Denon DL-103 Ends Its 7,782 Mile Journey

[Jim Creek]

The DL-103 is in my Pioneer PLX-1000 right now. Here’s my first impressions.

I added a 5 gram weight to the headshell plus the Pioneer add-on weight to the back of the counter weight. This adds some mass which the DL-103 likes. I am breaking it in on some classical music, Beethoven Sonatas played by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

I’m liking the sound so far. It’s sonically different than my current favorite, the AT VM95ML. The VM95ML has more sparkle. The DL-103 sounds more real. I’m going to try out some jazz and rock next.

The cartridge was nicely packaged. I was surprised to find a test report on left and right channel output and frequency response chart. Take note of the downward sloping frequency response. So far I’m super stoked on the DL-103.

 

[bigaltx24]

I got my DL-103 three months ago, it has taken it a while to break in, but I think it's getting close. Great sounding cartridge with nice detail and a sweet high end. Enjoy and let us know what your impressions after it has broken in.

 

[Thaugsness]

I bought a DL-103M back in the 80's - loved it! Still have it, though the diamond is gone. I would love to get it repaired when I win the lottery. I sure wish MC carts had user replaceable styli!

 

[adnick]

VAS sells an elliptical DL103 for just over $200, so retipping should be less…

Had my 103R done by Joseph (Needlestine) with a nude elliptical for around $270, more expensive but a considerably better stylus …

VAS and Joseph both sell on eBay,( no affiliation )

VR
Andy

 

[tnsilver]

So far I’m super stoked on the DL-103

Congrats! Welcome to the club. Almost everyone is. I don't know what sorta pixie dust they use on that cart, but no matter how abused or mismatched it never sounds bad. The trick with the old DL-103 is getting it to sound like it was designed to, with a hefty tonearm. Once you do that, you become a true follower.

take note of the downward sloping frequency response

From 15.5KHz there's a near linear drop, peaking at about -3dB at 20KHz. It means that at 20KHz we perceive the output as about 50% lower than at 15.5KHz. I'd be concerned if I was a dog or a bat, but at my age I probably couldn't tell the difference if that slope was a rise. Sadly, if you're an average middle aged person between 40 and 60 you shouldn't be worried about anything above 14KHz.

See if you should care:

 

[tnsilver]

Did you get that white nylon stylus brush too? I love those and it sweetens the deal even more. Almost makes you wanna buy a Denon MC for the brush...

 

[Jim Creek]

Did you get that white nylon stylus brush too? I love those and it sweetens the deal even more. Almost makes you wanna buy a Denon MC for the brush...

Yup,I got the brush. I listened to this cartridge for about 4 hours last night. There is something special going on with the DL103. I noticed subtle details in the music but the sound profile is still full and rich, not lean. The bass is super nice too.

The Schiit Mani 2 works very well with the DL103 as well. I’m very pleased.

 

[tabarddn51]

Hi, Unfortunately the arm of you T/T is not suitable for the Denon 103, but would work with the better sounding 103D.
I you think it sounds good, wait until you get it in a suitable arm.
This is because your arm is low/med Eff/Mass at 12 grams, which are suitable for high compliance cart's. The Denon however has an ultra low compliance & need an arm with an Eff Mass of 25 to 35 grams, Sounds best in a 35 gram arm.

However all is not lost as you can add mass to the head-shell about 12 grams would be OK.
- Head-Spacer
- Heavy Head Shell
- Even a large daub of blue-tac will work.

Cheers

 

[cafe latte]

VAS sells an elliptical DL103 for just over $200, so retipping should be less…

Had my 103R done by Joseph (Needlestine) with a nude elliptical for around $270, more expensive but a considerably better stylus …

VAS and Joseph both sell on eBay,( no affiliation )

VR
Andy

You can get then retipped with boron and nude Micro ridge for 250 US which is no more expensive than buying a really good replacable stylus.
Chris

 

[Jim Creek]

Hi, Unfortunately the arm of you T/T is not suitable for the Denon 103, but would work with the better sounding 103D.
I you think it sounds good, wait until you get it in a suitable arm.
This is because your arm is low/med Eff/Mass at 12 grams, which are suitable for high compliance cart's. The Denon however has an ultra low compliance & need an arm with an Eff Mass of 25 to 35 grams, Sounds best in a 35 gram arm.

