Denon DL-103 and 103R

[vencel]

Hello,

With the approval of the owner (who is a diyaudio forum member) I would like to share some photos of the famous Denon DL-103 and 103R cartridges.
Both of them had broken cantilever, but luckily the coil and the tension wire did not get damaged. I've never broken a cantilever so far 🙂 so I believe that these should get a huge shock from one side.
Interesting that most (actually only a few) Denons I have seen so far with broken cantilever were similar to these ones; the cantilever broke off at the same point.
As I mentioned these should get a big shock so I was suspecting the tension wire to be damaged but these cartridges withstand a LOT!!!! Very well built cartridges in my opinion.
Paired with a boron cantilever and FG-II or FG-S stylus it can become a favorite for many people.

@Charisis,
Please share your experiences with us about the reworked cartridges.

 

[vencel]

DL-103R

 

[vencel]

If this is not the right place to share these photos I really apologize for it and please move the thread to the correct place.

 

[enzoastro]

great images!

 

[vinylkid58]

Very interesting and unusual to see the 103R with a boron cantilever.

jeff

 

[vencel]

Thank you! Soon I will to upload some photos about a very interesting cartridge.

 

[h_a]

Thanks for the pics!

Paired with a boron cantilever and FG-II or FG-S stylus

Well, you know that this is against the original construction of the 103? The 103 was originally developed to allow some tracking distortion cancellation by an optimum combination of a spherical diamond and generator. In case you read german, there are very insightfull articles of Reto L. Andreoli who goes a bit into detail!

PS: therefore, I would also expect the 103R to be more than simply adding a new elliptical diamond (beyond the fancy coils etc.) to the stock 103.

 

[vencel]

Thanks for the pics!



Well, you know that this is against the original construction of the 103? The 103 was originally developed to allow some tracking distortion cancellation by an optimum combination of a spherical diamond and generator. In case you read german, there are very insightfull articles of Reto L. Andreoli who goes a bit into detail!

PS: therefore, I would also expect the 103R to be more than simply adding a new elliptical diamond (beyond the fancy coils etc.) to the stock 103.

I would not like to start an argument about it as different people have different opinion, ears and musical taste. On the other hand if you check the internet there are companies that deal with upgrading the DL-103R with wooden or metal housing as well as upgrading them with ruby or boron cantilever. In my opinion the Denon DL-103R paired with boron cantilever and FG-S or FG-II tip sounds wonderful. This is of courser my opinion.

 

[AVWERK]

Its nice to see someone upgrade this classic line of MC,s. Having owned 3 versions and finding them not my cup of tea, maybe this would bring them around to modern standards.
So what did the boron upgrade do to improve upon them? The price was always right compared to whats out there now.

Regards
David

 

[UV101]

This is my 103 which has a sapphire cantilever and elliptical diamond stylus. This is the 2nd one of these I've owned and they are very impressive for the price.

This was rebuilt by expert stylus company after an minor incident with a virtually brand new cartridge!!!

My photography isn't quite as good as yours! 😉

 

[murphythecat8]

i have two dl 103 here with a broken stylus. what is the best shop for replacing the stylus and how expensive is it?

 

[vencel]

i have two dl 103 here with a broken stylus. what is the best shop for replacing the stylus and how expensive is it?

I would definitely suggest a boon cantilever and FG-S or FG-II stylus but this is up to you decide what you would like to have.
There are many services out there and you have to chose which one you trust. Some of them are very good but you have to wait weeks or months, some of them are not that good. If you are interested in a service please contact me in private. Basically your Denon can be upgraded with better cantilever and stylus but it can also be recoiled with 6N copper, or with silver or gold by some service companies. I could only offer 6N copper or maybe gold plated copper.
The 103 is a very good value for money and a very well made cartridge. It is capable of better performance and with a boron cantilever it will be much better (this is my experience) but since it does not have AlNiCo magnet it will never reach the standard of very expensive cartridges. However I could not recommend anything better for this amount and even though it does not have AlNiCo magnet, it can still be improved and deserves a better cantilever and stylus.

Best regards,
Vencel

 

[studiostevus]

Isn't this how Van den Hul modified dl103's ?

 

[UV101]

Define "very expensive cartridges"?????

The rather expensive rebuild I had done on a brand new 103 would put some expensive cartridges to shame!!!!

 

[merlin el mago]

i have two dl 103 here with a broken stylus. what is the best shop for replacing the stylus and how expensive is it?

I only know two:

USA
Soundsmith

UK
Expert Stylus

Cheers
Felipe

 

[UV101]

And both will "upgrade" rather than replace (so far as I am aware)

I believe both services cost more than the retail price of a std 103 but you end up with a far superior cartridge.

 

[murphythecat8]

And both will "upgrade" rather than replace (so far as I am aware)

I believe both services cost more than the retail price of a std 103 but you end up with a far superior cartridge.

okay so if the stylus is broken, they cant help?

 

[UV101]

Sorry misunderstanding!

They will repair you old cartridge by replacing the stylus and or cantilever.

 

[murphythecat8]

okay, and how expensive it is? you way that they then perform much better? I have two here, glad that for about the same price, I can reuse them and have a better cart.

 

[UV101]

Not cheap!!! But it's less than the cost of a new equivalent cartridge!!!

Mine was done by Expert Stylus Company in Ashtead and I'm massively impressed with it 😉 (that's an under statement)

Soundsmith have a web page and the prices are i believe comparable

http://www.sound-smith.com/denon/index.html