Cartridge loading

@lewm ........My cartridge loading choices for Mc are: 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 & 1000 ohms.

@chakster ........the cartridge is in a milled aluminum body which is very heavy and absolutely no need for the extra weight. The set up of cartridge is perfect, why would I set it up again to load at 200 ohms? If it is set up properly, it should not matter as loading has nothing to do with correct cartridge alignment. The dealer (Adirondack Audio) put a lot of time setting up the cartridge and also used an oscilloscope in the process. When I got home, I rechecked the proper weight which was still spot on.

I am very happy at 1K ohms, I was just kind of wondering why.

Dynamic compliance of your DENON DL-103 cartridge is 5cu @ 100Hz , convert it to 10Hz and it will be 8.5 cu - this is extremely low compliance if you don’t know. Look at the specs of your Denon to check it if you don’t believe me. To convert 100Hz to 10Hz you need to multiply on 1.7, so this is why the compliance is 8.5 cu @10Hz.

The do yourself a favor and measure tonearm/cartridge resonance with a Test Record to make sure about resonance frequency.

Any cartridge with such a low compliance require tonearm with over 30g effective mass, Technics tonearm effective mass is about 11-13g as far as i know.

If your aluminum body made by Zu does not require a sub weight then it’s not heavy enough to increase tonearm mass twice as much!

Actually using an SPU on Technics tonearm is a perversion just like using Denon 103 on this arm. It’s like making a truck out of sport car. But the SPU models at least have an Elliptical or Replicant-100 stylus tip while your Denon 103 is a CONICAL (worst profile ever in the history, dirt cheap and full of distortion while playing).

Technics tonearm is a killer with high or mid compliance MM/MI or MC, but with the low compliance cartridges you’re close to the extreme.

I love Zu Audio speakers, but i don’t understand why you bought their Zu Denon for your tonearm ? Better cartridges with the most advanced stylus profiles and cantilevers are even cheaper than Zu Denon which is $750 as far as i know ? Maybe with harsh horn speakers a rolled-off Denon sound will help, but in a normal system it doesn’t (imo).

You can experiment with different loading for sure to find what you like, but you can change your cartridge to something perfectly match for your arm, it must be a mid compliance cartridge (not extremely low compliance like your Denon 103 / 8.5cu at 10Hz or 5cu at 100Hz).

@chakster ...........I bought the cartridge from Audiofeil ( sold via Audiogon) and was assured it was a good match for the VPI Scout that I bought it for. It was still pretty much brand new when I had it mounted on the Technics. In 2020, I plan to get the Dynavector DV 2X L cartridge as I owned the older model before and loved the sound. Do you think Audiofiel gave me a bum  steer?

@stereo5 47K is the standard for phono cartridge loading. 

I am very happy at 1K ohms, I was just kind of wondering why.

I explained why in my prior post. With a higher impedance load on the cartridge, the cantilever is more able to trace high frequencies.

Thanks Ralph!