve the musical information from the record grooves!

Yes, a well-designed tonearm is mandatory, and brings its own benefits, but none facilitate the (all important) decoupling of the cartridge from the headshell, like the Houdini, and where instead the cartridge is tightly coupled, resulting in the loss of so much MUSIC... And you simply won't appreciate that until you hear the effect for yourself.

The removal of that bottleneck, therefore, is what makes the Houdini essential for anyone who truly wants to hear their record collection at its best!

Marco.

[Marco]

Bought it from Tom (montesquieu): https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...+III+cartridge, and used in an Ikeda-modified Ortofon arm, the 309i (also bought from Tom).

That's a gorgeous thing, Barry, and certainly ticks a lot of boxes for me! I've never heard one, but would dearly love to at some point. You got a bit of a bargain there, too!

Marco.

[Opti-cal]

RE: Houdini

This is really interesting guys.

I have literally heard the benefits from fitting shims between the headshell and cartridge. One of my tonearms does not have VTA adjustment so it was more out of necessity than experimentation. When I fitted a shim (just for fun) on a TT and arm with VTA adjustment, it sounded better leveled with the shim in place than leveled without . . .

These were just plastic ones, but I did consider that using different materials could make a difference. Sounds like I may have heard what improvements a 'poor mans' Houdini could bring. I don't doubt that the effect could be significant with large audible improvements, given the obvious research and engineering that has gone into making something like this.