1. Home
  2. analog
  3. 145113-2537

need some help with Denon DL-103r OR Suggest a different cartridge

had a Denon DL-110 cartridge and liked it and something happened to the stylus and had the money , so bought a new cartridge.   picked up a Denon DL-103r, got it all setup and did some adjustments on the SIm Audio Phono preamp and not liking what I am hearing.            

I am not sure if a setting on the phono preamp is not right, but dont have nearly the overall volume that I had before and the bass sounds weird now ( speakers are Magnepan 1.7i's and they sound as if the music is distorted ?)

Capacitance : I have set at  0
Resistance :  I have set at  470
Gain           :   I have set at 66

On the tube preamp I have, the builder adds a gain dial on the back to match the amp better, and have tried adjusting that along with the main volume on the preamp and no improvement .

Is there a another setting that I should try ?           Or look for a different cartridge ?

riley804
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
You can try different loading for any MC to find out what’s the best, it will change the sound. You can load your cartridge at 100 Ohm , 500 Ohm , 1000 Ohm, 10 000 Ohm or even 47 000 Ohm ... but only if you have this option on your phono stage.

Basically you’re using an oldschool cartridge with Conical tip, the contact area of the tip is very small, so do not expect deep bass or clear highs with your 103R cartridge. It was designed for Radio Broadcast in the ’60s!

Your DL-103r cartridge is low compliance and you must have superheavy tonearm to use it.

Also your ex DL-110 was 1.6mV (with Elliptical tip) which is much easier to drive by any phono stage.

Your DL-103r has very low output 0.25 mV (with Spherical tip), so make sure you have the right phono stage to drive it.

If you want to get rid of all the problels associated with Low Compliance, Low output MC then try some decent MM or MI instead, at least you could compare them side by side. Maybe you have to invite friends with different cartridges ? Anyway to suggest a better cartridge it woule be nice to know the budget, you can always go up to $12k for an MI like that new TopWing from Japan, designed by ex Grace employee, but i think there are many great vintage MM/MI cartridges for $400-600 or near.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
2,678 posts
 
Since you liked the DL-110 you should get another one. Try to get a refund on the new DL 103r or try to sell it for the most you can get for it!
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
Not sure how many cartridges did you tried in your system, but even if you like the entry level DL-110 it does not mean that you have to stay with it forever. You'd better try a cartridge with different stylus profile, the DL-110 was an Elliptical, look for LineContact type (Shibata, MicroRidge, MicroLine, Gyger, Replicant 100 and related). Look for better cantilever such as Beryllium, Sapphire, Ruby, Boron. And more important, if you don't have enough gain, look for MM or MI with output of 1.2 - 4mV, (don't buy High Output MC it will only increace the mass of the coil). You have to take in count an effective mass of your tonearm to choose the right cartridge (compliance). 
More to discover