Question on Denon DL-103 retipping options and preferences

Hi - I know the Audiomods arm, I have set a couple up, including one on a the top of the range Platine Verdier turntable,.

In my view forget about the Denon 103 standard or modded - the arm does not suit it.

For your budget for a MC under $700 my recommendation would be

AT33PTG/2 -this is an excellent cartridge with boron cantilver and micro ridge advanced profile stylus. It is very musical - around $650

ATOC9/XML - again this is an excellent cartridge with boron cantilever and microridge stylus - around $550

The AT33PTG/2 is a very well balnced, smooth, detailed cartridge that punches well above its price. The OC9/XML, again excellent value for money, has a little more bottom end punch than the AT33. Between the 2 its a choice of beautiful balance ( AT33) , or more punch (OC9).

Although the OC9/XML is not the top of the OC9 range this is the most musical of the OC9 range, the microlinear stylus is not as finicky as the higher priced shibata which can sound brittle.
Same with the AT33PTG/2 - the micro linear stylus profile has the best balance of detail and not to bright or brittle.

My own prefernce of the 2 is the AT33PTG/2 - its a fantastic cartridge for the money. For reference I currently use Koetsu, Ikeda and Dynavector cartridges north of $5k but could happily listen to the AT33PTG/2.

I recently traded for a 103, and have been enjoying how it makes my records sound like late night radio listening as a kid, in the 70s and 80s.
But really, it is much inferior to the next model in the Denon line up, the 301 mkII. Unless you also want your records to sound like pre-digital radio.

I have the Audiomods Series 3 with a Soundsmith modified Denon DL 103 and as other posters mentioned it is not a perfect match to the Arm.

However, the Zu 103 is a much better match due to the additional mass of the cartridge housing

So being a handy guy I simply made an adaption to the cartridge, by epoxying the cartridge to a small brass mounting plate that I made..

http://image99.net/blog/files/23c020f75290d3392577113371f4dc94-38.html

The cost of this tweak was all of $12.50 for the plate and epoxy

Now I enjoy the superb details that this Optimaized Contour Line Contact stylus is capable of and the tracking is perfect.

Epoxying the cadrtridge to the plate did two things

1. made the cartridge housing much more robust and less prone to unwanted vibrations and
2. stoped the fixing bolts from distorting the housing when tightened.

.Havene’t even considered another cartridge since

Is it the best solution?

• not really - I could have trashed what was at the time a brand new Saoundsmith modified DL 103 cartridge
• But I learned lots in the process
• Full Disclosure - I had already completed this same adaption on a standard 103 cartridge, so I already knew that it would significantly improve performance.

So if you are wary about modifying cartridges in this manner, then buy a Zu and send it to Soundsmith (or other similar outfit) because the shperical stylus and associated catilever is not the best choice for such a capable cartridge.

Regards - Steve

I have had retipping (and more!) done by Soundsmith, VAS and Needle Clinic.  All of the retipped carts sound great (all of them better than new), but...

Soundsmith retipped my Grado Reference Platinum (saphire cantilever, line contact) in 2017.  Sounds great, but they had to break the wood body apart (crack line is obvious) and they did not mention it at all when I finally got it back over 2 1/2 months later.  Was the work actually done in the US?

NAS retipped 2 Ortofon MC20 Super IIs for me this year (boron cantilevers, one micro ridge, one line contact).  They sound great.  VAS is cagey about turnaround times, though.  First it was maybe a month, then it was suddenly ready.  Outsourced somewhere.  Also, they offered to machine a wood body for one of them but when they received the cartridges they were unable to do it.  And really,  "Friends and Family"?

Needle Clinic has done 6 cartridges for me over the years:

In 2017 they retipped a Denon DL-103R (saphire/line contact) and put it in a wood body (eBay - Stanley Engineering Shop for wood bodies) for me at no extra charge.  It's great.  Turnaround time including the shipping both ways was 8 days (I checked my emails and tracking).   

This year, first my Grado Statement Reference (boron/micro ridge).  Great sound; 9 days turnaround.

Next, I sent them 6 carts at once.  2 turned out to be unrepairable - no charge.  One should have been - a Denon DL-(alpha)S1 with a tiny crack in the suspension missed on initial inspection.  But they told me they would repair it so they did, at the original price; boron/micro ridge.   They put boron/line contact on an Orofon MC20 and boron/micro ridge on a Denon DL-301.  And last but not least, they put boron/microridge on an Ortofon MC20 Super and removed the body (their idea).  That nude MC20 Super is a true reviewer's tool.  All this - turnaround time 10 days.

I recommend Needle Clinic.  Yes you can get quality work elsewhere but not that quickly every time.  And they will answer their phone and their emails promptly.

I went to VAS because I wanted to try a wood body on the Orofon MC20 Super II but... see above.

Plastic, metal, wood, nude - all sound different.  I bet Needle Clinic will put that wood body on for you if you ask, and probably no extra charge.  The old one has to come off to retip it anyway.

Well that is a reasonably sized list of Cart's sent in under the knife.

Changing Cantilever Materials and Body Materials will bring much more to the forefront than the re-tip only.

I'm sure you are wondering why the Original Manufactures didn't become so adventurous and use the alternate options to Voice Cart's for a broader audience to discover their own preferences. 

Personally, my hobby is building and customizing Linn LP12s and tube amps, and ripping LPs to hirez with a PS Audio Phono Converter.  I often run a Sunvalley SV-EQ1616D into it.  I listen via a DAC3 and either Pass XA100.5s through MBL 126s or a Golden Tube Audio SE-40 through Klipsch Forte IVs.

To me, different LPs sound better with different carts.  Probably the most accurate one I have now is that MC20 Super but I have a lot of vinyl that could use a bit of "grace and forgiveness".  The Grado Statement and various Denons (nude and in various bodies) give me options to put an LP in its best light.