Denon Dl 103 cartridge soundsmith question


Hi Everyone,
Recently i acquired a mint Denon DL 103, soundsmith ruby OCL retip. As this is my second cartridge, the earlier one i had was Shure  M91ED MM cartridge. As i am quiet new to Turntable and do not have much experience about it, your inputs would help me.
I have never listened the original DL 103, i would like to know if the retip still has the warmth that original cartridge is known for(I could not sense any compared to my shure)? Compared to the shure the only difference i noticed is that the Denon has more top end and is more resolved. But at the same time, it seems to have lost the depth, the sound is not 3D anymore. The cartridge is new, so I am thinking maybe after breakin this issue would be resolved or not.
Any thoughts?

Regards,
Rakesh.
rockymystic

Showing 1 response by hdm

I would definitely take Dan’s advice with respect to higher VTF. I ran Soundsmith modified 103R’s for about 6-7 years including one in an ebony body with the the ruby cantilver and OCL stylus.

Personally I would not consider tracking that cartridge below 2.3 grams and would probably experiment between 2.3 and 2.4 grams. 2 grams is ridiculously low, 1.5 grams absurd.

The OCL is also likely to be the most difficult stylus you will ever have to set up. Very small changes to VTF, VTA/SRA and azimuth will throw it off and have it sounding far from its best. The window in terms of all three of these setup parameters is extremely narrow so unless you are very lucky in terms of setup you are going to be doing a fair bit of experimentation to get this cartridge really dialed in.

Try and get the azimuth dead on to start with and then experiment with very small changes in VTA/SRA from a neutral position (top of headshell parallel to record surface) while re-adjusting VTF (I would probably stick to around 2.4 grams in the initial stages) each time you have adjusted VTA.

Once you feel you have the VTA nailed down/properly set, then try reducing the VTF in extremely small increments (about .020 grams). There will likely be a sweet spot between 2.3 and 2.4 grams in which lower starts to sound a bit more aggressive and hi-fi-ish and higher starts to muddy the bass/lower frequencies.