Phono stage good for classical and jazz?

Abp689, the Herron suggestion is also excellent. It is a great sounding phono stage and I have heard both it and my modified EAR side by side extensively. If I had to choose between the two, IN MY SYSTEM, the Herron would come out on top. I did precisely what Bpolleti suggests and almost pulled the trigger on a trade-in. I didn't for two reasons:

I use both MM and MC's and the Herron does not accept both. To be clear, my comments about the EAR in MM mode should not be taken to mean that it will always sound better in MM mode. I believe that in the cartridge league that the Denon 103 and the Dyna are in (IMHO), as good as they are, there are better alternatives in the HO camp for similar money; issues of tonearm compatibility aside, which are very important as br3098 points out. With a great MC on the appropriate arm, it may be a much better sound for you. The other reason is that as great as the Herron is, the MC version is not a pure tube design and it does have vestiges of ss sound; the EAR is a pure tube design and sounds it. Neither is perfect, and since I prefer the pure sound (EAR's shortcomings and all) I stuck with the EAR.

Re Telefunkens: it's been a while since I shopped, but you may try Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio. Another to try in the EAR which I liked very much and can be found inexpensively are Raytheon's (look for the 7023 variant; most don't know what they are and can be found cheap and worth trying). Good luck.

Frogman, thanks for the extensive write up. It got me thinking about system add-ons. I would like to either grab a spare pre or another cartridge to change up the sound and the Herron sounds like a good place to start.

But first the Raytheon's.

br3098, both the accuphase and project phono S do support MC. it will be very obvious if you are using a MC cartriage with a MM only phono amp

is there something i can do to rememdy the mismatch, blu tec a nickel to the tonearm some people sugguest?

unfortunately, I have to stick with what I have for a while?

Jackyjack,

No, you really can't overcome a fundamental compliance mismatch between cartridge and tonearm. Adding mass will simply add mass where neither the tonearm or cartridge designer wanted it, and still won't overcome the basic mismatch problem.

You can order a Denon DL-110 HOMC cartridge (plays through the MM stage) for just $87. I would give that a try first and see if it sounds better than your DL-103R before dropping some major gelt on a (possibly unnecessary) external phono amp.

If you think that you need a new phono amp on a budget, I have had heard good results with the Lehmann line. They have units in all price ranges from <$500 to approx. $2K.

Having said that, there are lots of guys who use and enjoy the sound of their DL-103 cartridges on lighter-weight tonearms. I'm just not one of them.