SteveTheShadow wrote:I doubt your choice of DL103 will give you the best experience. I would dig a bit deeper.
The 103 is one of audio indictors of audio Moronity. The myth of 103 was invented by audio white trashes in order to prove the concept that spending $200 one can get great Sound. The irony is that the concept is not wrong and sometime you do not need to spend a lot of money to get great sound. Unfortunately the 103 is just a wrong example and it is very bad needle. If you know a LOT how to play analog and go very crazy with some aspects of arms and a few other things then you can get near-acceptable sound with 103 but it would require a LOT to do. The result will be 103 near-acceptable not acceptable and any person with audio IQ highest then own shoe size would say "fuck it" and get 432 time better sound of a cartridge that costs just 4-5 times more. What I was younger I was fighting all, of those wars but nowadays I kind of feel that it all good. From a different perspective if a person does use the DL103 and go over those sites screaming how everything wonderful then he is not necessarily wrong. With the person emblematic limited expectation and within a typical for audio Moron laughable reference points the overall sound that the individual get from his playback shall not be very "pushy" and the typical shallow DL103 sound is a good feet. As the idiots-reviewers love to say the cartridge represents the system synergy, only in this time and from my perspective it would be the synergy between revolting sound of DL103 and filthy system owner reference points. The only think that an audio moron shall be pleased is that while he is worshiping his stupid DL103 he has a wonderful spelling.
Romy, I wish my Serbian was as good as your English. Then I'd be able to confuse you as much in your language as you do in mine!
The world looks so different after learning science. For example, trees are made of air, primarily. When they are burned, they go back to air, and in their flaming heat is released the flaming heat of the Sun which was bound in to convert air into tree.
I really enjoyed that comment by Romey and understood every word. Especially loved the spelling reference.
Can say beside my better carts the basic 103 is poor on my system. though my system may come out as comparing a cart in the context of a turd. in that context I still hear a wooden and lacking in fine resolution and delicacy cart. I don't have an R so can't comment on that version.
"Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not yet completely sure about the universe." – Albert Einstein
shane wrote:Romy, I wish my Serbian was as good as your English. Then I'd be able to confuse you as much in your language as you do in mine!
I would like to point out that Roman is Ukrainian, thus his mother tongue or first language is Ukrainian - not Serbian.
As for the DL103 - I have read so much praise about it, but never had one - thus I cannot comment on it's sound quality. If someone has a DL103 in working condition that he dislikes so much, that person may feel free to send it to me, since I will most probably find a way to enjoy it
I'll generally say the 103R sounds a lot better than the 103 . However, a lot of the problems seem to be with the output impedance ( ~40R ) which doesn't work very well into step-ups, even if they are supposed to be 103-friendly and have more inductance to help . The 103 typically sounds a bit soft and muddled at the low end and lacking in some resolution and air at the top. The 103R sounds a lot better in both areas .
However I found the plain 103 sounds a lot better in these areas and loses most of its shortcomings when played into a jFet/triode front-end . The low end time-constant trouble goes away and the top-end opens out. I just couldn't get the jFet sound in the upper mids to go away in the time i spent working on it.
Nowadays I would definitely recommend trying what Nick has been doing with the latest phono front-end , which can take direct input from MC with acceptable noise. It's a high Gm pentode with a CCS + high load resistor ( 'Gm amp' ) , with the G2 stabilised by a three-legged thing . There's nothing expensive in that approach as you can see, compared to quality step-ups.
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
