Denon DL-102 mono HOMC w/ sound file

[beatcomber]

I thought some of you might be interested in hearing what a Denon DL-102 mono HOMC cart sounds like:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39332736/Rek-O-Kut/DL-102_connor.aiff

Tomorrow I expect to receive a c.1958 General Electric VRII mono cart, and will mount it on the ROK. Stay tuned for audio samples of that as well!

This was recorded using a c.1955-56 Rek-O-Kut Rondine Jr. L-34 with mono-wired Model 160 tonearm. (The ROK table is semi-restored; I'm still waiting for the idler wheels to come back from rebuilding. I've reconditioned the main bearing and well, and the rumble is pretty low already, as you can hear in the lead-in groove.)

This is the LP that is being played:

ROK table:

 

[tubewade]

Nice! I'll have to give it another listen later when I have access to some decent headphones.

 

[beatcomber]

I forgot to mention: I have the resistance loaded at 1k ohms, per Denon's spec, via a loading plug. The preamp is just a modest but decent ART DJ-PRE.

 

[tubewade]

Hey, beatcomber!

I have listened to it several more times, enough to get a 'feel' for how it sounds. It's hard to make much of a determination with no point of reference but it does sound good. It sounds 'period correct' for what I'd expect from that recording but I really don't know for sure what I'm hearing since I don't have that LP. How much of the sound is the 102 and how much is the ROK deck, or how much is just the sound of that record? I don't know.

It will be really interesting to enjoy the differences between the 102 and the GE VR2 when you get that set up and working soon.

Kind regards.

 

[beatcomber]

Hey, beatcomber!

I have listened to it several more times, enough to get a 'feel' for how it sounds. It's hard to make much of a determination with no point of reference but it does sound good. It sounds 'period correct' for what I'd expect from that recording but I really don't know for sure what I'm hearing since I don't have that LP. How much of the sound is the 102 and how much is the ROK deck, or how much is just the sound of that record? I don't know.

It will be really interesting to enjoy the differences between the 102 and the GE VR2 when you get that set up and working soon.

Kind regards.

Hi tubewade -

You can compare the same LP played with both the Denon and GE here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=8391436&postcount=22

I would say that both carts are fairly neutral in their presentation, with the Denon a bit more extended on top and restricted on the bottom, and the GE is the exact opposite. The GE has more oomph than the Denon, which tends to be more on the delicate side. Both carts sound quite nice to me.

The nice thing about using a single coil, true mono cart is it really tightens up the focus, for lack of a better term. Record noise is pushed behind the music and everything just sounds tighter. It really is a better solution than using a mono-strapped stereo cart.

I don't think that the ROK table itself adds much to the sound, although being an idler-drive, it probably helps keep the pace and timing nice 'n' tight. I'm seriously considering transplanting the ROK 160 arm to a sort of external standalone mount, so that I can use it with my TD-124. It may be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[guiller]

Nice! maybe next year I'll finally get a DL-102!