Spent An Evening Listening to a Denon DL 303

[Mister Pig]

Had this cartridge retipped a couple of months ago, and felt I should at least listen to it and verify that the work was done correctly. I also wanted to clean up some tarnish that was on the body of my Clearaudio cartridge...original owner was from Florida and man is that place hard on metal finishes.

So this afternoon I installed the Denon on the Thorens ET combo and got it lined out. Been listening to it off and on all evening, and it rreally is an inviting cartridge. Has warmth and texture and a liquid sound that is significantly different than the Clearaudio. That cartridge is vivid, intimate, and transparent to almost a fault. Kind of like looking through those clear waters in the Caribbean and seeing all the aquatic life flitting on by. The Denon is more like a bubbling brook, smooth, relaxing, yet remarkably textured and commutative. While I tend to gravitate more to the sound of the Clearaudio, I have to say this Denon makes a wonderful change of pace, and a strong case for a warm and inviting cartridge presentation. This cartridge sounds nothing like the DL103R I had, or even the one I got back from Soundsmith when I had a ruby cantilever and diamond put on it. I believe I like this one better.

I can easily see myself spending an evening listening to this cartridge, and being a content piggie. I sure wish I could find a few arm wands for the ET II so I could have these two cartridges mounted up and ready to swap out. Time to start cruising Ebay with some seriousness.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[Erik Tracy]

thanks for sharing....another good post to keep in mind as a reference point!

 

[ggrey]

I am currently spinning with a Denon DL 304. I am not familiar with the 303. Do you happen to know how the 303 and 304 are related Mr Pig?

 

[guiller]

Very interesting: thanks for sharing your views.

 

[Frank Sol]

Good stuff... :thmbsp:

 

[Mister Pig]

I am currently spinning with a Denon DL 304. I am not familiar with the 303. Do you happen to know how the 303 and 304 are related Mr Pig?

Afraid I do not know a lot of Denon history. I may be wrong, but Denon went through a merger in 2002 with Marantz Japan INC, and things changed at that time in terms of cartridge manufacturing...among other things.

This cartridge came from the earlier Denon, which Nippon Columbia merged with Japan Denki Onkyo, and that was the Denon most vintage people are familiar with. Also the creators of the 103 series of cartridges.

From what I have read the Denon DL 305 and 303 were the top of the line, and next to the top in their product line for that time period. The difference with the 305 using a boron cantilever. I have read where others think the 303/305 have more in common with the DL-S1 than the 304, which at first seems to be the logical predecessor to the 303. Not sure why they say that though.

But the 303 is a very nice cartridge, easy to listen to, yet nicely detailed. This morning I put the Clearaudio back on, as I took it off to do some clean up work on the body. I still prefer the Clearaudio Signature, but that was a $2500 cartridge in 2000......the 303 acquits itself nicely in comparison.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[fiddlefye]

Sounds like a lovely cart and I'm glad you put it in order. Your description is of a sound I for one would find pleasurable. What sort of rep have you played with it so far? I'm curious how it works out with large orchestral works and such, often a stumbling block in my experience. Getting all of that information out of the grooves and getting the timbre right at the same time is not an easy task.

 

[illini]

Thanks for posting this. No experience w/this cart.

 

[theophile]

I used the 303 for about 3 years. This was way before the internet and if I'd known of a place(at the time) where I could get it retipped, I would have done so.

Like all good cartridges, its performance reflects the ability of the owner to align it and set-up their turntable. Get all that right and musical magic.

It is the only Denon cartridge I've ever used.

 

[ETI_5000]

Great cartridge – it was third best in their large range of 80’s models.:thmbsp: Here’s a table showing most of the mid-1980’s range, with their current models, in performance order, best first. The cantilever material and shape are included, together with the effective moving mass (if given by Denon), upper frequency limit, stereo separation between channels at 1kHz, tracking force, magnet material (if given) and 1985 prices in Australian dollars:

