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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
donvito
81 posts
 
The Grado Sonata or Platinum would be a good match for that arm.
https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges/brand/Grado-Labs
You can use this to find out what cartridge will be compatible with your tonearm!

http://www.mh-audio.nl/Calculators/RF.html
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
The Moerch is definitely not a a high mass tonearm, and you can’t add mass because the headshell is not removable, you can only add mass a little bit with two heavier mounting screws for the cart.

The effective mass of the tonearm for your low compliance Denon must be 25-35g !

Moerch is a nice tonearm for modern mid and mid-high compliance cartridges.

What you’re using is not only an inferior rolled off cartridge designed in the 60’s for radio broadcast, but a total missmatch with your modern tonearm (effective mass).

You should really understand what is the resonance frequency for the arm and cartridge and why it’s impossible to use such a low compliance cartridges on retatively lightweight modern tonearms.

The advices from the people to stay with Denon is useless, because it is much cheaper to buy an optimal cartridge for your tonearm than vice-versa. Your DL-110 is also a low compliance cartridge.

You can buy a decent MM or even MI for $400-600 as you suggested.
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
according to the Moerch site....I have the green dot and the effective mass is : 4g

for budget, would like to stay in th $400 - 600 range.


A few exceptionally good high-compliance cartridges for your lightweigh tonearm (within your budget):

ADC TRX-2 IM (Induced Magnet) with Sapphire Cantilever and Vital diamond. ADC (Audio Dynamics Corporation) under a new ownership continued making High-End cartridges. To develop ADC sound they hired Nakansuka San from Japan, now he’s the owner of ultra high-end brand ZYX. You may think that ZYX is this brave new phono cartridge manufacturer, but its founder and chief designer, Hisayoshi Nakatsuka, is far from being a newcomer. Nakatsuka San has been working for Namiki, Accuphase, Adcom, Ortofon ... Back in the 70’s top of the line ADC TRX series was designed by Nakatsuka San (ZYX). Flagship models ADC TRX-2 with Sapphire cantilever and Vital II nude diamond is one of the best ADC cartridge designed under new ownership.

Sony XL-50 MM with Boron Hollow Pipe Cantilever and Super Elliptical tip, unique jointless delta-type core. My latest discovery, amazing cartridge.

Pickering XSV-3000 MM with Stereohedron tip (just like Stanton 881s) is the best and the cheapest all rounder. I have a spare cartridge and spare sealed NOS stylus.
riley804 OP
628 posts
 
thoughts on this one :

https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-cartridges/soundsmith-carmen-high-output-moving-iron-phono-cartrid...

regarding the Picering XSV, if something should happen to it, can it still be fixed by Stanton or is that not possible ?       


chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
regarding the Pickering XSV, if something should happen to it, can it still be fixed by Stanton or is that not possible ?

All Stanton / Pickering top of the line cartridges from the 80’s can be fixed by the UK company Expert Stylus with their Paratrace profile. That comapy was the original manufacturer of the Stereohedron stylus patented by Stanton Magnetics back in the day. The Paratrace is the closest profile. Actually every Stanton/Pickering collector aware of the Expert Stylus service. My friend @nandric retipped some of the very expensive LOMC cartridges from his collection in the UK at Expert Stylus with Paratrace profile, so i think you can trust.

BUT as i said the NOS (original) styli can be found sealed even today, so no need for retip or refurbish. I have much more expensive and rare Stanton cartridges with a bunch of NOS sealed Stereohedron styli for back up. The goal of the MM is replacement stylus, we don’t need SoundSmith or anybody else to keep vintage MM alive for years. The life span of the Stereohedron stylus is twice as much than the Elliptical

BTW SoundSmith cartridges are not High Compliance, they are 22cu @ 10Hz or even lower , while all 3 cartridges from my recommended list are 30cu @ 10Hz and higher in Complinace which is better for such a light mass tonearm (the OP said it’s just 4g)

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