However all is not lost as you can add mass to the head-shell about 12 grams would be OK.
- Head-Spacer
- Heavy Head Shell
- Even a large daub of blue-tac will work.

Cheers

Thanks for your advice. I did add a 5g weight to my headshell. I also added an additional Pioneer 13g supplemental weight to the Pioneer counter weight. My estimate is that I added about 18 grams total to that tonearm. If my tonearm is 12 grams then the additional 18 grams of weight brings it to 30g.

 

[tnsilver]

^ Nope! You've added 18 grams of weight to the tonearm. In terms of effective mass (which, as you all should know by now, is inertia, not weight) you've added 5 grams to to the headshell but then you've added 13 grams to the CW, which now requires a shorter distance to the pivot to balance. Since the effect of radius on inertia is exponential but mass is only linear - you've actually reduced the effective mass of your tonearm. It's no where near 30 grams.

Since the days of Thomas Alva Edison people had been screwing up their tonearms with this 'penny on headshell' mod. Any idea what an additional 18 grams of weight does to the design of the vertical bearings?

 

[Jim Creek]

^ Nope! You've added 18 grams of weight to the tonearm. In terms of effective mass (which, as you all should know by now, is inertia, not weight) you've added 5 grams to to the headshell but then you've added 13 grams to the CW, which now requires a shorter distance to the pivot to balance. Since the effect of radius on inertia is exponential but mass is only linear - you've actually reduced the effective mass of your tonearm. It's no where near 30 grams.

Since the days of Thomas Alva Edison people had been screwing up their tonearms with this 'penny on headshell' mod. Any idea what an additional 18 grams of weight does to the design of the vertical bearings?

This is confusing to me.

I get it that I want a more massive arm which increases the inertia of that arm. More mass requires more energy to move that mass and to change that velocity once in motion.

Inertia, I get it.

My confusion is your criticism of adding additional weight to the headshell. It’s like using a heavier headshell which adds to the total mass of the arm. If the mass of the Pioneer arm is 13 grams, plus the Denon DL-103 weighs 8.5 grams, plus 5 grams on the headshell, plus mounting screws puts it over 26.5 grams (not counting the naked headshell itself).

I can remove the supplemental weight from the counter weight (which may have been a bad idea of mine). But doesn’t the mass of the counter weight also have to be taken into account?

Finally, here’s a review of the PLX-1000 using an Zu Denon DL-103. They seemed to like it.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-4-page-2

 

[tabarddn51]

Hi, Yes the Zu Alli body adds mass to the cartridge, the Zu body from what I see on the net is 14 grams.
My Alli Bodies are 10 grams & lead filled 16 grams.

Cheers

 

[ranch 22b]

I use my DL-103 on a stock Thorens TD-125 MkII with the 16.5g arm. Sounds fantastic to me.

 

[tnsilver]

But doesn’t the mass of the counter weight also have to be taken into account?

Of course, but the location of the CW relative to the pivot cannot be ignored. Inertia (I) is mass (m) times distance from pivot (r) squared (I=mr²). The total moment of inertia is the sum of the moments of inertia of both parts of the tonearm. With the headshell part, any mass directly above the tip, is contributing all of it to the effective mass, but with the CW you'll have to account for r.

 

[adnick]

Yeah Tom’s points are on point that’s why some tonearm designs have things like sliding collars and split counterweights of different sizes….


VR
Andy

 

[Jim Creek]

I got out the big gun, a 50 year old headshell that came with my Pioneer PL41. I restored that PL41. It’s a beautiful TT with a heavier tonearm but I prefer using the PLX-1000 for day to day use.

That 50 year head shell has an internal sled and top screw post. That headshell is heavy. Combined with the DL-103 the total headshell weight is 24.5g.

WHAMO!

 

[Panamafred]

Have you noticed a big difference with this heavier headshell?

 

[Jim Creek]

Have you noticed a big difference with this heavier headshell?

I’ll let you know.

 

[Jim Creek]

Have you noticed a big difference with this heavier headshell?

The short answer is NO.

I love that 50 year old headshell with that 50 year old cartridge technology, DL-103. It’s a fun and sweet looking combination. After hours of listening (ear phones and speakers) I could not discern any difference in sound. Of course that was not a direct A-B comparison and audio memory is unreliable.

My system is not high-end. (Neither are my ears).

I have seen pictures of tonearms with stacks of silver dollars on top of the headshell and fender washers on the back of the counterweight to accommodate their DL-103. That’s not for me.