Denon 103R - Stereo-Lab Ebony wood version

[turntable]

The denon 103 & 103R are great MC cartridges for very little cost in todays market and has been on the market in one variation or another since the 1960's and has a cult status with a lot of audiophiles.

PRAT is brilliant with this cartridge and so is the overall tone - on the warmish side. One weakness is the cheap plastic body of the 103/103R. In the 103R this can give a slight disjointed unbalanced sound - quite big bass coupled with a slightly ragged treble. PRAT is brilliant with this cartridge and so is the overall tone - on the warmish side.

There are many variations of the denon 103 these days, with most of them offering different bodies to the stk one. Zu audio have aluminium, Uwe had the original pressue fit wood bodies and even denon have the 103SA to name a few.

I bought a Stereo lab Ebony wood version of the 103R from Germany and it arrived yesterday. Setup is very easy now as the wood body has tapped screws, rather than the frustrating screw and nut on the original.
photo's below

http://www.stereo-lab.de/tonabnehmer...e/index-1.html

How does it sound?

Well, it looks really kool and sounds smooth as soft butter, still with nice detail. The somewhat ragged treble has disappeared and the boomy bass has become one with the rest of the musical spectrum. the 103r is still fast sounding and highly addictive, even if it does not have the ultimate transparency and detail of other MC's.

Setting it up on a expensive TT may seem like a little crazy, however the Ebony body gives it such a balanced performance it is not outclassed and sounds really nice.

Soundwise it is in the Koetsu mold and not the Lyra/Clearaudio. If your system is warm and cuddly, the Stereo-lab Ebony 103R or any 103 will be too much of a good thing. However if your system is around neutral or slighty detailed/lean, it could well be a great match.

Well worth the 445 Euro and highly recommended to any music lover.

Gents, give us your experiences with the denon 103.

[PHC1]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing Shane.

[markc2]

link didn't work....

[turntable]

try this and click onto stereo lab tona - Its a german site

Tonabnehmer - Stereo Lab

[markc2]

Originally Posted by turntable

try this and click onto stereo lab tona - Its a german site

Tonabnehmer - Stereo Lab

thank you !!

it kind of reminds me of this guy

http://www.10audio.com/miyajima_shilabe.htm

nice turntable shots too

[turntable]

Yea I have heard the Shilabe in my system. Sounds shit - boring as hell with no microdynamics - treble is extended and smooth, but ultimately not worth $280 let alone $2800.

Two of my audiobuddies wasted their money and have just them. the good thing is that the USA importer will buy any 2nd hand Miyajima cart on audiogon as he does not want to give any impressions that people are selling them. he evens asked them to delete them from audiogon so it does not sit there for 30days

cheers

[audiosoul]

I inquired about this cart. about a year ago on another forum. One poster said they were a bitch to setup. There are square edges on the body to align the cart. I lost interest after I read that.......