Dazed & confused in this complcated world - need some he

by **bogdan** » 07 Jul 2004 10:39

Hy everybody,
I'm using an Technics SL1100 with its original arm and an AT440 MM, for mostly classical music. I own this system since less than one year and I begin to feel that it's much more to find about it... So I would like to improve.
Before changing the arm, I would like to find a better cartridge and i think that going through an MC model is a good step. So I look over the DENON's offer.
Questions for nice peoples who will answer me :
1. DL103 about 150$/€ : it seems the diamond is eliptical but even on DENON's site (http://www.denon.fr/produits/hi_fi/plat ... ellule/dl/) they give only one dimension (0.2mm), oposing to the DL160 witch is also eliptical but the specs give two dimensions (0.07 x 0.14). Some mistake or lack of information ?
2. DL160 about 115$/€ - why it's cheaper than DL103 as it seems it's a model superior to the DL103 ?
3. The SL1100's original arm must be a "heavy" arm, according to what I understood surfing on this forum. Does theese two cart. fit with ? Is it an enough "precise" arm for an MC cart ?
4. Generaly, where can I find informations about the "rules" in matching arms with cartridges, about the parameters involved, etc ?

Thanks to those who will have pity of my soul !

by **Brian C.** » 07 Jul 2004 15:32

Hello Bogdan

the Denon DL-103 has a spherical, not eliptical, stylus.

Brian.

by **JaS** » 07 Jul 2004 16:23

The arm and cartridge should be fairly well matched at the moment and its unlikely the Standard Technics arm would work well with a MC cartridge. I'd be tempted to upgrade the arm first so that you can hear what the cartridge you have is capable of, then move on from there?

Regards,
JaS

by **bogdan** » 07 Jul 2004 21:52

Hello Brian,
OK it's spherical...Wondering, wondering... how come that DENON FRANCE seys it's eliptical ? They should take as all (the frenchies) as a litle bit dumb !?!

Thanks JaS for your point of view. Makes me a litle bit unhappy, 'cause if you're right, I'l have to wait ( music ) for a while : the tonearms that I'm aiming to are to expensives for me at the moment. By the way, what exactly makes you say that the Technics arm is not suitebel with an MC cart ? It's about what it's usualy called "precise" or "not precise". What exactly this means ? I know that the DL103 is adviced for heavy arms, and I do not think the Technic's is an light one. So ?

Regards,
Bogdan

by **bogdan** » 07 Jul 2004 22:13

Hy, It's me again,
What do you think about an Orhofon tonearm. Could it match better with the DL103 ?

by **Paiboon Pokpoon** » 08 Jul 2004 07:41

Hi,

1. The DL 103 is a low output MC cartridge with a spherical stylus. This model has many variants, such as, DL 103 R, DL 103 D, DL 103 FL, etc., which signify different kinds of stylus used on them. It is supposed to be well matched with a heavy tonearm (like my Dynavector DV505).

2. The DL 160 is a high output MC with a fine cut solid diamond elliptical stylus - so small that you can hardly see it with naked eyes, a good quality stylus at this price. I have one of my own and I like it.

I don't know if this is a rule of thumb: for the same series of a brand, a low output mc is usually more expensive than a high output mc. Please check if it's true or not.

3. Your SL1100 is probably compatible with a heavy arm. I have heard from somewhere that the DV505 is one of its good companions. Unfortunately, this arm model has been out of production line long ago. If you are lucky enough, you may find it in a second-hand market. Otherwise, you may look for other brand, which, I think, are still available on the market today.

4. For Tonearm/Cartridge Capability, please refer to the relevant page on http://www.gcaudio.com./resources/howto ... ridge.html

Best regards,

by **JaS** » 08 Jul 2004 08:24

the tonearms that I'm aiming to are to expensives for me at the moment. By the way, what exactly makes you say that the Technics arm is not suitebel with an MC cart ?

If we are talking about the same turntable the standard Technics arm just isn't that great and probably won't be capable of doing justice to a more expensive cartridge. Back in its day the SME3009 was often fitted as an upgrade to the SL1100 and made a reasonable match, if a little way off the mark by modern standards. If you have a tonearm in mind then its probably more important to make sure that the Denon is a good match for that and not worry too much about your current arm?

Regards,
JaS