Should I replace Denon DL-103R with Dynavector DRT-XV1 mounted

tomic601

I know Mike, to well.. LOL TWO years on a C11, I thought I was going to go NUTS waiting. That was two years ago and I still haven't taken it out of the box. It's a fresh rebuild. He did my C20 at the same time. That took 4 months.. He built it for me, he new I was picky, he also matched the caps not just the resistors..

If someone want's a complete rebuild on a Mac he is the guy.. He is the only guy I know that ask a question and gives and answer all in the same sentence. He was also the only guy I know that could out talk my old boss AND NEVER come up for air..

True red sock green sock guy.. All my complaining he's still a brother..
Knows his Bible pretty well too.
Him and that 69 Cougar.. LOL That was a heavy bucket..

Sure is a good Tech, automotive shop teacher was his actual job. I taught him a thing or two about MY trade.. Hydraulics, DC voltage and CANN buss operation. Computer to computer communication system.. Little techie... He picked it right up...

Saginaw Michigan, yup.. He wanted me to pick up a 22U rackmount valve amplifier from a theater 350-400 pounds.. He was something.. :-)

Regards

You speak of Mike in the past tense. I hope he’s still with us. Yes?

Yesterday I replaced my Denon DL-103R with Dynavector DRT XV1 cartridge I've acquired on a used market. Before my initial impressions are mixed or forgotten or both I would like to go ahead and share them with those who pursue the same direction. 
The biggest difference that striked first for me was the user experience. The DRT XV1 cart is significantly larger, taller and heavier than Denon. Its cantilever is longer and the internals are exposed from its wooden body (this cart could be easily considered "naked"). Its recommended vertical tracking force 1.8 - 2.2 grams (17.5 mN - 21.5 mN) makes the anti-skating unnecessary. I've dialed it to zero and it still tracks beautifully while Denon required the anti-skating to be maxed. Because of its heavy weight it needs to be perfectly placed at the beginning of the record before lowering the tonearm otherwise it will slide across the multiple grooves. Not a big deal. 
For the sound quality there was no night-and-day-difference for me at least.
Just like with any other high-end component the sound needs to be understood first, and then appreciated. The channel separation was first I've noticed. It seemed like the microphones used for the recording were moved away from each other apart making the ordinary recordings sound closer to Blue Note ones. The sound itself is cleaner, sharper. It makes it almost digital to me. Denon was always giving me that impression it was analog. Dynavector cart reads tracks with almost digital precision, making it sound very clean, free of artifacts, perfect. I kind of liked Denon as it was more analog sounding to me, more tube like if you wish.
I will be keeping my Denon DL-103R as a backup cart for sure. Aside from being affordable, it provides an amazing sound quality, reliability, simplicity and it is even comparable to the cartridges that 10x times more expensive. It still makes me wonder if the sound quality is at the same level as it was before I switched to Dynavector  DRT-XV1.

That sounds about right, the Dyna smaller sharper more modern stylus equals cleaner, thinner, and more detailed sound. Many of the top flight cartridges uses similar profile. I still really like the Denon sound and can listen to the Denon for a longer period of time, but on certain pressings, the Denon doesn’t do these recordings justice, there are so much in the grooves that is left behind. How about adding another tonearm so you can play both.

mid to upper dyna’s >> denon 103 any day of the week, even the stripped down denon’s in various bespoke bodies

congrats op... :)