Phono stage setting for DL-110?

vmartell

vmartell

Active Member
Time for my silly question of the month..

As per lpgear and other sites, output level is high enough to connect to MM input... so... if MC input is available, should it still be used with this cart? Or better MM input?

Thinking of upgrading, wanted to ask before... thnx in advance

V
 
The output level of the DH-110 is definitely high enough to use the MM setting, and much too high for the typical MC setting.
 
Agree.

I have a DL 110 and have used it with a heavily modified (by me) JD9 and an heavily modified (by HypoToad) CA 640P.

I have spent many hours dialing it in and loading it.

It is quite good at the standard MM input with a 47K ohms load. If you make 10K ohm plugs and get some good quality splitters you will change the load from 47k to 8.2k ohms ... this will improve the depth and presence of the soundstage. The midrange will become more forward too. This is the best setting I have found to date.

When connected to a MC input which are typically 100 to 1000 ohms it loses something. Not only that, the 1.6 mv output (which could be as high as 2.0 mv) could overdrive the phono stage and give it a "hot" sound, meaning loud at low volume settings. This might sound good for a short time but then you notice the noise is amplified too much, along with good stuff.

Because it is moving coil you do not need to worry about capacitive loading, just use the best quality interconnects and cabling that you can, as always.

Enjoy, Bob
 
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I always use the Kab Phono Preamp Parameter Computer to determine the best relationship between a phono satge and a cartridge, based on the cartridge's output voltage. In the case of the DL-110, which has an output voltage of 1.6 mV, its best pair is a phono stage with a gain specification of 46 dB @ 1 kHz. After a short search, it seems that the most adequate phono stage for that cartridge that you can get for the least amount of money is the Black Cube by Lehmann Audio:

https://www.lehmannaudio.com/phono-stages/black-cube.html

Of course, there may be lots other variables to consider when choosing a phono stage, but at least you can have for sure that this preamp is delivering the right amount of gain for your cartridge (assuming the specification is accurate / true, of course). BTW, the 46 dB gain spec is for the MM setting. As already said, you don't need an MC phono stage with this cartridge.
 
That cartridge actually measured 2.2 mv when tested by one of the publications. It works fine with the average 40 db MM phono stage.
 
Got it... thnx for replies... really close to pulling the trigger on this one... is lpgear the best source (US) for this? Could not find better but maybe there is something out the my research did not uncover ...

V

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
 
My DL-110 has more output than my Shure V15IV/JICO SAS combo. Not by much, but the Shure needs a slight bit more volume knob to reach the same speaker output levels.
 
I have the DL 110. It's a great sounding cartridge, but then again, it's my first one, other than the older cart that came with my used TT. I have no desire to change it, though I am curious about the Shure V15 III.

Somewhere on the internet somebody did recordings of the same songs with different carts on the same table. The DL110 stood out to me, as did the V15, but each for different reasons.
 
vmartell said:
That seems better... assume no problem shipping to the US... Is there a recommended headshell ( s tonearm) for this? Was thinking of pairing with the high end lpgear head shell...

http://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGZHEAD.html

V

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That looks like a great head shell. It weighs 12 grams, how much does the one you have now weigh?

You should be mindful of the impact on total effective mass.

The DL-110 likes medium to low-medium mass arms.
 
I've got my DL-110 mounted on a 16.5g Thorens tonearm (slightly high side of medium mass?) and it sounds darn good to me.
 
ranch 22b said:
I've got my DL-110 mounted on a 16.5g Thorens tonearm (slightly high side of medium mass?) and it sounds darn good to me.
Click to expand...

I would call the Thorens arm medium mass. The 110 does work well on the Thorens arm and on the Technics arms (I think ~12.5 g).
 
I only paid $159 shipped for my DL-110 on ebay from a Canadian seller.

Mine didn't sound too good using an MM preamp, so I'm running it thru my Signet MK12T MC preamp. Now it sounds just as good as my Signet MK111E cartridge.
 
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Currently have one on my air table...it sounds very nice. Run it through a modified LB tube stage high gain (50db). Have also had it running through an XPS-1 on the 47ohm MC side which is 60db. Sounds better to me then the MM side.
 
Sounds fine on the MM setting on my Pioneer SX-8. I tried it on the MC setting just for grins - not good. Overloaded the input and had very distorted sound. I won't try that again, at least not until I install the new DL-301 that came in the mail today.
 
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