AR XA turntable needs new cartridge...

jim, normally I have respect for any comment offered by lewm, but here I have a different view.  Unfortunately many today believe the AR is not worth considering, particularly the tone arm.  But here is a full evaluation which states respect for the original design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rgK0YMsJXM

For years George Merrill offered upgrades to the AR, but possibly no longer does.  However parts and advice are offered here.

https://vinylnirvana.com

The original arm is low mass so high compliant cartridges perform best.  Either finding a new stylus for your Shure or going with an appropriate Grade or AT are options.  I expect the Denon 103 requires far too much mass for decent performance.  And yes, overhang is adjustable, but offset is not with the original headshell.

A few years ago I restored an early AR-XA for elderly friends so they could sell it.  Once completed I was pleased by the musically rewarding results.

The comment I made was based on my understanding of the OP, wherein he indicated at least that he does not want to mess with the OEM turntable and tonearm.  Now, I guess you guys have got him talking differently. Sure, a George Merrill upgraded ARXA is a whole different ball game.

Discussion of the AR XA brings to mind an early personal experience in my audio journey. Perhaps it will serve as an answer (opinion) to the OP’s question.

It was back in college that I first heard an AR XA. I will never forget the first time I heard a friend and fellow budding audiophile’s AR XA. I had been using a Technics SL-1700 direct drive table in my own system and was absolutely amazed when I heard his AR. Holy cow! I heard the rhythm and groove of music that I had been missing. How could this be? The Technics was DIRECT DRIVE! Modern technology after all. There is another thread here that asks “what is turntable liveliness?”. Compared to my Technics the AR had it. The Technics sounded rhythmically dead by comparison. The AR also portrayed more realistic tonal colors. This in spite of the fact that that the cartridge on my Technics was the ADC ZLM, a more refined sounding cartridge than my friend’s ADC XLM II.

Now, let’s keep things in perspective, The Technics was one of their less expensive models and neither it nor the AR would come close to the sound of my first “good” turntable that followed, the VPI HW19. Point is, and as Pryso states, the AR is capable of quite decent sound.

My suggestion to the OP is to keep things vintage. I don’t know if the ADC XLM was responsible for the more than decent sound that I heard from the AR, but I do know that it seemed to be very happy mounted on the AR’s lowly tonearm. I don’t know how much ADC XLM’s can be purchased for these days, but I do know that they can be found on the used market and decent replacement styli are available. Probably for around the OP’s budget price in total.

(Man! That was almost fifty years and several turntables ago!)