$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Oakiris, a "cheap and cheerful" setup for that rig could easily be a Denon DL103R and a HiFi tonearm mod. That is a really nice combination on the Teres/OL Silver rig, and I have used it myself for almost a year before moving to my present Shelter 501.

There are a number of users of this combo here on the Audiogon forum, and it is very satisfying for only a small sum of money. Total of about $275, as long as your phono stage can handle the low 0.27mv output of the DL103R.

You can read about this in my review of the DL103R in the product review section, and also some other users' info in the archives. The OL Silver will perform much better with this cartridge when my HiFi mod is utilized. This can be read about in the "Strange Tonearm Tweak" thread in the analog archives, and the thread describes the DIY process for you to make yourself very easily and cheaply. If you have questions, you may email me about it when I return from CES. I am the inventor of this mod, and can answer any of your questions about it. I'm sure that the many HiFi mod users on this forum will be happy to tell you how it improved their sound quality for practically no money.

With the Teres 160 and an OL Silver, it would be nearly impossible to get a better sound for your money than to use a DL103R and a HiFi mod on the arm. I've been around the block with this, and I'm not blowing smoke.

twl - Thank you for the "thumbs up" for my choices; I'm sure upgraditis will set in at some point down the line, but from what I have read and heard, I will be happy with this combo for quite some time. Chris of Teres also suggested that I use your mod for the OL Silver tonearm! Now I have to find the Denon 103R cartridge. I have found the cartridge at AudioCubes. Is there any other place that sells them new for the US market?

Oakiris, Audiocubes is the only one that I know of with the DL103R right now. It is really worth the extra money over the regular DL103. I found the regular DL103 to be a bit coarse in the top end, and didn't track as well as the DL103R. The DL103R was very smooth in the top end, tracked well, and sounded super for the money. It's a shockingly good with the OL Silver and the HiFi mod. Nobody would ever think it was an under $300 cartridge from the sound of it.

Hi Guys!

I own a Denon 103r cartridge bought at Audiocubes2.com, service was fantastic and the cartridge was delivered to my office just in time and at the agreed pricing.

I don´t feel the urgent need to go for something more, eventhough I would like to have one of Raul´s top top carts, this is sounding really nice - agreed with TWL on the mark.

Fernando

Artar - Congratulations for your analog purchase, you will surely enjoy it.

O.K. then - I believe I'll be purchasing the 103R sometime this month!