Denon DL-103R Wood Body Mod

I have both the Panzerholtz and ebony and both are potted.
Which I thinks again makes a difference. The Panzer is on a SS retipped 103: ruby + fine line. The 103 is stock cantilever. Now the Ebony /w stock cantilever is a might dull in comparison to the Panzerholtz. A dramtic difference between the two. I prefer the retipped Panzeholtz.

but not as much as a humble cherry wood bodied 103R. This 103R has been retipped by soundsmith with an elliptical stylus on an aluminum cantilever, non stock.

It is my opinion that the aluminum cantilever should be kept. Use whatever stylus you want, but that cantilever imparts timbre that is what the 103 is all about. to me at least. this 103R is not potted, btw.

It is soon time to get the ebony bodied 103 retipped and I will have him try putting the fine line on the stock aluminum or a new aluminum cantilever if he cant fetch it onto the stock. I will drop back to an elliptical if he can't fit the fine line.

The reason is that the ruby cantilever is fast fast fast. It outpaces the drama that the original 103 has. More detail, yeah, but no loss in drama, please. Let's have some DRAMA!

Pat: I had Peter Lederman pot my 103R in an ebony body when he did the line contact retip (I opted for the $250 retip as opposed to the really extreme $350 retip).

Ultimately, I think, the different woods offer different presentations, and whether one has a stock 103 vs. a 103R may well result in a preference for a different wood body depending on, subjectively, what a listener wants and also whether their system is drifting toward being cool and lean or warm and full. In the end, the whole wood body/retip thing with the Denons is kind of like wine: very subjective.

As the 103R is purportedly (I actually have no experience with the stock 103) more extended and detailed than the stock 103, I think the ebony (or a wood that imparts a warmer balance-perhaps your cherry fits that character) may be the better choice for the 103R. I definitely found that with Ebony vs. Clavellin with the 103R. Clavellin may be the better choice with a stock 103, who knows?

With respect to the Soundsmith retip, the ruby cantilever is, as you say, pretty quick and the LC stylus digs out an incredible amount of information that the stock concical stylus simply misses.

IMO, with the 103R, the weightier presentation of the Ebony is a perfect match with the speed and detail retrieval of the ruby cantilever and LC stylus from Soundsmith.

But I track at 2.6 grams, which is exactly what I tracked at previously with the conical. Took me 2 months to figure it out as there are all kinds of zany reports from guys with Soundsmith Denons tracking at 1.5, 1.8 etc.

I found that even tracking at 2.45 grams resulted in a bit of a screwed up tonal balance with the Soundsmith LC retip. Tons of detail and speed, as you say, but etched and without the drama. Lower than that and you get lots of audiophile wannabe attributes: detail galore, air, speed. The problem is that the music, or, as you put it, the drama, is gone.

At 2.6 with the LC, all the power and drama is there, along with a lot more information, at least for me.

I hear you. I got to really like what the ruby/fine line did. It transforms the sound away form the core 103 sound but it is still something that I really like. It was only after getting the elliptical on the aluminum that I became sure about the cantilever's importance. Do not discount what that humble aluminum tube brings to the game.

I will really test my opinion when I finally pack this ebony 103 off to SS. Now, with the elliptical I feel no loss of detail. I mean I do not crave for more. Very satisfactory.

It costs little to try out an elliptical. It's a thing hiding in plane sight.

Very nice. Perhaps you are familiar with the saying, "A silk purse from a sows ear"? I appreciate the 103R and yet compared to a vintage MM Empire or the equivalent we have an exercise in conversion.......

Sincerely,

07-10-10: Gadfly
I will really test my opinion when I finally pack this ebony 103 off to SS. Now, with the elliptical I feel no loss of detail. I mean I do not crave for more. Very satisfactory.

I'm absolutely amazed at the level of detail available from the Panzerholz 103R with stock cantilever/stylus. At this stage I feel no inclination to investigate an exotic re-tip - and this is following about 6 months with the Ortofon A90 in my system.

Of course the A90 does things the Uwe Panzerholz 103R can't - mostly notably it's see into transparency and extreme clarity in the soundfield. The Uwe 103R still does well enough to satisfy (me) in these areas though.

What amazes me though - and has every time I've played a 103R variant over the last 5 yrs - is the musical rightness and engagement of the Denon. The tonal colours and textures capture some lifelikeness that is quite compelling. With the 103R in the panzerholz shell (on the Phantom II) I find the shortcomings of the stock 103R - somewhat bloated mid-bass, lack of mid-band clarity, lack of speed and 'snap' on transients, lack of HF refinement/apparent extension - are, at least to my satisfaction, gone. The Denon also sounds very dynamic and lively, with a great knack of reproducing instrumental 'action'.

The modded Denon still won't satisfy those who want to count individual players of an orchestra at the rear of the stage, but I think many would be genuinely shocked how good it sounds. I am.