Denon | 110th Anniversary | Silver-Graphite Headshell and DL103

Old version of the shell is here on Denon DA-303 NHK broadcast tonearm from the 70s.

I believe a new version is pretty much high-end.

Nice shell indeed.

~18.5 gm - nice.  Doesn't appear azimuth is adjustable though. 

Nice, but 600 bucks? Is the headshell really graphite? Any graphite I have ever handled is usually quite lite-weight. I'm just glad they are making carts. The DL-103 and variants are my favorite carts.

BillWojo

I don’t think it’s heavy, the mass given for a DL-103 + Shell. Definitely not plastic like it was over 40 years ago. But the price is too high for a combo, this is why I’d like to buy just headshell, hope after anniversary adition they will make it available separately for realistic price. 

Do you have DL-103D ? @billwojo

I have a stock DL-103, a rebuilt DL-103S and a rebuilt DL-103 in a wood body. Both rebuilds were by Steve at VAS Audio. The 103S has an elliptical on the stock cantilever and the wood bodied 103 has a hyper elliptical with a new aluminum cantilever. I have a DL-103D and a DL-103R, both with broken cantilevers. I'll send them on to Steve down the road.
I know you don't like rebuilding carts but I have never paid more than 80 bucks for a "Core" that can be rebuilt. Rebuilding cost is very reasonable and I can just drop them off, Steve is only an hour from me.
I think the basic Denon DL-103 and it's variants have a dam good generator that makes a nice starting point. Heck, there is an entire cottage industry built around these carts.

BillWojo

So you never tried DL-103D with elliptical tip and higher compliance ? 
I bought this cartridge NOS just for fun, we will see 

I've heard good things about the DL-103D as well. Along with the DL-103S it's more a mid compliance cartridge so gets along with a lot more tonearms as well. It will be interesting to hear your comments on it. What arm will you mount it on? I'm thinking the Victor UA-7045 might be a good match.
BillWojo

Lustre GST-801 or Fidelity-Research 64fx @billwojo 

I own a DL103D that got de-cantilevered in one of my very rare audiophile accidents, many decades ago.  I kept the body for reasons I can no longer remember, because back then there were no re-tippers and/or there was no internet for them to advertise their existence.  I guess I thought I would send it back to Denon but never did.  As to the headshell, doesn't it appear to be suited only to the DL103 body or to any cartridges that are narrower than the DL103?  Because of those side panels that extend down from the top surface.  A Clearaudio, Miyajima, or some other brands of wide-bodied cartridges might not fit. As I recall, the DL103D was a nice cartridge but maybe not as good as my Grado TLZ that I must have bought after the Denon disaster.

I think the new shell is nice for all Denon cartridges, but since the overhang is adjustable it can be used for all cartridges (if a cartridge body is not wider than 103). 

But even this Denon DL-103D is not easy to find nowadays!

I remember some old posts on audiogon about US Denon and their old stock of 103D, but it’s all gone.

It was introduced in 1977 and discontinued about 20 years later. The main feature is flat frequency response up to 65kHz.

Its special elliptical needle made of 0.1 mm square fine solid diamond is even lighter than DL-103S.

The cantilever has a tapered double structure and the damper is softer than classic 103 or 103R, so the compliance is higher (12cu at 100Hz).

*Output voltage is 0.25mV.
*Channel separation is more than 28 dB.
*Impedance is 33Ω.
*Recommended tracking firce is 1.5g (± 0.2g).
*Frequency response is 20-65,000Hz...

Made in Japan by Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd

Denon DL103D

It was introduced in 1977 and discontinued about 20 years later. The main feature is flat frequency response up to 65kHz. 

No its not, not even close.
I got offered a stash of NOS 103D's in the early 2000's - went through each box and checked the response curves supplied with each cartridge - each one was different. I selected the best of the batch for my own use. There was a wide variation in the responses as tested by Denon, particularly in the upper frequencies.

Not flat or not up to 65kHz?

Each 103 is different in channel output, even new production, this is why Zu Audio divine them in 2 or even 3 grades.

But according to manual only discontinued “D” version can reproduce high frequency up to 65k (because of the elliptical tip), the rest are conical.

lewm, it's time to pull that old DL-103D out of storage and send it out for a rebuild. It's to nice of a generator to have sitting unused.
BillWojo

What cantilever and stylus profile would you recommend, in keeping with JCarr advice not to deviate too far from original moving mass? I’ll have to see if I can even find the cantilever-less body. Last time I had it in hand I seriously considered tossing it.

Not sure where you see that the overhang is adjustable with this headshell.  It is set at 50mm.  There is no adjustment for both overhang and azimuth that I can find.  I have the anniversary unit and it does sound great.