The Well Tempered Record Player and Denon DL103

Thanks Honest1,but i'm really looking for an MC.

10-02-10: Armstrod
Johnnyb53,

Seriously, I added up to 10 grams in 1 gram increments before I gave up; this was in the days before the aluminum and wood bodies that add so much mass, so it was mostly uncharted waters. I'm not sure that adding so much weight right at the headshell is a very good substitute for a true high mass tonearm.

That's still about 6-10g short of what a DL-103 needs.

Seems like the Zu/Uwe bodies are aimed at the Rega, which is medium mass and maybe closer to the goal to start with. Have you tried the Zu 103 with any low mass tonearms and gotten good results? If so, which ones? Maybe I just didn't go far enough.

Actually, I'm just arm-chairing this based on the compliance/mass formula, my personal experience with high and medium compliance cartridges with different weight headshells (Technics DD), and the reports, testimonies, and reviews of others.

Tone Publications, an online audio mag, was trying out a Technics SL1200 as a project spanning several months. The reviewers had several cartridges ranging from $200-4,000 on hand to check out, and they came away feeling that the best performance came with a Zu-103. The Technics arm has an effective mass of about 12g with the stock headshell. Zu's website mentions that the extra weight of the aluminum housing helps match the cartridge compliance to more tonearms.

Art Dudley gave it the Zu-103 a rave review in Stereophile, and he used it on Rega RB300 and Naim Arro tonearms, which are around 10-12g effective mass on their own.

Any other suggestions?
Lyra?
Benz?
Sumiko?
....???

The Well Tempered tables can sound a little laid back and that Zu 103 I'd mentioned above wakes it up and gets the toe tapping. I tried a number of other carts with my WTR including a Koetsu Rosewood Sig., Nagoaka MP-500, Shelter 501mk2, Dynavector 20xH, and Soundsmith Voice (that probably would have gotten me there too).

FWIW I hear Grados are nice on the WTs also, though I never got around to trying one.

Adry, FWIW -- two years later and with a different WT turntable! -- I used your cartridge upgrade strategy to great effect with my WT Amadeus GTA. The arm coped very well with both a DL-103R and the Lyra Delos which has replaced it.