TIME to break in a Denon 103R

Wow,Larry! Slumming or just having fun with the 103R? :)

I seem to remember it taking 50+ hours. It sounds very steely for a while.

Which arm are you using it on?

My 103R was "steely" as Dan described, a bit "tight" and aggressive, although still very impressive, right out of the box. I noticed a major improvement at between 10 and 15 hours, almost like a light had been switched on. It became considerably more "relaxed" at that point and really got the ebb and flow of the music more. From there, I would say improvements were much more subtle. I would agree with Dan also that at around 50 hours give or take you should be fully broken in.

My Denon DL-103D took about 75 hours to fully break in after it was retipped, for what it's worth.

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Dan,
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The Denon 103R actually belongs to a friend who does not go on Audiogon that often. We were guessing at how long his new 103R would take to break in and I decided to ask the cognoscenti on Audiogon to share their experiences.
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I have been wanting to get one for educational / back-up purposes. I have always heard that it is one of the best values in cartridges.
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I was expecting some sort of flack for my post....thanks for not disappointing me (I was more expecting it to be Raul or Dr. Deacon).
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Rgds,
Larry
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I really like the 103R, even though mine developed some kind of issue where it will issue a pop from the left channel, maybe twice per LP side. What do you want from a $240 cartridge? I've thought about replacing it, but I'd probably go with the lower priced ZYX based on what I've heard.

"cognoscenti" ? Does that mean a**hole? Now, that I can identify with! :)

Best,

Dan