1) DL-1000A, boron pipe cantilever, 0.077mg effective moving mass, 110kHz upper frequency limit, greater than 30dB separation, 0.8g tracking force, samarium cobalt magnet, $772
2) DL-305, boron pipe, 0.168mg, 75kHz, 28dB, 1.2g, samarium cobalt magnet, $459
3) Current DL-S1, tapered aluminium pipe, 70kHz, 28dB, 1.3g
4) Current DL-304, tapered aluminium pipe, 75kHz, 28dB, 1.2g
5) DL-303, tapered aluminium pipe, 0.18mg, 70kHz, 28dB, 1.2g, samarium cobalt magnet, $349
6) DL-103D, tapered aluminium pipe, 65kHz, 28dB, 1.5g, $309
7) DL-103S, aluminium pipe, 60kHz, 25dB, 1.8g, $219
8) DL-301, tapered aluminium pipe, 0.27mg, 60kHz, 28dB, 1.4g $165 (exactly equivalent to current DL-301Mk2 in performance specs)
9) DL-103, aluminium pipe, 45kHz, 25dB, 2.5g, $159 (now 50 years old, and still made! This is the only one with a conical stylus)
10) DL-160, tapered aluminium pipe, 50kHz, 28dB, 1.6g, $110 (high output MC)
11) DL-110, aluminium pipe, 45kHz, 25dB, 1.8g, $89 (high output MC)

The current DL-301Mk2 equates to the original DL-301, with the same specifications, but a different body – it now uses a similar body to the DL-304 and DL-S1, which is an aluminium alloy body, instead of the plastic used for the DL-301 (Mk1). In fact, the aluminium alloy body used on the DL-301Mk2, DL-304 and DL-S1 is one thing that they’ve inherited from the top-of-the-line, best ever DL-1000A, which was the only 80’s model to have that.

The DL-304 is between the DL-303 and DL-305 in performance, being closer to the DL-303, but slightly better. The DL-S1 is better than the DL-304, but still some way behind the DL-305.

The boron pipe cantilevers used on the DL-1000A and DL-305 were very lightweight, but very fragile, so it would be rare if any have survived. Apparently the main difference between the DL-305 and DL-1000A, according to Denon’s comparison cutaway drawings, was that the cantilever was much shorter on the DL-1000A, being only 4mm long.

Apparently the diamond tip on the DL-303 was twice the size of that on the DL-1000A, which was one of the reasons why the effective moving mass was higher (but still very low) on the DL-303 – the other reason was the cantilever material. It should be pointed out that Denon rated the diamond stylus tip size on the DL-1000A as the smallest of any cartridge made at the time, so it was very small and light. The frequency response on the DL-1000A was rated as 20Hz - 110 kHz ±0.5dB, which is about as good as cartridges get!

It’s also harder to get information on the current models – for instance, they don’t rate the effective moving mass, but it’s almost certain that the DL-S1 and DL-304 are similar to, but perhaps slightly lighter in effective moving mass, than the DL-303. The DL-S1 is very light on for much info, from a perusal of the (Japanese, so I can’t read much except for the specs!) owner’s manual that I downloaded, as it's only two pages, but the DL-304 manual gives a good cutaway diagram showing the internal construction.

 

[Balifly]

Don,

Sad to see, the Denon DL-S1 has been discontinued. :sigh:
http://www.denon.jp/jp/product/page...852e-fd9d-430b-95e9-1ac52844f2a8#.Uj83hNKTh_8

 

[ETI_5000]

That's a shame.:tears: Still, they probably didn't sell too many. From what I understand, the DL-304 and DL-S1 weren't in continuous production - they just made a new batch every so often in response to demand.

 

[ETI_5000]

Looks like they've also discontinued their MC step-up transformers, the AU-S1 and AU-300LC.

 

[Balifly]

Looks like they've also discontinued their MC step-up transformers, the AU-S1 and AU-300LC.

Hoping to see some new/replacement cartridge and SUT models!

 

[srs735]

This post inspired me to check into getting my Denon 103D and AT 33E with broken cantilevers repaired.

No I didn't break either of them, I bought them that way for pennies on the dollar. Now I just hope that they can be repaired

Stuart

 

[beatcomber]

No issues using a MC cartridge on the TD-124, Mister Pig?

 

[bob06]

No issues using a MC cartridge on the TD-124, Mister Pig?

I'm using a MC on my 124 with no problems. :thmbsp:

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Glad you are enjoying your Denons, Mister Pig. I enjoy their MC line, even the plain old DL-103.

