2. analog
  3. 152760-114525

Denon Dl 103 cartridge soundsmith question

Hi Everyone,
Recently i acquired a mint Denon DL 103, soundsmith ruby OCL retip. As this is my second cartridge, the earlier one i had was Shure  M91ED MM cartridge. As i am quiet new to Turntable and do not have much experience about it, your inputs would help me.
I have never listened the original DL 103, i would like to know if the retip still has the warmth that original cartridge is known for(I could not sense any compared to my shure)? Compared to the shure the only difference i noticed is that the Denon has more top end and is more resolved. But at the same time, it seems to have lost the depth, the sound is not 3D anymore. The cartridge is new, so I am thinking maybe after breakin this issue would be resolved or not.
Any thoughts?

Regards,
Rakesh.
rockymystic
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
What they call a re-tip is, unless I am mistaken, a lot more than just swapping the old worn stylus out for a new one. The cantilever is replaced as well. Since the cantilever attaches at the other end to the generator coils (or magnets if MM) then its reasonable to expect the usual changes and improvement same as with any other new component.

Since depth and resolution are a couple of the more obvious improvements expected during burn-in I would say, for now at least, to just relax and feed it some sides and see how it goes.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
(he means sides of records)
billwojo
397 posts
 
What tonearm is the Denon mounted on, sounds like it's not a good match. The Denon is a very low compliance cartridge.
This means that the cantilever is very stiff and needs to be mounted in a high mass tonearm. If it's mounted in a low mass tonearm than most of the energy of the cantilever moving back and forth is not generating a signal, it's simply vibrating the tonearm.A high mass tonearm resist the rapid movement and the cantilever can now generate a sufficient signal.So first thing we need to know is what tonearm is it mounted on or the TT model number if it has an integrated arm.That Denon has a lot of potential mated to the proper arm.
BillWojo
rockymystic OP
5 posts
 
I have a compatible tone arm, its AT-1005 mk2, with AT-MS10 headshell, i have tracking set from 2 grams and later to 1.5 grams. I am using modded  lenco idler drive turntable.
More to discover