What cartridges under $800 outperform DL-103R?

FWIW, I recieved my ss retipped ( ruby line contact) nuded dl103 r, and dl 103 from peter a couple of months ago..... The 103 was mounted and ' run in' and guess what? It ain't coming off, I don't even want to know what the retipped 103r sounds like. I have found in this hobby that I will reach a nirvana of sorts, and then try to tweak or improve upon it, ultimately losing the synergy I had chanced upon in the first place. I have found my nirvana and I'm leaving it alone. One thing to be aware of is that the line contact stylus is an altogether different animal... And is very critical in demanding proper adjustments ( you've been warned) barring that, at the cost of the service I think it's a no brainer. If you enjoy the sound of the 103r, you will simply be taking it to another level as opposed to futzing with cartridges with entirely different sonic signatures. I hope I am making sense!
The. Ss retip allowed me to finally just stop, relax, and get lost in the music.
I love it!

Hxt1,

Can you describe how the redone 103 is better than the original.

Can I assume the stylus was worn when you had it retipped? Could that account for some of the difference with teh new one or is the new one just clearly better than the old in good working order?

the stock 103 had low hours on it when I sent it for the retip. I had read about the service, and became obsessed with it. The improvements in clarity, detail, and texture are abundant. The bass is no longer 'plummy' but is tight, clean, and solid. The increase in detail really opens up recordings, and allows me to ' see into them' but only if I want to scrutinize... That quality that the stock cartridge had of non fatiguing ( sic) musicality that allowed me to relax, stop 'listening' and just enjoy the music is still there. The detail I am experiencing is not etched in any way, nor is the cart 'hot'. The leading edge transients are sharper, on some recordings a snare drum will pressurize the room and I can feel it in my chest, just like I can in my jamspace. There is a tangible increase in dynamic impact. If I had to compare the sound to something , I would say the ss dl 103 is like a nuded 103r with meat on it's bones, yet somehow quicker..... Okay I know I'm not making sense now. I can only say it is better in every way but still retains the magic that made me appreciate the stock carts in the first place.

of course, I no longer have stock versions to a/b but the improvements are of such a magnitude that it is, even to my wife, apparent that the cartridge is now in a completely different class.

Hxtl,

Wow. Thanks for your detailed account. I do not find it hard to believe that such a good sounding device out of the can can be made to sound even better for reasonable cost!

There may be a Soundsmith cartridge somewhere in my future when my current 103R starts to get rough around the edge.