 

[Mister Pig]

Great cartridge – it was third best in their large range of 80’s models.:thmbsp: Here’s a table showing most of the mid-1980’s range, with their current models, in performance order, best first. The cantilever material and shape are included, together with the effective moving mass (if given by Denon), upper frequency limit, stereo separation between channels at 1kHz, tracking force, magnet material (if given) and 1985 prices in Australian dollars:

1) DL-1000A, boron pipe cantilever, 0.077mg effective moving mass, 110kHz upper frequency limit, greater than 30dB separation, 0.8g tracking force, samarium cobalt magnet, $772
2) DL-305, boron pipe, 0.168mg, 75kHz, 28dB, 1.2g, samarium cobalt magnet, $459
3) Current DL-S1, tapered aluminium pipe, 70kHz, 28dB, 1.3g
4) Current DL-304, tapered aluminium pipe, 75kHz, 28dB, 1.2g
5) DL-303, tapered aluminium pipe, 0.18mg, 70kHz, 28dB, 1.2g, samarium cobalt magnet, $349
6) DL-103D, tapered aluminium pipe, 65kHz, 28dB, 1.5g, $309
7) DL-103S, aluminium pipe, 60kHz, 25dB, 1.8g, $219
8) DL-301, tapered aluminium pipe, 0.27mg, 60kHz, 28dB, 1.4g $165 (exactly equivalent to current DL-301Mk2 in performance specs)
9) DL-103, aluminium pipe, 45kHz, 25dB, 2.5g, $159 (now 50 years old, and still made! This is the only one with a conical stylus)
10) DL-160, tapered aluminium pipe, 50kHz, 28dB, 1.6g, $110 (high output MC)
11) DL-110, aluminium pipe, 45kHz, 25dB, 1.8g, $89 (high output MC)

The current DL-301Mk2 equates to the original DL-301, with the same specifications, but a different body – it now uses a similar body to the DL-304 and DL-S1, which is an aluminium alloy body, instead of the plastic used for the DL-301 (Mk1). In fact, the aluminium alloy body used on the DL-301Mk2, DL-304 and DL-S1 is one thing that they’ve inherited from the top-of-the-line, best ever DL-1000A, which was the only 80’s model to have that.

The DL-304 is between the DL-303 and DL-305 in performance, being closer to the DL-303, but slightly better. The DL-S1 is better than the DL-304, but still some way behind the DL-305.

The boron pipe cantilevers used on the DL-1000A and DL-305 were very lightweight, but very fragile, so it would be rare if any have survived. Apparently the main difference between the DL-305 and DL-1000A, according to Denon’s comparison cutaway drawings, was that the cantilever was much shorter on the DL-1000A, being only 4mm long.

Apparently the diamond tip on the DL-303 was twice the size of that on the DL-1000A, which was one of the reasons why the effective moving mass was higher (but still very low) on the DL-303 – the other reason was the cantilever material. It should be pointed out that Denon rated the diamond stylus tip size on the DL-1000A as the smallest of any cartridge made at the time, so it was very small and light. The frequency response on the DL-1000A was rated as 20Hz - 110 kHz ±0.5dB, which is about as good as cartridges get!

It’s also harder to get information on the current models – for instance, they don’t rate the effective moving mass, but it’s almost certain that the DL-S1 and DL-304 are similar to, but perhaps slightly lighter in effective moving mass, than the DL-303. The DL-S1 is very light on for much info, from a perusal of the (Japanese, so I can’t read much except for the specs!) owner’s manual that I downloaded, as it's only two pages, but the DL-304 manual gives a good cutaway diagram showing the internal construction.

Thank you for taking the time to write this informative post. It exponentially expands my knowledge on Denon cartridges. I have never seen any of the DL 305 or the DL-1000A for sale, do you ever see any come available?

No issues using a MC cartridge on the TD-124, Mister Pig?

Nope, no issues. i do use the stock aluminum top plate and the rubber mat. So far rung a Clearaudio Signature and the Denon DL 303 on it.

Glad you are enjoying your Denons, Mister Pig. I enjoy their MC line, even the plain old DL-103.

I did have a modified DL103R with ruby cantilever, line contact stylus, and Ebony wood body, and it did sound pretty good. But I like this Denon an awful lot, and wonder how some of the other 103 variants would work, such as the S.

Now ETI 5000 has my curiosity peaked for a DL-1000A, but that is an itch I probably will never get to scratch.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[cdk99]

One on the bay right now..