Need a New Cart for my JVC QL-Y5F, replacing a DL-160

[williwoods]

I have been running a DL-160 on my JVC QL-Y5F turntable for a few years now and need to replace it with something that is a better match in the compliance dept. I am happy with the cart.

I have heard that the JVC QL-Y5F has a medium-high mass tonearm. I think that the DL-160 really isnt the best match for my tonearm.

What would you suggest for the QL-Y5F? I have the ability to handle LOMC or HOMC as I am running a Preamp that has a MC and MM switch.

I am very partial to Denon carts and have my heart set on ordering from comet supply either a DL-103r or a 301 MKII.

What would you do? $250 or less is my budget.

Other options......get my DL-160 retipped by soundsmith, but that doesnt fix the compliance mismatch does it.....

Or I have an Audio technica LS-500 body and could order a new stylus for it.

Or something other than all the above?

Would love to hear some feedback and suggestions.

 

[ETI_5000]

Compliance isn’t such a problem, because the JVC has an active tonearm, so the low frequency arm/cartridge resonance is damped to a point where it just won’t cause any problem. So tonearm and cartridge matching is much less of an issue compared to (for instance) a Technics SL-1200. The tonearm will handle anything from a mid-low compliance cartridge (e.g. Denon DL-103) through to high compliance ones. Either the DL-301Mk2 or the DL-103R will be a good choice.

I don’t think you need to go past the Denon brand to get a high quality cartridge which is extremely good value for money, especially at the prices Comet supplies them at.

 

[williwoods]

thanks for that.

the problem I have with the 103r is the tip. I guess I am a snob when it comes to shape. what really matters is that the ears are happy though right? I have no idea which to go for...

one thing I do know is: I like those Denon tables, carts and tonearms i tell ya.

some of the best stuff ever.

I hope someone here has some experience with those carts on my arm....

 

[williwoods]

any other thoughts?

 

[ETI_5000]

I have a Denon DL-103D, which I’ve used on my JVC QL-Y3F – the QL-Y3F is like the QL-Y5F, except the tonearm damping works only on the horizontal movement of the tonearm. The tonearm itself is the same J shape, so probably weighs about the same, and as you can see, the compliance of the DL-103D is very slightly less than the DL-301MkII, and it weighs slightly more. While it’s not exactly the same, the Denon DL-103D is similar in many respects:

DL-103D
Output: 0.25mV
Frequency response: 20-65kHz
Output impedance: 33Ω
Channel separation: over 28db (1kHz)
Stylus tip: special elliptical
Stylus force: 1.3-1.7g
Compliance: 12x10 to the -6 cm/dyne
Weight: 7.5g

DL-301 MkII
Output: 0.4mV
Frequency response: 20-60kHz
Output impedance: 33Ω
Channel separation: over 28db (1kHz)
Stylus tip: special elliptical
Stylus force: 1.2-1.6g
Compliance: 13x10 to the -6 cm/dyne
Weight: 6g

I used the DL-103D with a much lighter (6g) magnesium headshell on the QL-Y3F, and from memory (it was some time ago, so I can’t remember the exact resonance figure), it was in the right ballpark as far as resonance went with the Shure TTR-117 test record. That means probably somewhere in the 8-11Hz range, as I usually fine tune things to get the resonance in that range by changing headshell weights, and if I can’t get resonance in that range, I usually don’t use the cartridge on that particular tonearm. It certainly sounded great, with the lovely sweet treble and very low surface noise that Denon MC’s have.

So I’d certainly happily use a DL-301MkII on a JVC QL-Y5F, if I owned one.:thmbsp: Go ahead - buy it now.

 

[lsquaredb]

I used a QL-Y5F for about 20 years, and it's not very sensitive to cartridge choice due to the active damping system on the arm. The only cartridge that didn't work well was a Shure V15 with damper on the cartridge down. The sound was really dead, but was ok with the damper up. Probably damping the tonearm at both ends is too much. Other cartidges that worked fine were JVC X-1, Z-1, and MC-101E, Ortofon MC10 Super and OM40, Audio Technica ATF3, Grado Gold, and Dennon DL103. The OM40 rode very low and would bottom on warped records, but sounded great.

 

[williwoods]

wow great info. thanks alot for the feedback. I love hearing feedback from folks that have actually used the combination that I am attempting.

keep em coming.

w