Has anyone heard the Denon 103-SA?

Clavil,

The differences you describe might be due more to replacing an old cart/stylus with a fresh on more so than any inherent differences in design/sound perhaps? Styli in particular require replacing from time to time with normal use.

The 103R (acquired from audiocubes a while back)is the best sounding cart I've used in my Linn rig in the last 25 years. Vinyl performance in my rig compres favorably to most anything I have heard around of late. I will probably buy a second at some point. I may look into one of Soundsmith's upgrades for that and also get my current 103R retipped by same as a spare.

Raul,

Can you elaborate on how the Azden beats the Denon 103R and under what conditions?

How would it fit into my Linn Axis table with basik tonearm?

The Denons have been around a while but are still manufactured new I believe. How old are the Azdens? Is there a risk of performance deterioration due to age? Also, does anybody retip these if needed?

I've often thought a higher mass tonearm might be better for the 103R however I have been most satisfied with it on the Linn as is.

Question.

When one replaces a used cartridge with a new one of similar design in good working order, doesn't the new cart almost always sound better? Styli are subject to wear and tear every time you play a record and should be replaced or retipped periodically. High end and perhaps resulting detail are usually the first thing to be affected.