Pearl Two

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c_door

Member
Joined 2006
My 35y old Stanton cartridge needs a replacement. I've read great reviews on the Denon DL103, nice sound for an affordable price.
The output level of the Denon is quite low, about .25mV, maybe the 55dB gain of the Pearl is not enough for this cart.
Anyone has tried this combo ? From the Wayne's article I can see that the gain can be raised 10dB more, by changing a resistor. Any drawback in sound quality ?
 
6L6

6L6

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Joined 2010
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c_door -

Wow! That has to be the nicest Pearl 2 yet built!! I love the channel that the PSU lead is in, and the use of the Salas shunt regulator is fantastic!!

As for the DL103, do a bit more research into tonearm compatibility - because of it's suspension compliance it needs more mass than modern tonearms have, so if your arm has an ability to take extra weights at the front and back, it will be fine.

And yes, change the gain in the Pearl if you need more, the DL103 output is quite low, but shouldn't be a problem.
 
C

c_door

Member
Joined 2006
6L6 said:
c_door -

Wow! That has to be the nicest Pearl 2 yet built!! I love the channel that the PSU lead is in, and the use of the Salas shunt regulator is fantastic!!

As for the DL103, do a bit more research into tonearm compatibility - because of it's suspension compliance it needs more mass than modern tonearms have, so if your arm has an ability to take extra weights at the front and back, it will be fine.

And yes, change the gain in the Pearl if you need more, the DL103 output is quite low, but shouldn't be a problem.
Click to expand...
Thank you 6L6 :)
I don't like wires around, so I've cut a simple square aluminium tubing (from home depot) just to hide them, and maybe add some shielding.
My tonearm is currently a Thorens TP16, I'm going to replace it with a Jelco 750, should be fine with the Denon. I'll look for info on the web. thanks
 
6L6

6L6

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Joined 2010
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ticktock

ticktock

Member
Joined 2006
Mr. dB said:
If you order the Vishay caps on the Pearl Two BOM from Mouser, they're gray. The red ones
are WIMA FKPs.
Click to expand...
c_door said:
Hi,
I've used the following part numbers from Mouser catalog:
FKP2C021001G00HSSD
594-2222-416-41004
Click to expand...

Thanks! I use Wima FKP02/2/3 for more than ten years and still use ERO KP1832 as well (love
them), but never any square ERO/Vishay or Siemens/Epcos.

With the DL103, I never liked it, but I have to admit I've never listened to it's 'better' variants
and I have some complaints about it's simple conical stylus, which definitely isn't ideal.
I'd also guess it needs 60 to 65 db gain. If you can get some more db - try it.
However, if you go for it, consider to remove the crappy plastic case and bond it to a steel/
brass/bronze plate, preferably with threaded holes.

What abou you turntable and arm? Bear in mind, your Pearl II deserves a proper pickup !!


6L6 said:
As for the DL103, do a bit more research into tonearm compatibility - because of it's suspension
compliance it needs more mass than modern tonearms have, so if your arm has an ability to take
extra weights at the front and back, it will be fine.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. Contrary to popular believe the current DL103 works perfectly with arms of
10 to 15 gr effective mass, it ist NOT intended to play with heavier arms. Fit it to a Rega/Linn/
Jelco/Project/SME (current) and you're fine, say you'll get resonance frequency close to 10 Hz.

:spin:
 
Last edited:
C

c_door

Member
Joined 2006
ticktock said:
What abou you turntable and arm? Bear in mind, your Pearl II deserves a proper pickup !!

:spin:
Click to expand...

Hi ticktock.
I own a Thorens 125mk2 with TP16 arm and a Stanton 681EEE. They were sleeping since 20 years in a closet until last Sunday, when I did the first Pearl2 listening test. The TT needs a new belt, plinth, leveling.. a Jelco 750 will replace the tp16 and I long for a Denon or Dynavector cart.
Despite the old setup I was surprised by the presence and lifeness of my old vinyls.
Next step, a B1-Mezmerize buffer. DIY is a lot of fun :)
 
ticktock

ticktock

Member
Joined 2006
Nice TT !!

Don't miss to clean and relube the bearing. You'll find some interesting data
about the DL103 here:

Test Tonabnehmer - Denon DL103 -

Hopefully you'll understand it when watching the pictures and graphs despite
it's in german.
Two basic points are: it works nicely with most medium mass arms and about
1 kOhm input impedance.
However, there are lots of great modestly priced MC pickups out there . . .
 
Mr. dB

Mr. dB

Member
Joined 2003
ticktock said:
I have to disagree. Contrary to popular believe the current DL103 works perfectly with arms of
10 to 15 gr effective mass, it ist NOT intended to play with heavier arms. Fit it to a Rega/Linn/
Jelco/Project/SME (current) and you're fine, say you'll get resonance frequency close to 10 Hz.

:spin:
Click to expand...

A 103 won't even balance on a Rega arm without the optional heavy counterweight. I just took a 103R out of service because it didn't suit my RB300 arm. Even with the proper counterweight, the system resonance was barely within the useable range. It couldn't cope with even slightly warped LPs, and I couldn't get the VTA right either.

Replacing the DL-103R with a DL-301 II fixed all my problems - the mass suits the arm, the cartridge height is just right for getting a decent VTA, and its small elliptical tip sails through LPs that would cause the 103 to panic.

I think the 103R would have been fine on a suitable tonearm, and that my problems were due to lack of compatibility with my system, not necessarily inherent faults with the cartridge design.
 
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