Denon 103(R)

[SergeAuckland]

How do you expect a stylus like that to extract detail from the groove?Put a decent stylus on it and it can be surprisingly good.

Agreed. I'm sure the generator is very good, they've had enough time to get it right!

The cartridge was designed as a broadcast blunderbuss, able to cope with monkeys trained as DJs. Why anyone would want to use it for HiFi is beyond me.

Even EMT, with their TSD15, a rather more expensive cartridge, they have the original spherical as well as SuperFineLine and VDH options.

Sphericals are suitable for Dansettes only.

S.

 

[anubisgrau]

i'm wondering how many people out there heard 103R in an optimal arm.

 

[Guest]

i'm wondering how many people out there heard 103R in an optimal arm.

Probably not enough, I guess (though my experience is not vast) that many modern arms aren't that suitable for it, also it's not that easy to match it to a suitable phono stage apparently. It's an oddity these days, and an itch a lot can't resist scratching with varying degrees of success.....

None of this gets past the conical stylus though, it's a very good version of a conical, nicely made, but.....

(it still sounds good to me)

 

[edd9000]

The issue with the arms is the low compliance suspension and high tracking weight dumps more energy into the arm increasing coloration. Any low resonance arm, or one suitably heavy or damped enough will have no issues with it.

A Rega is fine.

Maybe it needs a floppy old S shape arm to sound nice with all those euphoric vibrations and coloration

 

[anubisgrau]

the only arm i've heard 103R really play at the level of accolades it gets from some people is extreme hi mass denon 12" broadcast arm - obviously designed for 103 pickups. it also has some special damping inside to meet 103 series needs and deal with the excessive energy produced by design faults (it also has a stupidly big cavity inside why it plays better nude). this arm combo is superb and lots of cons that puts people off from 103 series are not there.

another decent partner is EMT arm, not as good as denon but still worth a use.

technics, rega, etc - this would be a non starter for me. back in the days i had 103 in technics and stogi S arms. a move to a basic, nothing to write home about benz micro MC gold (the same price range) was a gigantic leap forward.

 

[Guest]

I do have an added soft lead weight under the 103 and an additional counterweight at the rear (made from sorbothane), this enables me to balance the arm and also adds mass to get the resonant freq in the right ball park.

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

I do have an added soft lead weight under the 103 and an additional counterweight at the rear (made from sorbothane) hit it hard repeatedly with a blunt 2Kg hammer, this enables me to balance the arm and also adds mass to get the resonant freq in the right ball park.

Fixed for you.

 

[Guest]

Fixed for you.

 

[edd9000]

I do have an added soft lead weight under the 103 and an additional counterweight at the rear (made from sorbothane), this enables me to balance the arm and also adds mass to get the resonant freq in the right ball park.

The issue isn't so much with the system resonance, cause by the effective mass of the arm and compliance of the cart, in fact this is rarely an issue at all unless at the extremes, a 103 on an SME 3009 series III, or a Shure V15 mk3 on an Ikeda.

The issue is the extra energy into the tonearm will set off the arms resonance. I say a Rega is ok, because its one piece alloy casting behaves well, very well compared to the standard Technics arm. Unless you wrap the thing in sorbothane, its not going to make any difference.

 

[navigator]

Dear son Rob rob rob - what are you doing ?

Stop it - think of the price- it will jump like the Eroica did ( also cheap rubbish - no one must buy those )!!

Oh I see

i got it- clever what you've done.

you' ve noted how totally absolutely amazingly wondrous it is in rega on Techy

just to bring out the nay Sayers and keep down demand.

Nice one.

i just nip over t Lancashire side and you're in house feeding Mr Goldfish and nicking kit!

Bring it back- (to throw in the bin of course)

truthfully - and don't tell anyone - it's not a spherical . And it's 10 cu (not 5 . ) and it misses so much detail -not even worth a listen

difficult to match to modern arms and a pig to suit electronically a real challenge and for what? A Benz is more hifi so buy that .

Oh well I guess -

103r is " musical" - it plays music like it's meant .

Nuff said .

i want to be at your next visit to a bake off - Can hardly wait . A marmite calamity on the near horizon!

 

[rmsshipbroker]

Disastrous news, he's only taking it to Scalford.......

 

[Guest]

Disastrous news, he's only taking it to Scalford.......

Yes only two albums in and I know that it's for life.

 

[rmsshipbroker]

Yes only two albums in and I know that it's for life.

Were they Weeping Willie and Dire Straits?

 

[Guest]

Were they Weeping Willie and Dire Straits?

How did you guess:shock:?

 

[rmsshipbroker]

How did you guess:shock:?

I am the psychic sidekick.

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Just play the two LPs as they will be cheap to replace after the 103 has re-modelled them :Tumble:

 

[early]

i'm wondering how many people out there heard 103R in an optimal arm.

I ran a few different 103 variants in a Dynavector DV505 , that arm suited them down to the ground . Suprisingly they also work well in unipivots I've got a 103r in my Nima and it works well .

 

[i_should_coco]

People clearly have different standards as to what is a good sound.

 

[Nagraboy]

People clearly have different standards as to what is a good sound.

I've never heard one Coco - how would you describe the sound of the 103?

 

[Guest]

I've never heard one Coco - how would you describe the sound of the 103?

This should be fun