Now THAT is skeletal Ronnie!! Reminds me of my first Lenco set-up, when I had no tools and no plans and the Lenco was sitting on stilts (that model, an L75, had usable metal stilts for some reason) with the Rega RB300. Even over a budget NAD 3020i/Boston A40 MKII system I heard details from my records I had never heard before, and with more musical intensity to boot. And this in comparison to both Maplenoll and Audiomeca turntables.
Great info for the Lenco archives Jim, keep'em coming.
Up here I'm still in the process of rebuilding my Garrard 301 grease-bearing, a big job!! But almost done, and hope to be hearing first notes very soon. Been playing with a variety of tonearms, have to say the Dynavector 507 MKII is perhaps the best I've heard (but the RS Labs may match it overall, but not for bass, have to listen some more), and it's not just audiophile niceties the Dyna excels in, it is also incredible at PRaT and gestalt, and an amazing match for the venerable Denon DL-103s. Too bad I can't afford one. Also playing with a Morch UP-4 unipivot, which is very light on its feet and ultra-detailed, reminds me very much of the Mayware, if better-behaved. And in spite of all these great tonearms, or perhaps because of it, my admiration for the Rega RB-300 just continues to grow as even in this august company (and including my experience with the SME V), the Rega holds its head up high. Likely due to its ultimate rigidity and simplicity (no rattly bits), even more rigid than the SME V (bolting arrangement simpler and stronger, no convenient doodads attached, etc.), the Rega has a PRESENCE, or palpability, none of the other tonearms so far have matched. In addition, in terms of detail, provided it has been re-wired, it is very close to the best, as it is in the bass and overall dynamics. The Dyna sets the standard here, but the Rega is not crushed. And, as if this weren't enough, the Rega is musical and easy to set-up!! I'll always have one anyway.
Which brings me to a phrase I always hear about various components, which ties in in turn to the history of audio. The old phrase "Poor Man's..." Now, I always heard that the Denon DL-103 is a Poor Man's Koetsu: it is no such thing. The Denon is superior in drive, PRAT and gestalt to any Koetsu; the Koetsu is superior in the purely audiophile areas of detail, frequency extension and imaging. This goes possibly for every single MC ever made, though the Dynavector 17D MKIII might stand a chance and the Ortofon SPUs. Since making music is the Prime Directive for any audio component, this places the venerable Denon DL-103s at the top of the heap, which is why they're venerable, in spite of being constantly damned with faint praise (many know better).
So how does it get the reputation of being a Poor Man's Koetsu? Because those who listen and write this choose to ignore the superior PRaT, drive and gestalt of the Denon and focus exclusively on detail and such-like (AND price), the great sickness /obsession of modern audio/audiophiles. Similarly, many years ago, when all were singing the praises of the superiority of the belt-drive over the idler-wheels they replaced, they chose to ignore the loss of dynamics and PRaT, of bass and excitement, and focused exclusively on other things, mainly a diminution of rumble (which it turns out was in many cases a myth and restricted to a few poorly set-up 'tables). Much more recently, the hyping of digital technologies also ignored the loss of musicality, and was leavened by a heady mix of misinformations, including the mythical increased dynamic range of digital media over analogue, which simple hearing (and various research papers which contradict the other research papers, which are based in unproven theories and the careful choosing of certain statistics and mathematics or other less "helpful" ones to achieve certain results on paper...Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics) proves is not so. Which is to say that many "improvements" are bought at a price, that the price is utterly ignored, the pretense (La-La Land) being there isn't one, and that thus Progress and improvement is in many cases a myth. When the Denon's superiority (and many other pieces) in certain areas is accepted by the high-end designers and matched by them as a base-ground, THEN we will have Progress, not by pretending these superiorities, and the cost of losing them, doesn't exist. Those who take the time to actually listen to a properly set-up idler-wheel drive, rather than stick to their hoary old (and new) theories, learn this lesson.
Distilling all this, the Idler/Rega/Denon combo is THE greatest value in high-end audio today! Dependable and unfinicky too. Have fun all!!
Great info for the Lenco archives Jim, keep'em coming.
Up here I'm still in the process of rebuilding my Garrard 301 grease-bearing, a big job!! But almost done, and hope to be hearing first notes very soon. Been playing with a variety of tonearms, have to say the Dynavector 507 MKII is perhaps the best I've heard (but the RS Labs may match it overall, but not for bass, have to listen some more), and it's not just audiophile niceties the Dyna excels in, it is also incredible at PRaT and gestalt, and an amazing match for the venerable Denon DL-103s. Too bad I can't afford one. Also playing with a Morch UP-4 unipivot, which is very light on its feet and ultra-detailed, reminds me very much of the Mayware, if better-behaved. And in spite of all these great tonearms, or perhaps because of it, my admiration for the Rega RB-300 just continues to grow as even in this august company (and including my experience with the SME V), the Rega holds its head up high. Likely due to its ultimate rigidity and simplicity (no rattly bits), even more rigid than the SME V (bolting arrangement simpler and stronger, no convenient doodads attached, etc.), the Rega has a PRESENCE, or palpability, none of the other tonearms so far have matched. In addition, in terms of detail, provided it has been re-wired, it is very close to the best, as it is in the bass and overall dynamics. The Dyna sets the standard here, but the Rega is not crushed. And, as if this weren't enough, the Rega is musical and easy to set-up!! I'll always have one anyway.
Which brings me to a phrase I always hear about various components, which ties in in turn to the history of audio. The old phrase "Poor Man's..." Now, I always heard that the Denon DL-103 is a Poor Man's Koetsu: it is no such thing. The Denon is superior in drive, PRAT and gestalt to any Koetsu; the Koetsu is superior in the purely audiophile areas of detail, frequency extension and imaging. This goes possibly for every single MC ever made, though the Dynavector 17D MKIII might stand a chance and the Ortofon SPUs. Since making music is the Prime Directive for any audio component, this places the venerable Denon DL-103s at the top of the heap, which is why they're venerable, in spite of being constantly damned with faint praise (many know better).
So how does it get the reputation of being a Poor Man's Koetsu? Because those who listen and write this choose to ignore the superior PRaT, drive and gestalt of the Denon and focus exclusively on detail and such-like (AND price), the great sickness /obsession of modern audio/audiophiles. Similarly, many years ago, when all were singing the praises of the superiority of the belt-drive over the idler-wheels they replaced, they chose to ignore the loss of dynamics and PRaT, of bass and excitement, and focused exclusively on other things, mainly a diminution of rumble (which it turns out was in many cases a myth and restricted to a few poorly set-up 'tables). Much more recently, the hyping of digital technologies also ignored the loss of musicality, and was leavened by a heady mix of misinformations, including the mythical increased dynamic range of digital media over analogue, which simple hearing (and various research papers which contradict the other research papers, which are based in unproven theories and the careful choosing of certain statistics and mathematics or other less "helpful" ones to achieve certain results on paper...Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics) proves is not so. Which is to say that many "improvements" are bought at a price, that the price is utterly ignored, the pretense (La-La Land) being there isn't one, and that thus Progress and improvement is in many cases a myth. When the Denon's superiority (and many other pieces) in certain areas is accepted by the high-end designers and matched by them as a base-ground, THEN we will have Progress, not by pretending these superiorities, and the cost of losing them, doesn't exist. Those who take the time to actually listen to a properly set-up idler-wheel drive, rather than stick to their hoary old (and new) theories, learn this lesson.
Distilling all this, the Idler/Rega/Denon combo is THE greatest value in high-end audio today! Dependable and unfinicky too. Have fun all!!