Denon DL103M, the other fantastic 103

adnick

adnick

Addicted Member
I’m a huge fan of the DL 103D, but just rotated in a 103M for the first time and wow, it’s a fantastic cartridge

Just a few months ago @Mister Pig suggested the 103M, not sure why I waited so long to try it:dunno:

Here’s some particulars…

The Denon DL 103M

Special elliptical stylus

Special aluminum body

Very low output 0.12mV

40 ohm impedance

Amorphous Boron cantilever

elliptical stylus

13CU (Japan)

Tracking Force 1.4 g

Mounted on Alfred Bokrand’s latest AB 309 12” Banana arm

SUT is an @Redboy Altec Peerless 4629 wired 1:23

tracking at 1.38g

The presentation is outstanding, very noticeable instrument separation, tonal clarity, tweeters come alive, without a noticeable reduction in midrange or bass, excellent musical note separation, and note decay more detailed

This is just an outstanding cartridge, I’d rate it higher than my basic 103 with elliptical and better than my 103R with elliptical

81D8CDDB-FD0F-4EA0-AEE0-113AF176E405.jpeg 18D9C180-E9C7-4CDC-8447-3BD20C1197CE.jpeg 6787EB24-94D1-4504-9A52-C5C72561C1ED.jpeg



VR
Andy
 
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adnick said:
I’m a huge fan of the DL 103D, but just rotated in a 103M for the first time and wow, it’s a fantastic cartridge

Just a few months ago @Mister Pig suggested the 103M, not sure why I waited so long to try it:dunno:

Here’s some particulars…

The Denon DL 103M

Special elliptical stylus

Special aluminum body

Very low output 0.12mV

40 ohm impedance

Amorphous Boron cantilever

elliptical stylus

13CU (Japan)

Tracking Force 1.4 g

Mounted on Alfred Bokrand’s latest AB 309 12” Banana arm

SUT is an Altec Peerless 4629 wired 1:23, mine II tracking at 1.38g

The presentation is outstanding, very noticeable instrument separation, tonal clarity, tweeters come alive, without a noticeable reduction in midrange or bass, excellent musical note separation, and note decay more detailed

This is just an outstanding cartridge, I’d rate it higher than my basic 103 with elliptical and better than my 103R with elliptical

View attachment 2882437 View attachment 2882438 View attachment 2882439



VR
Andy
Click to expand...


And it's pretty too...
 
Sgt Shultz said:
That's a schveet looking cartridge, was it NOS, I don't see it still available new:dunno:

I do have a recently purchased new DL-301MKII.
View attachment 2882456
Click to expand...

Thanks & not available new, some claim they were limited production, and compared to the other 103 models hey are rare…

It’s not NOS but low hours from a trusted source…..

I’d purchased an NOS from Japan and it never showed up, the seller refunded my money so I ended up with this one

Andy
 
adnick said:
Thanks & not available new, some claim they were limited production, and compared to the other 103 models hey are rare…

It’s not NOS but low hours from a trusted source…..

I’d purchased an NOS from Japan and it never showed up, the seller refunded my money so I ended up with this one

Andy
Click to expand...

These are air core design, closer to the DL-1S than any other cartridge. It is not a typical 103.
 
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adnick said:
I’m a huge fan of the DL 103D, but just rotated in a 103M for the first time and wow, it’s a fantastic cartridge

Just a few months ago @Mister Pig suggested the 103M, not sure why I waited so long to try it:dunno:

Here’s some particulars…

The Denon DL 103M

Special elliptical stylus

Special aluminum body

Very low output 0.12mV

40 ohm impedance

Amorphous Boron cantilever

elliptical stylus

13CU (Japan)

Tracking Force 1.4 g

Mounted on Alfred Bokrand’s latest AB 309 12” Banana arm

SUT is an @Redboy Altec Peerless 4629 wired 1:23

tracking at 1.38g

The presentation is outstanding, very noticeable instrument separation, tonal clarity, tweeters come alive, without a noticeable reduction in midrange or bass, excellent musical note separation, and note decay more detailed

This is just an outstanding cartridge, I’d rate it higher than my basic 103 with elliptical and better than my 103R with elliptical

View attachment 2882437 View attachment 2882438 View attachment 2882439



VR
Andy
Click to expand...

I love Denon carts. They have the JuJu for extracting that vital vinyl essence.

minion - thumbsup.gif
 
All those differences from the Standard 103 are why it likely sounds good. The further away cartridges get from the original 103, the better I think they sound!

I have a 103M I've never listened to. Once I get the diamond scoped, I will have to mount and listen to it!

Not having heard the 103M, the 103D is my favorite of the 103/103R/103S/103D lineup.
 
I use a SS Ruby Level rebuilt 103D. Ruby cantilever and line point stylus. Heaven. I suspect the sound quality is due to the SS installed changes, making it closer to your 103M.

