Denon 103R or 304?

Interesting. I would not sneeze at that .18mV spec unless I knew I had a good solution in place. I found getting the 103R running smooth and quiet again when I changed pre-amps to be more of a challenge than I ever anticipated.

I must agree with Ed - the 100 and 300 series have a very different sound. Having lived with a 103D for over 10 years, I was devastated when I couldn't replace it. Unfortunately, the suspension also ages in these cartridges, so a retip/retube frequently wont fix the aging problem. I listened to the 103 and, while the family resemblance in sound was definitely there, I couldn't live with the limitations of the spherical stylus. So I defected to Linn/Lyra cartridges and have gotten used to them!

I started using Denon cartridges since the seventies, of which include the 110, 103, 103D, 103R, 301, 303 and 304. My favorite cartridges among them are the 103R and 304, though they sound very different to each other. The 304 also sounds different to the older 303 as well.

Sktn77a, well why didn't you just get the 103 retipped?

Expert Stylus in the UK can retip and replace the suspension...great way to go surely.

I found the 103R too 'hifi' whereas the 304 more open and musical, both very different IMHO.