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RE: Denon 103

Agree- I had some old literature citing the dynamic compliance of the DL103 series at round 12 CU at resonance.

I think the ordinary Denons (without exotic wood nonsense) weigh in around 7.5 gm. The Jelco has a removable headshell and that whole shebang might be estimated at around 10gm. So cart + headshell = 17.5 gm.

My rough engineering calculations for the contribution to effective mass from the armtube weight and polar moment of inertia, plus that of the counterweight, lead me to guess it adds another 6-7 gm-- it's a steely beast.

Total effective mass = 24gm is a fair estimate. The calculated resonance is around 9.5Hz, which seems fine, at least in my cave. (It's easy to confuse the terms in online calculators and especially in manufacturer's claims-- standardization is sketchy.) I certainly wouldn't put any weights in the headshell (although years ago one Denon I had came with a tiny lead plate the size of the cartridge mating surface).

I've also found the DL103's to be quite tolerant of range of effective masses. I suppose they are well damped to minimize their rise at resonance.

The question of damping isn't all about rubber donuts, it must consider the electromechanical effects of the cartridge loading too. I had used 100 ohm resistors in the headshell for 20 years on my beloved 103D's. I think there is a slight but discernable synergy to using the resistors IN THE HEADSHELL- considering the low-level signal's behavior in the cable and the fact that the 103's have a lot of ultrasonic output.

Adding them is simple with a removable headshell:
1. Get a set of spare headshell leads.
2. Hand-match a pair of 1/10th-watt low-noise metal film resistors to 1/2-ohm or better. Exact value isn't critical, matching is.
3. Solder the resistors across the output wire terminals (not on the cart!!) and bend the leads to match the cart's pins.
5. Clean the contacts-- God wants you to clean your contacts anyway.
6. After they're cool, measure the resistors again.
6. Check for cold-solder joints.
7. Rebalance, for the weight of the resistors.

I may be imagining this, but I do get nice placebo effect from listening when the smell of solder still hangs in the air! The effect seemed negligible in my Dynavectors.


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  • RE: Denon 103 - mr.bear 01/31/1721:23:57 01/31/17 (0)

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