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Denon 103 or 103R, Matching/Specs. w/Rega Arms etc

OK, I've looked through the threads and tried to do my own research...but it's a lot of work to figure out some of the spec. (compliance, loading etc) issues and how important/priority it is to sonics, or when you're not really sure what everyone is talking about.

Eventually I plan to get a Michell Tecnodec or Gyro. I probably will have a RB250 on it with one of the tecnoweights (13g max). One day maybe will get a tecnoarm (believe it has a lighter overall mass than with its RB250 origin).

Is the stock denon 103 or 103R suitable? What about with a the Zu103 (R) mod (this cartridge is very heavy)?

I contacted Zu about their cartridges and they were very nice but still unclear about the specs/compatibility issues.

For all the analog sages out there, generally for all cartridges, if I want the best performance from my cartridge, what specs (specific numbers) should I be looking for to match with Rega arms (RB250 and their various renditions)?

Any "rule of thumbs" for LOMC cartridges and phonostages? (gain, loading/impedance etc)......

Does compliance have to do with the tonearm, and loading to do with your phono stage?

or point me towards a good book.

Thanks in advance.
elf73
5 responses Add your response
sarah2
7 posts
 
The Rega will work but you won't realise the real potential of the 103 on that light of arm.

Yeah it's a lot of work. This is an education process that I believe you can not just look at. Plan on spending a lot of time here on Audiogon, Audio Asylum and theanalogdept to name a few places to educate yourself. A whole lot to digest but necessary or do you want 10 guys to tell you what works for them and then pick one. I'm not being sarcastic. If you enjoy the research you will find the answers that will suit you and your set-up. If not you might be better working through a dealer.
gadfly's avatar
gadfly
194 posts
 
You can get nice 3+ grams weights for the rega arms from audioorigami that will nicely increase mass. You might need to find something to add weight to the counterweight.
rodman99999
3,557 posts
 
Here's some helpful info:(http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/tonearmcartridge.html) (http://www.hagtech.com/loading.html) The compliance of the cartridge you choose and the effective mass of your tonearm will determine the resonance of the system/combination. The loading of the cartridge will mostly affect the freq. response. My Denon 103D's response was tested by Denon(and works best)at 1000 ohms. They used to provide a test result graph and specs with each cartridge.
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
I ran my later 103R with a modified RB300 with no problems at all - enjoy!
tobes's avatar
tobes
302 posts
 
In theory the medium mass Rega should work fine - I've used the 103R with my medium mass (~11g) Graham 1.5T and it worked beautifully. Sounded fabulously involving and was (surprisingly) one of the best tracking MC's I've used. When measured with the HFN&RR test disc, both vertical and horizontal resonances were around an ideal 11Hz.
I think the problems some people have with medium mass arms is dealing with the resonances of the 103's plastic body - not incompatibility with the primary resonance of the cantilever system. The heavier arms might be damping the actual body resonances better - on some tables. So technically medium mass arms work just fine, but IMO would need to be a quality arm/table to get best results. I think there is a lot of anecdotal evidence from 103 users to support this.

Also - with reference to the reply from Rodman99999 above - the Denon test graph that came with my 103R was done at 47Kohms(!), but I would not recommend using this load for listening. 100ohms sounds best in my setup.
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