Denon DL 103 MC cartridge compatibility?

I think that you will get some differing opinions here. The effective mass of the arm is around 9 grams, roughly comparable to the Rega arms. Many report good results with the cartridge in these arms. In my opinion, based on owning both the 103 and 103D, which is higher compliance, and using many arms, you will not get the full tonal color that the cartridge is capable of in such a light arm. Adding mass may help, but usually adding mass without increasing rigidity is a prospect fraught with problems. Adding the more massive headshell is certainly a good start, you might also check out the TWL mod to get some other ideas for adding arm mass. For me, if I were limited to that turntable, I would look to a more compatible cartridge. In the Denon line the 301 and the 110/160 are much more approprate to lower mass arms and will yeild a much better overall sound and better tracking to boot. YMMV

Another thought might be to look into the Zu Denon cartridges, or the Uwe Panzerholz body, both of which add mass, but nothing really will address the lack of rigidity of the arm.

Thanks! I am currently using the DL-160. I like the table so I'll just keep everything the way it is.

Thanks again.