Denon DL-103 "one of the...."


Is the Denon DL-103 one of the greatest cartridges of all time?

Influence?
Longevity?
Price/Performance?
Sonic achievement?
Conical Stylus?

This thought was brought on by Lebron James claiming he would be on the Mount Rushmore of NBA players. So my friend and I discussed what that criteria would be. So, I applied this thought to cartridges.

I do not have an extensive experience with many cartridge varieties, but thought about what attributes make a cartridge an all time great. Out of all that I have had the 103 just seems to hit most of the marks.
enobenetto
The DL-103, price vs. performance it can't be beat. I liked it so much I upgraded to the DL-103r.
A Zu Denon 103R with ESCCO sapphire cantilever and Paratrace stylus makes for one hell of a good cartridge. It's a push between it, and a Soundsmith-retipped Dynavector XX2MKII.

I think much more would have to be spendt in order to better either one.

Regards,
Dan
My bad DL-110 is a Denon..lol. I for one don't like carts that require 2.5 grams of force.And all these modified or R versions of the DL-103 is NOT what the post is about. Bottom line is it uses a horrible shaped diamond (round)and it is only a good cartridge for the $$ not the be all end all. And due to its compliance it dosen't like lightweight or even medium weight arms,that's for sure.I tried this DL-103 on my Rega P3 with the RB301 arm and it was aweful!! Horrible resonances!I also have tried the DL-110 and a Nagaoka MP200 and the DL-103 was the worst by far. On the other hand I put a Dynavector 10x5 on the same table and its a match made in heaven.Soooo that's why there is so many carts and arms and tables so we can hunt around and find the most favorable match or as close to it as we know how. This is my take on the DL-103 basic,yours my differ.
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