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How do you tame a Denon DL-S1?

I recently got a Denon DL-S1. It has a very low output. I have a Minimax phono preamp and a Dodd. I have been rolling tubes and trying various things to see what works best with the Denon. When I use the stock JJ 6922 tubes in my Dodd and run the Denon directly into the 47k input, the detail and texture of the voice is unbelievable. I didn’t know there was that much information in the grooves. The problem is that I have to run the gain of my preamp up so high and the overall tone is not quite as good as with 60’s Amperexs or the Sovtek 6922s. With the other two I lose a lot of the detail and texture. My question is; would a SUT give me more gain and still keep the detail and texture? Would the SUT improve the overall tone? Would a blue Cinemag be a good choice?

I suspect that it might be a similar problem to other high information mc cartridges

Bob
rsimms
lewm
12,563 posts
 
What is your question? Are you hoping to find someone else who uses the exact same three components? If not, that combination should "work". Obviously you need to set your phono stage for 70 db gain. Then try different load impedances until you get a tonal balance that pleases you. Since the internal resistance of the DL-S1 (which you did not post above, but which I think is around 30-40 ohms) is relatively high for a low output MC, you may find that you lose some apparent gain with load impedances below ~100 ohms. (This is probably why they recommend using ">100 ohms".) It's up to you to decide what you like, after that. Despite the Denon recommendation, one guy on VA uses a load resistance below 100 ohms and is happy with the sound. He acknowledges that some gain is lost.
redglobe
223 posts
 
CFLUX, I only tried 2 of the settings on my Jasmine with the DL-S1 (50 ohms and 100 ohms). I prefer the setting of 100 ohms. It is very clean and open sounding. There is no gain setting on my Jasmine 2.0.
roth_s
11 posts
 
Likewise, my Jasmine 2.0LP MKII sounds best at 100 ohms and its 70dB gain is perfectly adequate. I prefer this setup over Blue Cinemag 1131 + MM setting. Then again, my Jasmine has some significant mods.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
Old thread but I felt I had to jump in when I read some crazy comments. Raul and I seem to have drastically different perspectives! The best way to handle the fragile signal of a LOMC is always a SUT. It may be a journey to find the right one but it will sound the most dynamic and the closest to the music. Parks audio sells excellent ones with cinemag trannies for excellent value.
Gerard
chuxhifi
4 posts
 
I'm running a DL-S1 through a Jolida JD-9, loaded at 100 ohms, with Telefunkens. With VTL gear driving 92db Dunlavy IV, my linestage gain is set at about 10 o'clock, with gobs of gain to burn. Better match than any of the half dozen transformers/head amps I've tried...
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