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MC cartridge help needed: Grace G840 - Denon 301 mk2 - Denon 103R


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Haha touche! But surely that's pretty close ;)

 

Good to know there's options on gain

 

My preference is to avoid additional equipment unless needed (or, until later!!!), so first I'll give it the 'ears test' and see how the system feels. 

 

I also wonder if slight gain increases can be had through slight changes in tube choice, but at what cost to quality / tube life I've no idea

 

First things first, I think best to get it all up and running! 

 

Will update when I know more

 

Thanks again peeps, you've been super helpful 

 

:)

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

's been a week or two with the new cartridge(s), phono stage and preamp, so I thought I'd send an update, with a few pics this time too

 

So, the new gear is very nice!

 

The Turner phono stage and preamp have an awesome rustic charm. Clearly a hand made project, a very cool look which I love. 

 

It came with vintage tubes (requires 8 small tubes) , plus a handful of spares to play with, all vintage. 

 

It sounded great from the get-go. But, I couldn't help but feel, with my amp being tubes too, that it had added a little too much tube warmth and atmospherics. 

 

It was recommended that some current production Russian tubes (Gold Lion, Electro-Harmonix) would take away some of the warmth and atmospherics, and add linearity and dynamics. That was definitely true, and I loved the difference they made. 

 

I'm the meantime I've also added a Denon 301 mk2, which again sounds great. The Philips has the edge at the moment, but the Denon only has a couple of hours on it, Suu that very well might change. 

 

Thanks again for the advice @MattyW @andyr

 

:D

 

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20201009_185745.jpg

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No worries,  the Phillips definitely has a wider sound stage though the 301 has a warmer sound. Both have nice depth. The Phillips is interesting in that it tends to take on the sound signature of whatever the phono stage and interconnects have,  as though it has no sound of its own. The 301 in comparison definitely has its own character. 

 

If a system were lacking body the 301 has a clear edge,  on the other hand if it does not my vote goes to the Phillips.  It's good enough that it just continues to improve as the rest of your system improves. I rate it over the Audio Technica ART9 in many ways.

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21 minutes ago, MattyW said:

No worries,  the Phillips definitely has a wider sound stage though the 301 has a warmer sound. Both have nice depth. The Phillips is interesting in that it tends to take on the sound signature of whatever the phono stage and interconnects have,  as though it has no sound of its own. The 301 in comparison definitely has its own character. 

 

If a system were lacking body the 301 has a clear edge,  on the other hand if it does not my vote goes to the Phillips.  It's good enough that it just continues to improve as the rest of your system improves. I rate it over the Audio Technica ART9 in many ways.

That is very insightful indeed

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9 hours ago, Dexx13 said:

's been a week or two with the new cartridge(s), phono stage and preamp, so I thought I'd send an update, with a few pics this time too

 

So, the new gear is very nice!

 

The Turner phono stage and preamp have an awesome rustic charm. Clearly a hand made project, a very cool look which I love. 

 

It came with vintage tubes (requires 8 small tubes) , plus a handful of spares to play with, all vintage. 

 

It sounded great from the get-go. But, I couldn't help but feel, with my amp being tubes too, that it had added a little too much tube warmth and atmospherics. 

 

It was recommended that some current production Russian tubes (Gold Lion, Electro-Harmonix) would take away some of the warmth and atmospherics, and add linearity and dynamics. That was definitely true, and I loved the difference they made. 

 

I'm the meantime I've also added a Denon 301 mk2, which again sounds great. The Philips has the edge at the moment, but the Denon only has a couple of hours on it, Suu that very well might change. 

 

Thanks again for the advice @MattyW @andyr

 

:D

 

20201009_222847.jpg

20201009_185745.jpg

20201009_223004.jpg

System looks great ? I like the gear rack you’ve made for the components and some rekkuds. 

 

Also running a Denon 301 mk2 for about a year now. Interestingly, I preferred a loading around 370ohms. 
 

Am struggling to decide where to go to upgrade from the Denon, so you know it’s a solid pickup. 

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31 minutes ago, crtexcnndrm99 said:

System looks great ? I like the gear rack you’ve made for the components and some rekkuds. 

 

Also running a Denon 301 mk2 for about a year now. Interestingly, I preferred a loading around 370ohms. 
 

Am struggling to decide where to go to upgrade from the Denon, so you know it’s a solid pickup. 

Thanks buddy. That was a 3m-ish long bookshelf unit that has always been too big and heavy. So I took to it with a saw! To turn it into two units half the size. And this half looks pretty sweet as it's open ended. It's solid timber, and the beams run all the way across the supports, so it's strong enough to hold up (for now!) 

 

My loading is at 470 at the mo. To change that requires soldering in a different resistor. Easy enough, but not something I've needed to try yet. Will let the 301 burn in before doing anything else. 

 

On that note, do you remember how long a break in period the 301ii had? 

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2 hours ago, Dexx13 said:

Thanks buddy. That was a 3m-ish long bookshelf unit that has always been too big and heavy. So I took to it with a saw! To turn it into two units half the size. And this half looks pretty sweet as it's open ended. It's solid timber, and the beams run all the way across the supports, so it's strong enough to hold up (for now!) 

 

My loading is at 470 at the mo. To change that requires soldering in a different resistor. Easy enough, but not something I've needed to try yet. Will let the 301 burn in before doing anything else. 

 

On that note, do you remember how long a break in period the 301ii had? 


Nice, yeah I’ve got the luxury of just flicking some dip switches to change loading to any value. 
 

I reckon the 50hr burn in is probably accurate. That being said, I’ve got a few hundo now and it’s never sounded better ?

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On 20/09/2020 at 2:31 PM, MattyW said:

No worries,  let me know how you get on with it  :)

 

The Phillips has a better sound stage than any of the Denon carts. I did enjoy a shibata tipped DL303 for a time.  Still have a few 103's. Never use any longer but can't bring myself to sell them. 

Just retipped a 103LC I bought with no stylus with boron and microridge, the 103 with this combo is stunning. I did this as I have retipped two denon 103 recently and of course tested them and this test in both cases made me sit up and pay attention. I never understand this concept that a MC is an upgrade (it is not, my best cart is a MI, second best is a MI, third is a MM, forth is a MM then it is my MC's), that said the 103 retipped is a massive bargain, even with stock stylus it sounds nice. I have lots of really good MC's, Benz micro gliders, Dyneavector 17d3, Madrigal Carnie's (two of) Monster cable carts, list goes on and on, the 103 stands up well, very well when you look at the price. Carts are not all about MC though..

Chris

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1 hour ago, cafe latte said:

Just retipped a 103LC I bought with no stylus with boron and microridge, the 103 with this combo is stunning. I did this as I have retipped two denon 103 recently and of course tested them and this test in both cases made me sit up and pay attention. I never understand this concept that a MC is an upgrade (it is not, my best cart is a MI, second best is a MI, third is a MM, forth is a MM then it is my MC's), that said the 103 retipped is a massive bargain, even with stock stylus it sounds nice. I have lots of really good MC's, Benz micro gliders, Dyneavector 17d3, Madrigal Carnie's (two of) Monster cable carts, list goes on and on, the 103 stands up well, very well when you look at the price. Carts are not all about MC though..

Chris

My best cart is low output moving iron.... Followed by regular old moving iron. I've more high end LOMC's though which will compete for second place.  My Grado Statement Master 1 is my best cart though and eventually it will recieve a better cantilever and tip to make an even better cart. ;)

 

When someone asks for a MC upgrade, I'll suggest the best possible MC upgrade for a given price point.... I'm not loyal to any particular concept. The sound is all that matters.  :)

Edited by MattyW
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