Denon DL-103

[Al ears]

Bretty, Until quite recently I was using a D103R cartridge, suggest you look for one of these. It has all the good points you mentioned with your 103 plus overall improvement and a tad more in the bass department. Get them for around £250. Having said that I have just noticed your kit and you may like to ignore the above as the 103R is a low output MC and you would need a phono preamp. A well, I'll put my thinking cap on again!

-Sigh- The standard DL103 is also a low output MC.

I see it is indeed, if Bretty is using some kind of phono amp then I'll stick with my DL-103R suggestion.

 

[Al ears]

Bretty, Until quite recently I was using a D103R cartridge, suggest you look for one of these. It has all the good points you mentioned with your 103 plus overall improvement and a tad more in the bass department. Get them for around £250. Having said that I have just noticed your kit and you may like to ignore the above as the 103R is a low output MC and you would need a phono preamp. A well, I'll put my thinking cap on again!

-Sigh- The standard DL103 is also a low output MC.

I see it is indeed, if Bretty is using some kind of phono amp then I'll stick with my DL-103R suggestion.

 

[Anonymous]

I see it is indeed, if Bretty is using some kind of phono amp then I'll stick with my DL-103R suggestion.

Why does the OP need a phono amp?

 

[bretty]

Hey all,

One last post to wrap it up:

Jase has decided not to have the 103, so i've thrown it back on the Gyro, to give it one last chance to impress me. I've listened to your tips about it loving mass and set it up, this time, with the maximum tracking force that the Technoarm will give me.

It has made some differences:

The sibilance has gone,

the treble is even better on cymbals,

and it's got a bit more depth.

But, unfortunately, it's not enough to make me keep it on the Gyro. I think if I'd heard the Denon in isolation, before i'd had the Shure, i'd have been happy with it. But, the fact of the matter is that the lowly little Shure has absolutely kicked the Denon's butt. It's more than just a kicking: The Shure kicked the Denon's butt, then set fire to it, filmed it and posted it on You Tube. It's not even close. The Denon leaves me cold, whereas the Shure has honestly amazed me this weekend with the realism of the sounds it's chucking out.

For a quick example, I was playing Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex magik today, and the drums didn't sound pretty close to a real kit, they were EXACTLY like a real kit, even down to the reverb that comes off the kick drum. I've never, ever heard a hi fi do that before. The same goes for Flea's bass. All the texture and decay of a real bass guitar was there. It's made me realise, in comparison, how artificial the bass on my CDP player is.

So, in closing: this has probably been a pretty frustrating thread to read, with me flip-flopping all over the place. Apologies for that.

My mind is firmly set now. The Shure is staying. for as long as it works, it's going nowhere.

and with that, where's me vodka?, i've got some expensive records to buy

 

[Al ears]

I see it is indeed, if Bretty is using some kind of phono amp then I'll stick with my DL-103R suggestion.

Why does the OP need a phono amp?

Personally I did not find the MC stage of the Exposure preamp up to much when fed by a very low output MC, if Bretty is fine with using it that way then thats OK! It's all down to your own ears.