I just acquired a Denon 103 modified for mono operation- one coil removed, and remaining coil re oriented for horizontal content only response. Wonderful.
 
vinyldavid said:
All those differences from the Standard 103 are why it likely sounds good. The further away cartridges get from the original 103, the better I think they sound!

I have a 103M I've never listened to. Once I get the diamond scoped, I will have to mount and listen to it!

Not having heard the 103M, the 103D is my favorite of the 103/103R/103S/103D lineup.
Click to expand...

I have a standard 103 I got in a trade for an Ortofon I ended up with for free (so a no-cost cartridge!) and am using it in the bedroom. Nice sounds, but not a great tracker (at the inner grooves especially). I am curious how it will improve with a retip. Maybe a boron cantilever and nude Shibata or ML.
 
vinyldavid said:
All those differences from the Standard 103 are why it likely sounds good. The further away cartridges get from the original 103, the better I think they sound!

I have a 103M I've never listened to. Once I get the diamond scoped, I will have to mount and listen to it!

Not having heard the 103M, the 103D is my favorite of the 103/103R/103S/103D lineup.
Click to expand...
If the 103M is not to your liking let me know;)


Andy
 
doctor fuse said:
I have a standard 103 I got in a trade for an Ortofon I ended up with for free (so a no-cost cartridge!) and am using it in the bedroom. Nice sounds, but not a great tracker (at the inner grooves especially). I am curious how it will improve with a retip. Maybe a boron cantilever and nude Shibata or ML.
Click to expand...
Most consider the basic 103 an excellent tracking cartridge, it was designed and used heavily in the recording & playback industry so I’m not sure what going on with yours….

however, changing it to an elliptical and adding weight is a time honored tradition, that should also improve your tracking :dunno:

I’ve got a VAS basic 103 with weight and elliptical it’s a very nice sounding cartridge….


Andy
 
adnick said:
Most consider the basic 103 an excellent tracking cartridge, it was designed and used heavily in the recording & playback industry so I’m not sure what going on with yours….

however, changing it to an elliptical and adding weight is a time honored tradition, that should also improve your tracking :dunno:

I’ve got a VAS basic 103 with weight and elliptical it’s a very nice sounding cartridge….


Andy
Click to expand...

I consider the 103 one of the worst sounding moving coil cartridges (and one of the worst carts aimed at the audiophile market in I've heard in general, other than Sumiko MMs and Ortofon 2Ms and early Shures). The stock 103 I had was veiled, floppy sounding, had poor resolution, sounded overly warm yet forward and didn't have the sort of sound I consider 'good'. The diamond exhibited zero wear under the microscope, and sounded like the other 103s I've heard, so....I trust that mine was operating correctly. It also tracks too heavy from stock-I am uncomfortable tracking at anything over 2 grams (really, anything over 1.5g-I wasn't in love with my Lyra's 1.8g VTF but I love the sound!) unless there's some warranted reason to do so (skips, vintage disc playback, etc)-cartridge suspension is not a warranted reason for daily heavy tracking. I used the 103 in a Jelco SA-750E with a 14g headshell and an Audio Technica AT1009 with the same headshell. More than enough mass. I also used the recommended Denon AU-320 and 340 SUTs along with real step up circuits in my Cambridge Audio Duo Alva. I couldn't make the 103 work well. Perhaps it would work well in a system that needs a veiled cartridge with a slightly forward sonic balance but without any of the actual resolution and sound quality I expect. The long cantilever and spherical diamond are two things I feel have a LOT to do with the sound.

My suspicion is that the 103 was popular because it was rugged, probably better sounding than other stereo cartridges of 1964, but like everything in audio, we have evolved and not everything vaunted in the past (in fact, most things vaunted in the past) are severely problematic when inserted into a high performance stereo system. The stock 103 put me off Moving Coil cartridges for almost five years-much to my dismay when I started listening to them again.

No one in the US recording or broadcast industries I've heard of used the 103.

The 103D I have sounds much much much better, and tracks lighter.

My preferred cartridges I have in my collection are my Lyra Kleos, Denon DL-305 (with a sapphire cantilever and FG2), Stanton Epoch II HZ9S, SoundSmith The Voice, Stanton 881S (the favorite of many mastering engineers, who are far far far more critical than radio broadcasters!), Audio Technica AT150MLX, Benz Micro Ace HOMC, Stanton 681EEE-S, Technics EPS310MC. I have a few dozen cartridges which are supposed to be nice that I haven't listened to yet. I've heard great things come out of friends' Dynavector DV20X2H, Audio Technica AOC9XSH Benz Micro LP-S, Sumiko Alchemist IIIs, and Transfiguration Orpheus. What I'm getting at is-I have heard a great many cartridges and the 103 doesn't hold up. I have similar thoughts about the 103R. This obsession with spherical stylii is frustrating.
 
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