Little help in cartridge purchase?

Viridian, thanks for the reminder. I forgot to mention the very fine DL103D in my list. Also a great value. For the money it is practically impossible to beat these cartridges. There are better ones, but you're going to have to pay significantly more to get them. They are good enough that many or even most people would not need to ever upgrade them. Of course, "need" seldom enters into our audiophile buying decisions, so many of us might "want" to spend a bundle to upgrade. I'm considering a Shelter for my next one.

If you like your original cartridge why not send it to Stanalog and have it repaired. I've had several cartridges rebuilt by them and they are usually better. They send them to Van Den Hull and he replaces the cantilever with a boron one and a Van Den Hull stylus. The new stylus rides deeper in the groove and extracts more information and less surface noise.

IMO, regarding the DL103, and I have one, the regular DL103(spherical stylus) model is the best value. It is $200 or less, and does as well as some very high priced cartridges. When you get to the DL103R(improved coil strucure), DL103PRO(Broadcast cart), DL103FLS(Hyper-elliptical line contact, ceramic body), you are raising the price close to where you can do better by spending a little more and going with a Shelter 501($650). The output of a standard DL103 is .28mv-.3mv and requires a step-up device. The correct load for it is 40 ohms. I didn't recommend it in my above post, because I didn't know if the PT-6 could handle it. I have since checked it out, and the PT-6 has ABEC 3 grade bearings, so it should do fine. ABEC 3 is the same rating as the bearings in the SME IV. The DL103 is VERY stiff and tracks at about 2.75 grams. It takes quite a few hours to break it in. Cartridge weight is about 8 grams, compliance is 5.

Viridian- Not sure if the 103D has a high enough output for this application. Don't know that much about the cartridge, but it has a great reputation here on 'Gon- any idea of output?? Also, it's been suggested that there are several variations- any idea which one is which??

Regards
Jim

Capaudio is right. Most people here are fairly honest but their idea of "mint" or "just broken-in" might not be the same as yours. Remember it's my stuff and your crap.
I have the Benz Glider MO and think it is fantastic. Check to see if you really need the HO. If not go with the MO. I wouldn't try to talk you out of the Glider, it's a great choice.
Good luck.

I'd think about a Dynavector 10x4 in that price range. Brand new and generally considered to be a real bargain for the performance level.

Buying a used phono cartridge is very risky since they are subject to wear and other damage. Since you have a Benz cartridge even if damaged it has trade-in value on a new Benz cartridge. You can even upgrade to a better model than the Silver you have.

Regards,
capaudio
HI END AUDIO