Denon 103

**puroagave** · 02-12-2012, 12:29 PM

somethin' wrong with Pabst Blue Ribbon?

to me the 103 is more like a 98 point cab for $20/bottle

**puroagave** · 02-12-2012, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by mep

Doing some quick calculations, I don't think it wll mate well. It looks like your resonant frequency with this combo is around 15.69 Hz which is really on the high side. Also, your arm is a bit on the light side for this cartridge. Also, you would need a good, clean headamp with lots of gain and I don't think you have that with your Pioneer IA. The other option is using a step up transformer. I would steer clear of this cartridge if I was you. Somebody else who has heard the Rega arm with the 103R might have a different opinion.

I bought some weights off ebay specifically for the rega arms, they fit snug in the holes molded into the headshell. this is a comrpomise b/c you want the mass closer to the pivot. there are flat weights you can fit between the headshell and cartridge like these: http://www.theanalogdept.com/uwe_body.htm

**mep** · 02-12-2012, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by puroagave

somethin' wrong with Pabst Blue Ribbon?

to me the 103 is more like a 98 point cab for $20/bottle

My knowledge of wines is zip, nada. I wouldn’t know Boone’s Farm from a $2K bottle of snooty wine. But I get your point though. You rate the 103R higher on the refinement scale than I do.

**Ki Choi** · 02-12-2012, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by mep

My knowledge of wines is zip, nada. I wouldn’t know Boone’s Farm from a $2K bottle of snooty wine. But I get your point though. You rate the 103R higher on the refinement scale than I do.

Woooo! Boon's Farm Strawberry Hill and Mad Dog 20/20 '75 were my choice of vintages. Can't get them in Seattle...

Once when Yen was more reasonable, I bought three new DL-103Rs in Tokyo after trying one and was so impressed with the sound it made...

To me... the DL-103R is like the "two buck chuck" from Trader Joe's (it is actually $2.49 and may be only for NW area). It has no business of tasting as good as it does for its price and it comes with real cork to boot!

**flez007** · 02-12-2012, 01:55 PM

Digging deeper at the web, I see some go to the extent of changing the 103 plastic body to exotic woods, more snake oil?

**mep** · 02-12-2012, 01:55 PM

My mom loves two buck chuck from Trader Joe's. It has quite the reputation.

**garylkoh** · 02-12-2012, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by John72953

It's another one of those cartridges I've read and heard about so much. How well would one pair with an RB250?

Very well indeed if you added about 5 grams to the head of the RB250 - a pre-1983 penny stuck on with Blutack would do the trick. Even better would be a ring of blutack weighing about 10g halfway down the arm.

The very low compliance of the 103 requires an especially heavy arm.

**garylkoh** · 02-12-2012, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by flez007

Digging deeper at the web, I see some go to the extent of changing the 103 plastic body to exotic woods, more snake oil?

Some also run the 103 "nude". Every change in body makes it sound different - I am guessing because of the low compliance, it will put a lot of energy back up into the body and the arm. If your arm is not good enough, it can rattle the bearings.

But IMHO if you are prepared to work with it, the 103 is one of the great cartridges irrespective of price. The Magic Diamond is legendary among FM Acoustics phono stage owners in Singapore, and that is basically a modified 103.

**garylkoh** · 02-12-2012, 06:21 PM

This is a 103 to which almost every imaginable mod has been done. The plastic body was replaced with a CNC-ed wood body, and then potted with epoxy compound. To improve refinement and dynamics, the spherical stylus was replaced with a much-lighter line contact, and the aluminum hollow cantilever replaced with a shorter single-crystal ruby solid cantilever. Finally, the compliance was much increased to accommodate the modern mid-mass arms.

**MylesBAstor** · 02-12-2012, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by garylkoh

Some also run the 103 "nude". Every change in body makes it sound different - I am guessing because of the low compliance, it will put a lot of energy back up into the body and the arm. If your arm is not good enough, it can rattle the bearings.

But IMHO if you are prepared to work with it, the 103 is one of the great cartridges irrespective of price. The Magic Diamond is legendary among FM Acoustics phono stage owners in Singapore, and that is basically a modified 103.

IIRC, the Magic Diamond was Lloyd Walker's favorite cartridge for quite a while.