What cartridges under $800 outperform DL-103R?

Great thread! I'm interested in reading the responses. I personally have a stock 103-R, and am wondering the same thing as you.

In the upper end of your price range, you may also want to consider the Sound Smith Adia and the Sound Smith Nude 103R w/ Ruby Cantilever and OCL stylus. I have these 2 other options on my "watch list". I sent Peter Lendermann (Sound Smith) and e-mail asking him to comment on his 2 offerings - here's his response (posted without his permission, but I can't imagine he'd mind):

The Nude 103R/Ruby/OCL is a very good MC cart; according to many who have purchased them, it outperforms MC’s costing far more. I use the same stylus configuration as the Aida, so that is an easy comparison with other types of styli. The OCL requires precise Azimuth alignment, as well as all the other alignments.

The Aida comes in several flavors, so there is some flexibility here; high and medium compliance for varied arm masses, and either the standard 400pf or special 100PF loading, as requested. It is designed to work with MM preamps, and if the gain can be set to 40-44, that is best, as it will then better “Match” the levels of your other sources (CD, Tuner, etc…) but will work fine with the standard 36dB gain found with most MM preamp designs.

In the effort to compare the designs, you will be best served by my pointing out the technical differences. The Aida has far lower EFFECTIVE moving mass; that means that the stylus/cantilever has an easier time controlling, and not being controlled, by the generating element. This affects details and distortion; it affords the cartridge what is often referred to as “speed” or transient capability. It also allows lower VTF; 1 gram for the high compliance, 1.4 for the medium, which has an effect on record/stylus wear. Since the Aida is a step down from the Voice, the big brother, it still maintains many of its characteristics. Reviews and comments indicate that it compares very well with carts costing much more. We are now listed in Stereophile’s A rating for the SMMC1/Aida, as well as dollar value. They put us in with carts costing $2400 - $6500.

There are those who love the sound of MC carts, even though some may not be very accurate. I have no problem with that; there are details in some records that you don’t want to hear, and a slower cart will not reproduce them as well. My personal preference however, has always been to hear everything that is there in the vinyl, great, good or mediocre.

Peter is a good guy, and I appreciated his response.

Denon 304.

Second the recommendation for the Audio Technica AT33PTG. I've been able to listen to both this cart and the 103 in the same TT (Scheu Premier MkII/Scheu Cantus) and the 33PTG got my vote easily.

I own both a stock Denon 103R and a Zyx Bloom (.48). They're both pretty good and I'm not sure I could call either one better overall. The 103R has great extension at both extremes, but the highs are a little more etched and the bass just slightly fat. The mids are fabulous and the detail is more than adequate throughout the range. The conical stylus makes it very easy to set up, since it's not real sensitive to misalignment, but also makes it noisier in the groove.

The Zyx is more refined and tighter within its range and has better detail than the 103R, but doesn't have that real magic in the mids. It needs far more careful alignment, but is WAY quieter in the groove once it's dialed in. When I bought it, I didn't have as much phono gain as I have now, so I got the higher output version. The .24 version might be a little different - I'm sure Mehran could describe both for you.

That brings up the final point. While the Denon has 40-50 years of Denon research and refinement behind it, the Zyxs have Mehran, at least here in the US. He's a pleasure to work with, and a true gentleman.

I fear your experience with the cartridges you're considering may be the same as with the Benz you tried - while they may all be different from the 103R, they may not be noticeably "better".

David

I own a 103R. I also recently sold my ZYX Airy 3. While the Airy 3 was better, especially tonally, I don't think it was as much as you'd expect given the price difference. My opinion is the 103R is a great cartridge that belies it's price, as opposed to the reverse. I owned a Shelter 501MkII that I liked as much or better than the 103R. I also just bought a Shelter 901 for $600 with the top shelf Soundsmith modifications (3 levels available on their website for your 103R or buy one already moidifed- That should tell you what Peter Lendermann thinks of them) but I've not had a chance to mount it yet.