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MC cartridge upgrade for a Schiit Sol (Denon dl-103r) help!

Hi there!

I’m being in the market over a month for a new cartridge (AT95EN) for my Schiit Sol. I know there’s a ton of options out there like Nagaoka, Ortofon, Sumiko, just to name a few, I knew that MC are more expensive than MM cartridges (I know there’s exceptions) but I found Denon 103R with great reviews and a "affordable" price ($300 more or less) and that’s when I started doing my research about MC cartridges, some people were talking about you "need to make sure your tonearm is compatible with the MC cartridge that you want" they talk about tonearm mass and bunch of other stuff. My question is, How do I know my tonearm is compatible with Denon dl-103r cartridge?! I checked schiit sol manual and does not have any technical information about tonearm weight/mass. I will be using schiit mani preamp.

Thank you ahead for your time!
Edwin
erivera1990

Showing 2 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Your arm is definitely NOT for low compliance cartridges designed in the 60s for superheavy tonearms. Modern tonearms are for modern mid compliance cartridges.

The life span of Denon conical tip is too short, if you think it’s affordable cartridge then take in count the cost of the stylus retip after ~ 500 hrs. Also you need high gain phono stage or SUT for MC!

There are MUCH better vintage MM cartridges than vintage Denon 103 (made today just like it was made in the 60s).

Stay with MM , user replaceable stylus is amazing option. You just need a decent MM, ask in direct messages if you need help, but $300 is too low budget for a decent MM.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Actually Denon DL-103D is much better than 103 and 103R. 

The benefit of 103D is nude Elliptical stylus tip and higher compliance suitable for wider range of modern tonearms.
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