Just pulled the trigger on one of these babies....

[Marco]

I've been wanting to try a Denon DL-S1 for a while, so whilst 2juki were doing a good deal, with free P&P to the UK, I thought I'd take the plunge: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281171175461





Technical specifications and general info:

DENON DL-S1 PHONO CARTRIDGE

The Denon DL-S1 moving coil phono cartridge is Denon's top of the line phono cartridge. It is designed and crafted to provide the pinnacle of performance, a bold statement that should not be taken lightly given Denon's track record of producing moving coil phono cartridges that have withstood the test of time and penchant for understating the engineering genius of their designs. The Denon DL-S1 cartridge offers musical accuracy that is exemplary, breathtaking and addictive. It is a standard by which other pinnacle and topflight cartridges will be compared to. If you are thinking of spending up to 100 times the cost of the Denon DL-S1 phono cartridge, it may be wise to reconsider. Musical satisfaction could be less expensive than you imagine. The special features and technical specifications enumerated below offer a thoughtful glimpse of its capabilities.

Features:

1. Newly developed ultra fine wire combining gold and 6N copper. A newly developed ultra fine wire combining pure gold and 6N copper is used in the voltage generating coil. By combining the excellent qualities of gold and copper, the Denon DL-S1 is thus able to deliver uncompromisable and unadorned pure and clean analog sound quality. Pure music - that's what you get with the Denon DL-S1 MC phono cartridge.

2. Stable, analog reproduction via superb tracing capability. The use of a tapered cantilever, a non-magnetic coil bobbin, and a 0.07 mm micro stylus chip reduced the effective mass of its vibration system, lowered its mechanical impedance, and superbly improved its ability to trace the grooves in the record.

3. Elimination of unwanted vibrations with carefully selected materials. A ceramic frame and a highly rigid aluminum body to eliminate unwanted vibrations within the cartridge.

4. Denon's unique 2-way dumping system. The unique Denon two-way dumping system has been employed to suppress the tonal variations due to changes in room temperature and at the same time to obtain level frequency characteristics.

Denon DL-S1 Phono Cartridge Specifications:

- Type: Moving coil
- Output voltage: 0.15mV
- Frequency response: 20Hz-70kHz
- Recommended load impedance: Over 100 ohms
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: < 1db
- Channel separation @ 1kHz: > 28dB
- Stylus tip: 0.07 x 0.07 mm square solid diamond
- Compliance: 14 x 10-6 cm/dyne
- Recommended tracking force: (1.3g +/- 0.2g)
- Color: Black/Gold
- Weight: 7 g








I'll be using it with one of these headshells (in my Ortofon RS-212D tonearm):







Should be an interesting comparison with my SPU Royal GM MKII!

Full review to follow when it arrives (expected sometime between 12th-23rd April).

Marco.

[Barry]

Look forward to reading the review.

[Marco]

Can't wait to get my mitts on it, Barry. The DL-S1 has been on my radar for a while, and by all accounts is a bit of a 'giant-killer'... Could be the another AoS SPPV champion!

Marco.

[Tarzan]

I've been wanting to try a Denon DL-S1 for a while, so whilst 2juki were doing a good deal, with free P&P to the UK, I thought I'd take the plunge: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281171175461





Technical specifications and general info:

DENON DL-S1 PHONO CARTRIDGE

The Denon DL-S1 moving coil phono cartridge is Denon's top of the line phono cartridge. It is designed and crafted to provide the pinnacle of performance, a bold statement that should not be taken lightly given Denon's track record of producing moving coil phono cartridges that have withstood the test of time and penchant for understating the engineering genius of their designs. The Denon DL-S1 cartridge offers musical accuracy that is exemplary, breathtaking and addictive. It is a standard by which other pinnacle and topflight cartridges will be compared to. If you are thinking of spending up to 100 times the cost of the Denon DL-S1 phono cartridge, it may be wise to reconsider. Musical satisfaction could be less expensive than you imagine. The special features and technical specifications enumerated below offer a thoughtful glimpse of its capabilities.

Features:

1. Newly developed ultra fine wire combining gold and 6N copper. A newly developed ultra fine wire combining pure gold and 6N copper is used in the voltage generating coil. By combining the excellent qualities of gold and copper, the Denon DL-S1 is thus able to deliver uncompromisable and unadorned pure and clean analog sound quality. Pure music - that's what you get with the Denon DL-S1 MC phono cartridge.

2. Stable, analog reproduction via superb tracing capability. The use of a tapered cantilever, a non-magnetic coil bobbin, and a 0.07 mm micro stylus chip reduced the effective mass of its vibration system, lowered its mechanical impedance, and superbly improved its ability to trace the grooves in the record.

3. Elimination of unwanted vibrations with carefully selected materials. A ceramic frame and a highly rigid aluminum body to eliminate unwanted vibrations within the cartridge.

4. Denon's unique 2-way dumping system. The unique Denon two-way dumping system has been employed to suppress the tonal variations due to changes in room temperature and at the same time to obtain level frequency characteristics.

Denon DL-S1 Phono Cartridge Specifications:

- Type: Moving coil
- Output voltage: 0.15mV
- Frequency response: 20Hz-70kHz
- Recommended load impedance: Over 100 ohms
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: < 1db
- Channel separation @ 1kHz: > 28dB
- Stylus tip: 0.07 x 0.07 mm square solid diamond
- Compliance: 14 x 10-6 cm/dyne
- Recommended tracking force: (1.3g +/- 0.2g)
- Color: Black/Gold
- Weight: 7 g








I'll be using it with one of these headshells (in my Ortofon RS-212D tonearm):







Should be an interesting comparison with my SPU Royal GM MKII!

Full review to follow when it arrives (expected sometime between 12th-23rd April).

Marco.

[Marco]

You might end up with one yourself, Andy, as an upgrade over your DL-103

Marco.

[jandl100]

Ker-ching! - That's a £ in the charity box please

[jandl100]

I tried one of those Denon DL-S1 .... err, let's just say that it is VERY different from a 103.

I suspect you need more patience and applied resources to make it work than I was prepared to supply!

[NRG]

Will be interesting to read your thoughts on this one Marco. I was recently looking at these myself before taking the 103D and SA. Its a bit of an odd ball IMHO, it has very low output and very high compliance meaning arm matching may be a bit of an issue. I would have like to have seen it come with a better stylus as well...

[DSJR]

Yeah, should be a VERY different presentation to the SPU's, meaning the modern ones. 'Twill be fascinating to read your comments Marco

[Marco]

I tried one of those Denon DL-S1 .... err, let's just say that it is VERY different from a 103.

I suspect you need more patience and applied resources to make it work than I was prepared to supply!

Lol... Yup, I read the review in Pig! You know how it is when you have an itch to scratch, and the DL-S1's been such an itch, for me, for some time.

I'm confident it'll work, as I suspect it will like my valve phono stage, not to mention the Paul Hynes head amp, which can be tuned to suit any kind of loading or gain requirements, and with 15" Tannoys (and the fact that the Techy is a 'bass demon'), there is no lack of low-end extension in my system, so even if the Denon is a little leaner in that department than I'm use to, it'll be no bad thing

Anyways, muchacho, we shall suck it and see!

Marco.