103 S is a high compliance cart that is designed to run on a low mass arm. It is currently running on a low mass arm which came with my Denon turntable designed specifically for the 103 S.
I have it adjusted properly with the exception of the azimuth which I will mess around with next........its not a mismatch. I have the original directions indicating the cart gets the best response with the low mass arm.
From the Ortofon website:
"A phono cartridge with the compliance in the range of 5 to 10 µm/mN is considered as a very low compliance cartridge, a cartridge with the compliance in the range of 10 to 20 µm/mN is moderate compliance cartridge and a cartridge with the compliance value above 35µm/mN is very high compliance cartridge."
http://www.ortofon.com/support/cartridgetonearm-resonance-frequency
From the Vinylengine cartridge database:
DL103S
Denon DL103S
review this cartridge
rate/review
1974 $255
Type
moving coil Output Voltage
mV Frequency Response
20Hz - 60kHz Tracking Force
1.8 +/- 0.3g Mass
7.8g
Channel Separation
> 25dB Channel Balance
< 1dB Load Impedance
> 100 ohms Output Impedance
40 ohms
Stylus
Stylus Tip
0.15mm special elliptical Cantilever
special aluminium pipe Dynamic Compliance
8 x10-6cm/Dyne
Static Compliance
Or there's this information:
Denon DL 103 - a true classic mc cartridge
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Introduced 1962
The Denon DL 103 was developed by Nippon Columbia / Denki Onkyo (Den-on) and the japanese radio and television broadcast corporation NHK in 1962. This “standard” DL 103 is still in production.
Specifications : output 0.3mV, compliance 5cu, internal impedance 40ohms, recommended VTF 2.5 +/- 0.3grams, spherical stylus. The price in 1970 was 16000 Yen.
1974 : DL 103 S – 8cu, elliptical stylus, rec. VTF 1.8 +/- 0.3grams – 27000 Yen.
Otherwise identical.
1977 : DL 103 D – the 70’s top model. 33ohms, 0.25mV, 12cu, elliptical stylus – 35000 Yen.
1978 : DL 103 T – a DL 103 with a step-up transformer in one box – 29000 Yen.
1981 : DL 103 U – a DL 103 mounted in a Denon headshell – 21000 Yen.
1982 : DL 103 Gold – a gold-laquered “standard” DL 103 – issued to celebrate the
20th Anniversary of the DL 103 – 21000 Yen.
1983 : DL 103 M – lightweight aluminium body, output 0.12mV, impedance 40ohms.
Boron cantilever, elliptical stylus, compliance 13cu, VTF 1.4 +/- 0.2grams – 27000 Yen.
1985 : DL 103 LC / 1986 : DL 103 LC II – LCOFC copper coils, 13ohms, output 0.25mV,
spherical stylus, compliance 5cu, VTF 2.5 +/- 0.3grams – 20000 / 21000 Yen.
1989 : DL 103 SL (Special) – 6N 99,9999 Pure Copper, special white housing,
same specs as DL 103 LC / LC II but 14ohms internal impedance – 30000 Yen.
1990 : DL 103 GL (Gold Limited) – special black housing, output 0.25mV, 40ohms, spherical stylus, 5cu, VTF 2.5 +/- 0.3grams, coils 4N High Purity Gold Wire 99.99%, ltd. production of 2000 – 50000 Yen.
1991 : DL 103 C1 – LCOFC coils, special black housing, output 0.25mV, 14ohms, spherical stylus, 5cu,
VTF 2.5 +/- 0.3grams – 32000 Yen.
1993 : DL 103 FL (Fan Limited) – special white housing, output 0.28mV, 30ohms, spherical stylus, 5cu,
VTF 2.5 +/- 0.3grams – 40000 Yen.
1994 : DL 103 R – same specs as DL 103 SL (special), but standard black housing (slightly glossy though) – 28000 Yen. Still in production.
DL 103 Pro – 0.35mV, 38ohms, 6cu, spherical stylus, VTF 2.0 +/- 0.2grams. Modified by Highphonic – 35000 Yen.
In my collection : DL 103 GL, DL 103 S, DL 103 R, DL 103 LCII, DL 103 M, DL 103 D plus a “standard” DL 103 but modified by A.J. van den Hul (clockwise from bottom center).
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http://www.analogue-classics.com/html/denon_dl_103.html
Or this reference:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=vinyl&m=82698
Re: Denon DL103S - bkearns 12:08:31 08/28/01 (0)
In Reply to: Denon DL103S posted by reverendclark on August 28, 2001 at 09:05:32:
The DL-103S has a white ceramic body, square edges, and a red line on the front. I found one last February after an extensive trawl of Akihabara Electric Town in Tokyo. I took this cartridge out of storage last weekend and mounted it on my Thorens TD160/Rega RB250 combination. Initial tests have proved to be very promising.
From my information (admittedly a little sparse), the stylus on both DL-103D, and DL-103S is the same. The DL-103D first appeared in November 1977 (apologies for a previous post of mine which stated 1976). I was told that the DL-103S was introduced for playback of quadraphonic records, which had rear channels encoded with a carrier frequency of 35kHz. According to my data, the DL-103D sold for 35,000 yen compared with 27,000 yen for the DL-103S or DL-103M (The DL-103M is now offered as an exchange for a DL-103S with a worn stylus). So there was quite a difference in price, but I think the DL-103S was introduced later than the DL-103D (not sure about that).
The spec sheet, which came from a Japanese catalogue of electronic products, states “Special Elliptical Stylus” for all of the above models. Perhaps the shank dimensions are different, but 0.07mm x 0.14 mm may well be a standard used by Denon for all of these cartridges. I used to have a DL-301mk II and that had the same stylus as the DL-103M - both with shank dimensions of 0.07mm x 0.14mm.
So I don’t think the DL-103S will give you a different stylus. However, the compliance of the DL-103D is higher than that of the DL-103S. The compliance of the DL-103S is somewhere between that of the DL-103 (low compliance), and the DL-103D (med - high). So it is better suited to heavier arms, such as the Rega.
Best regards
Brian
