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RE: DL-103 on Rega RB300

Posted by mr.bear (A) on March 3, 2017 at 20:40:22

In Reply to: DL-103 on Rega RB300 posted by magiccarpetride on March 2, 2017 at 09:32:20:

The Rega seems like a very nice combination with the Denon. It has a sturdy wide gimbal and medium mass and seems it should be able to dissipate the mechanical energy that a low -compliance, low-output MC throws up an arm.

My best "tip?" I used 100 ohm resistors in the headshell for years on my beloved 103D. The bottom line is that adding the right damping resistors will have a profound effect on the sound.

If you think of the transformed circuit diagram of the cartridge mechanical and electrical systems combined, the resistor has the same effect as adding a dashpot to the mechanical system. It converts mechanical energy to heat. It is effective in controlling the mechanical resonances of the cartridge,the exact same way damping works in a mechanical system.

I think there is a 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 are quite low impedance and have a lot of ultrasonic output (saw an article about 20 years ago showing they had output to over 100kHz, can't recall where... Interesting, eh?) Search VA for Denon load - there's a ton of commentary.

This is a more a matter of taste, but the DL103 seems to perform better with solid state gainstage than transformers. I tried several trafos and found less than wonderful sound even with a very expensive Quicksilver. Oddly, some of the best sound came from a cheap, battery-powered Marcoff "PP1" back in the day. It sounded so nice through my Pass "Forte" pre.

The DL103 is a cartridge that delivered consistently satisfying performance over it's entire life. It's a "sound" investment.

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