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Brief comparison of AT150mlx, Ortofon MC20 super, Denon DL303 and DL103r

AT150mlx (bought new, few hundred hours) is on Bluemotion with Satisfy arm
MC20 (0.25mV, newly retipped) and DL103r (0.25mV, bought new, low hour) are on Garrard 301 with Ortofon RS212 arm (with the extra weight removed)
DL303 (0.2mV, bought used, hours unknown) is on Denon Dp80 with DA401 arm

I used Denon HA1000 at 24dB gain for all MC cartridges. Phono pre is MAGI Phonomenal. The rank I give is, 103r, MC20, AT150MLX and DL303.
I thought MC20 super would be an easy winner, but I was surprised how good 103r was. Also, AT150MLX is quite close to MC20 super. A bit disappointed with 303. I thought it would be better than 103r. It’s distance 4th, even though it still sounds very good. Maybe it needs to be retipped.
It was fun to play around.
128x128ihcho
2 responses Add your response
billwojo
397 posts
 
I'm a big fan of the Denon 103 series of cartridges. Interesting test and results. A lot of folks here talk down the DL-103 carts and the mods that you can do to them. My opinion is that the basic motor design is very, very good and the basic DL-103 sounds the way it does because of the motor despite being a conical. As you upgrade it, it gets even better.
Good to see that your DL-103R did so well in that lineup.
BillWojo
ihcho's avatar
ihcho OP
612 posts
 
Thanks for your response. I would say these models belong to an entry level of very high end audio. Their price range is $400 ~ $800. AT is a bit aggressive in mid-high and DL303 sounds a bit too modest to my test. What I value most is the sound stage and imaging. The music I used was mostly full orchestration. I might upload some audio clips if I don't have much to do over the break. I bet my preference may change with different setup and different styles of music. I mostly listen to classical and jazz. Some pops, folks, ..., yes occasionally metals and hard rocks. I might also try with an SUT. Too little time for all this fun.
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