Will Michell Technoarm work with Denon 103R?


Hi There,

I ordered the OL Silver arm to be used with a Denon 103R cart and I was going to do twl's hifi mod. But... the OL Silver order fell through and I have the option to switch to the Michell Technoarm. I understand that the Michell Technoarm has lower effective mass than the OL silver. Will this arm work with the Denon DL103? Has anyone done twl's hifi mod to this arm?

Thanks,

Todd
goatwuss

Showing 3 responses by twl

You can apply the HiFi mod to the Technoarm, in a very similar way as the RB250. Just Blu-Tack the weights onto the sides of the bearing housing, so it appears like they are extensions of the bearing axle, and it will work fine.

Very worthwhile mod when using the DL103R.
If you fit the HiFi mod to either arm, the effective mass will be fine for the DL103R. Yes, there is a little difference in mass between the two arms, but with the HiFi mod on them, you won't notice it.

I think that the OL Silver is the better arm, but the Techno Arm has some nice features with the counterweight, and wiring upgrades.
The main thing about the Silver that I like over the other RB250 hotrods is that the Silver has the bearings moved out to the bearing housing yoke instead of having them in the arm tube. This widens the "stance" of the bearings, and this is a much more stable arrangement for the bearings.

Regarding the other stuff on the TecnoArm

Holes drilled lowers effective mass, which is going the wrong way for the cartridge you intend to use.

Foam inside the arm is not a good thing in my opinion.

The machined headshell and counterweight are nice things.

Unbroken wiring upgrade is a good idea, but I'm not a fan of silver litz wire.

With the OL Silver, you get a better basic structure, but you still need to buy some additional things like an upgraded counterweight. It is not "the last word" in tonearms, but it is a very nice choice in the price range, especially if you plan to use a low compliance cartridge, and that it has the availability of the HiFi mod to make it a match for such cartridges. For "leading edge dynamics" it is probably one of the best setups that you can buy, regardless of price. It may lack in certain areas compared to the high-priced superarms, but is a quite competent performer in all areas. And even the superarms aren't perfect, either. At least, with this arm with the HiFi mod, it can claim state-of-the-art performance in one area(leading edge dynamics), which is more than anyone can say about any other sub-$1k tonearm. Not perfect, but nothing is, and it is a good arm for the money.