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New Cartridge advice

I am looking for a new cartridge. I recently obtained a mint Denon DL-62 TT with 2 tonearms. I had the turntable cleaned and tuned by my local shop. Sounds great with my Stanton 681-EEE with the aftermarket Vivid line stylus. I also use a Nagaoka MP-200 with very good results.

I recently had my Darlington Labs phono amp upgraded to the MP8B and it will now support MC Cartridges with adjustable loading.

I have been torn between the Denon 103 series or possibly the Hana SL as my first purchase. The Denon TT has adjustable VTA. My concern is how well the TT can match the performance of the cartridge

System consists of Eversolo DMP8, LSA Warp 1 Amp and Linn Nexus or Tekton Lore Be Speakers.

Thanks

128x1281happyman
1happyman's avatar
1happyman OP
78 posts
 

@markmoskow 

Thank you for the specific information on what works with the Denon tables.. That's exactly the type of information I was looking for.

Thanks to that responded. Has anyone tried the Hana SL with a similar model Denon?

jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71
1,183 posts
 

Denon mc cartridges are still the best bang -for- buck mc cartridges. I have several, including a 304. In stock form they sound excellent! The Hana SL (Shibata stylus) sounds excellent too but at $700 is more expensive. 

1happyman's avatar
1happyman OP
78 posts
 

@markmoskow 

My Denon Dl-62 has both the straight and s-curved tonearms. Which would give better results with the Denon 301MK2? In the manual, it looks like the straight arm is for lighter carts. I do like the head shell mounting system on the S tonearm.

markmoskow
40 posts
 

If your Q-damping is working well it may not matter. In general, the Denon 3-series carts are light and go well with lighter tonearms, like the short one, while the S might work better with heavier carts, but the Q-damping should make them relatively resonance neutral. One of my original 301s, the lightest of them all, is on a very light unipivot (Magenpan Unitrac) on a Denon 55k. The 103 is heavier than the 3-series carts, and you could try it on the S. The Hana is light like the Denon 3-series should sound fine I would guess. On these Q-damped tables/arms (I have a JVC, similar or the same tech to Denon, I believe), to my old ears everything sounds good.

 

 

markmoskow
40 posts
 
@jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71

Have to agree about those 3-series carts being best bang for the buck, and then some. I wish I could find another 304. I also have a NOS S1 sitting around I've never used.

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