TIME to break in a Denon 103R

Given equal improper alignment, other stylus profiles are more likely to do much greater damage.

True, I am very careful when I set up the Fritz Geiger stylus. Could become a flying knife down in the grooves. Trackability must also be factored in the wear equation, and that's a forgotten term amongst vinylphiles! Very few cartridges nowadays have excellent tracking, especially most of the 'audiophile' MC's. Mistracking with a spherical tip is very destructive. Please remember.

I remember when someone well respected here got into vinyl and brought over a Goldring cartridge for me to set it up. He had had arguments with me for me stating my opinion without his asking, so this time I just listened. The TT was a cheap ($30), s-shaped tonearm, 80's model. He had bought the cartridge because it was TWL's pick (what a riot!). OK, I installed it. I knew it would become a flying knife...

First, between the mid-late 60's and at least the 1980's virtually all records where cut using a tracing simulator in the lathe, which pre-distorts the signal to compensate the distortion of the spherical stylus. Playing them with any other stylus shape will not cancel the pre-distortion. Even without pre-distortion on the LP spherical stylii are much less sensitive to issues of VTA/SRA and misalignment, which leads us to the next point.
You know, this is a first for me. I suspected those 60's & 70's records sounded funny. Thorsten does make a case, indeed. My whole approach to basing my digital rig on a belt drive transport and making it sound as close to vinyl as possible also makes a case, too. So does the KAB modded 1200. All I would have to do is switch the stylus on the KAB modded Groovemaster when playing older records. Yes, I would be using a spherical DJ stylus, my friends!

KAB sells three versions of the Ortofon Concorde, the top model having a Fritz Geiger stylus. I've been to Kevin's house and heard his setup. All that have dealt with him know his analog knowledge is way up there--and he's a 60's guy, believe me. Unfortunately this time, he has a strict policy of not posting in audio forums.

Turntable/Phono Stage: Acoustic Solid 'Solid One' - German Mass Turntable, three Arm/Cartridge combo's mounted, custom LCR equalised Phonostage with E810F & D3a

So, I see Thorsten's point. He uses three arms (bet not all three cartridges have a spherical stylus). The KAB modded 1200 makes even more $en$e as time goes on...

And so, I've learned something new today. If my record collection is older, a spherical will most likely give good results. However, the cartridge must be an excellent tracker. Got to choose the moving magnet great trackers, Stanton 881S, Shure V15 V, Ortofon Concorde, Stanton Trackmaster.

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Larry, tell your friend that for a Denon 103 (or 103R) on a Rega, Twl's HIFI mod is an absolute must.

Trackability, my dearest Doug, trackability. Let's start playing those MC's on the Shure test records. I have the III, IV and V records. Wish I had purchased a V15 V and other classics before they were discontinued...

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50 hours sounds about right, though it will start sounding sweet maybe 20 hours in.

Btw, don't dismiss the 103R as just a backup cartridge or value option. (See my other post under the Zyx thread about amortization of R&D costs.) It's an incredible cartridge, full stop.

The only problem is that it's so cheap that people are apt to use it with less-than-stellar turntables, arms or - especially - phono stages that don't even get it close to its full potential. The Rega is never gonna get the best out of the 103R, even with Twl's Hi-Fi mod. It won't happen because the Rega, while a decent arm (at best), doesn't even come close to the magic of a 103R in the nice heavy arms for which it was designed.

And then we're talking LOMC... there's no particularly cheap way to step up volume from 3 microvolts to full listening level. We're talking absolutely top-quality step-up transformers (no R&D amortization gonna bring the cost down here, since the materials are just expensive and getting more so) or better yet, high high quality all-tube active phono amplification, which is just expensive, full stop. Certainly when compared to $250.

Don't let the price tag of the 103R full you. It deserves the absolute best and will deliver some of the best you've ever heard.

Patrick

I have no experience with the "R" version of the venerable Denon, but the plain 103 takes about 50 hours to fully burn-in, though reported hours vary from 20 hours to 100 hours, probably a synergy thing going on here. And I agree with Patrickamory on the subject of the Denon anyway: it is one of the finest MCs or cartridges of any stripe available, period, full stop, the end. It's bass, sense of rhythm and timing, palpability, vivacity and most of all gestalt/"organic wholeness" is right up there with the very best, if not better. Can you spell "M-U-S-I-C"? Detail isn't everything. As for the theory that a conical tip precludes detail, one has to hear a Denon on a top-flight 'table to hear what it can REALLY do, which, due to price, is a very rare occurence. Though it may not be state of the art, one would never guess in a blind test that one was hearing a conical tip, and it easily bests most if not all MMs in this category in my experience, and I'm a very serious self-avowed MM-man. All kinds of theories/myths out there which are just waiting to be verified by experiment ;-). So play that baby on something serious if you have the chance, and it appears you do, Larry, and trust your ears, you'll have an instructive blast!

Hey Johnnantais, there's something I mostly agree with you on. And also what Patrickamory is saying. I've had the venerable V15VxMR and a Benz Glider against the 103R. Both of these MC's track as well as the Shure. The combination of 103R/Vector was easily my choice over the Glider on a Graham 2.2. Now maybe it wasn't the absolute best with micro-dynamics, buth the 103R on a Vector was very musical but also had much better detail, quite surprising detail and bass. I can understand why Thom Mackris used a 103R for so long when traveling around. I think this also is in parallel with what Physicanimal is saying regarding trackability. The arm really does have a great impact on how this cartridge performs. (Well, duh, Dan.) I've gone back to an RB 300 recently as a temp solution until new toys arrive, but I can readily see where the Rega is lacking after having some much better arms to listen with. Still, one could do alot worse.

Back on the subject of surface area and the conical shape. I seem to recall some pictures posted somewhere on this subject, and I do see this under magnification. If you look at the 103R stylus head-on it does have a conical shape. If you look at the stylus from the side, it more resembles a ax head. Like if you take a cone and stretch it along one axis that is parallel to the groove. This shape results in ample surface contact area even though it is not very deep in the groove. From what I understand about the development of this cartridge, it makes sense. Much like Psychicanimal has posted, many others have confirmed that the 103R does seem to play LP's that are not in the best of condition better than some other cartridges. I think it does pretty good on LP's that are in great condition as well.