Denon Dl 103 cartridge soundsmith question

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

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.

Your denon ss ruby/ocl must be much better than the original aluminum/conical ! 

My Zu Denon 103R has a white sapphire cantilever and Paratrace stylus. If memory serves, the VTF with the original cantilever/stylus was 2.5-3.00 grams. Or something close. I set mine to 2.25 grams (ESCCO, the one that put the new cantilever/stylus on, said it could track at a lower tracking force than that specified by Denon).

You may try a higher VTF, and see if that helps.
Regards,
Dan

I would definitely take Dan’s advice with respect to higher VTF. I ran Soundsmith modified 103R’s for about 6-7 years including one in an ebony body with the the ruby cantilver and OCL stylus.

Personally I would not consider tracking that cartridge below 2.3 grams and would probably experiment between 2.3 and 2.4 grams. 2 grams is ridiculously low, 1.5 grams absurd.

The OCL is also likely to be the most difficult stylus you will ever have to set up. Very small changes to VTF, VTA/SRA and azimuth will throw it off and have it sounding far from its best. The window in terms of all three of these setup parameters is extremely narrow so unless you are very lucky in terms of setup you are going to be doing a fair bit of experimentation to get this cartridge really dialed in.

Try and get the azimuth dead on to start with and then experiment with very small changes in VTA/SRA from a neutral position (top of headshell parallel to record surface) while re-adjusting VTF (I would probably stick to around 2.4 grams in the initial stages) each time you have adjusted VTA.

Once you feel you have the VTA nailed down/properly set, then try reducing the VTF in extremely small increments (about .020 grams). There will likely be a sweet spot between 2.3 and 2.4 grams in which lower starts to sound a bit more aggressive and hi-fi-ish and higher starts to muddy the bass/lower frequencies.