Denon DL-103 -- Was it a mistake?

Haha Audiofeil, you are never going to lift your grudge, are you? I *knew* you were a promoter of the MintLP. And you've been trying to hide it this whole time...

Dopogue: glad you're enjoying the DL-103. I'm sure with the retip and in a proper environment, the 103 sounds great. I'm anxiously awaiting the return of my ruby cantilever rebuild of my Virtuoso. Is the Uwe Pod just another body for the DL-103?

My advice - move on - I did! My DL-103 now sits quietly in its box after hours upon hours of trying to find the magic some seem to have found with it.

I think the Ortofon Red will be a much better match to your system and is a more well-rounded cartridge than the DL-103.

Don't get me wrong - I understand the infatuation here and over at AudioAsylum with the DL-103's midrange, but I could not live with it long-term in my system (KAB mod'd table, PS Audio GCPH phonostage, PS Audio GCC-250 control amp, Usher X-718 speakers). As you put it - it never sounded "right" to me and I found its midrange colored despite others opinions to the contrary.

The 640P is a very good stage for most carts, but I've read that it's a horrible match to the DL-103, so I'm guessing this only added to your problems. It should, however, be a stellar match to the Ortofon. I've heard the 2M series of and they are very very nice indeed.

I find it interesting that alignment became such a focus of discussion on this thread - the conical stylus of the DL-103 is probably the least sensitive to alignment issues of any cartridge I've heard in my resolving system.

I'm not sure how being a promoter of the MintLP is a bad thing. Since it's sold direct by the builder, no one who recommends it receives any benefits other than knowing they've suggested a device that works, as has been documented by at least a dozen users in the past year, including some of the most highly respected analog specialists on Audiogon.

Buy one. You'll be very glad you did.

I'm not trying to hide my "promotion" of the Mint LP. I am a very strong advocate of the device.

I also have no financial interest in it if that's your implication.

And I have no grudge; based on your posts it appears you lack the skills and/or understanding to properly align a phono cartridge.

It's that simple.

Vinyladdict:

It's good to find someone who shares my same experiences with the DL-103. I tried very hard to find the magic in this cart, but either it's not there for me, or my system is just a horrible match for it like you said.

As for the discussion on alignment, I agree with you. I never had any doubts about my alignment with this cartridge. The reason Audiofeil brought it up is because I was experiencing alignment issues before with a cartridge that had a completely bent cantilever (hence sending it in for repair and needing this replacement cart). Now he seems to think I'm completely incapable of aligning a cartridge. As far as the DL-103 goes, my alignment has been great (when using the supplied Clearaudio alignment card). I hear no inner groove distortion whatsoever, which is really the only strength I noticed about the DL-103 in my system. There is no possible way that the Clearaudio alignment card is so incorrect that the alignment it provides causes the DL-103 to sound as bad as it did in my system, particularly given the fact that it does have a conical stylus.

Tvad: I hold nothing against the MintLP. That was just a joke that goes back to another thread. I'm sure it's a great product and works as advertised, albeit a bit expensive.