June 2010
The Soundsmith System
Denon DL-103 and DL-103 Gold Cartridge
Plus The MCP- 2 Moving Coil Phono Preamplifier
Setting a new benchmark for value.
Review By Ron Nagle
Click here to e-mail reviewer
If we go back
maybe six or eight years I can recall the very first time I met the President
and Chief Engineer of Soundsmith, Peter Ledermann. He was the guest of honor at
a meeting of the Audiophile Society held at City Island in New York. He was
there to present his innovative strain gauge phono preamplifier and his strain
gauge cartridge. Can you tell me, dear reader, how many businesses in this U.S.
of A. import, modify, re-tip, research design and build new cartridges and
amplifiers? Additionally Soundsmith not only designs and builds power
amplifiers, phono amplifiers, speakers, and equipment racks they will even
repair your vintage audio components. This is a company that bench trains and
teaches the skills their employees will need to do this very specialized work.
To me this conceptually takes us back to the
beginnings of high quality audio. In years past, a few talented hobbyists'
started small cottage companies working from their homes. There was an
enthusiasm generated by these people who loved music and who believed they had a
better idea. Soundsmith is a different kind of company one that should be a role
model. If all audio companies were founded with an understanding of true
audiophile interests, we would get along very nicely without the bean counters.
The flow of time has carried me well beyond that
Soundsmith Audiophile Society meeting, but I have not completely lost contact.
Every now and then at audio shows I stop and chat with Peter Ledermann. The
innovations he developed and applied to his Strain Gauge cartridge system makes
you wonder why no one thought of these things before? If you are one of those
who know why people still play vinyl recordings then go on line and take a look
at this company, you will find a kindred spirit. As it happens, I can still find
good vinyl recordings for about a dollar and so the time is right for an
analogue upgrade.
A
Wish Is A Dream Your Heart Makes
I would have dearly loved to get my hands on
that Strain Gauge cartridge system. However, it has been written about and
documented in many audio publications before now. Also, price wise, that system
is way over my wallet. One of, nay the best bang for the buck moving coil
cartridge is the classic Denon DL-103. Soundsmith price for the basic stock
DL-103 cartridge is $229 U.S.A. bucks. This is something yours truly can afford.
Not so incidentally, the Soundsmith people do carry the whole line of Denon
moving coil cartridges starting with the high output DL-110 which sells for
$139.
By now, nearly all of the other really pricey
Sound smith stuff has been covered in the audio press. There is little left for
me to write about, however I think I have a great idea. What if we compare a
stock DL-103 to one of Peters all out modified DL-103 Gold cartridges? The
asking price for the wholly hand modified Gold is $1500. And so some days later
in a phone conversation with Peter he agrees my idea might be a good way to
demonstrate his rebuilding concept. We can make the auditioning process even
more comprehensive if we do the comparisons with the Soundsmith Firefly MCP-2
Moving Coil Phono cartridge amplifier. There are three dedicated phono
amplifiers offered by the Soundsmith Company. The MCP-2 Firefly at $700 is the
top of the line. When you consider that, the MCP-2 incorporates moving coil step
up transformers the price seems more than reasonable. Furthermore, it is the
only one Soundsmith sells with continuously variable resistive loading. The load
settings range from 10 Ohms up to 5 kOhms and that is with 63dB of
amplification, the output impedance is 600 Ohms. The MCP-2 in combination with
the upgraded DL103 Gold is $2200. The MCP-2 with the stock DL103 is $930.
Denon
Details
To me the most remarkable fact is that the
Denon DL-103 has been in continuous production in Japan for the last 48 years,
they must be doing something right. Before modifying any DL-103 Peter Ledermann,
hand selects cartridges with the tightest tolerances. My sample Denon Gold
number 4372 came with these test sheet specifications. The left channel output
measured 0.40mV, and the right channel output is 0.39mV all measurements were
taken at 1 kHz. The accompanying frequency response graph is remarkable showing
a max deviation of + 0.5dB at 15 kHz. Peter produces many modifications of the
DL-103 and the DL103R. The Silver and the Gold are the most extensive
modifications. The Gold revision is his most advanced DL-103 upgrade. The stylus
is replaced with a selected optimized Nude Contact Line Profile diamond mounted
on a single crystal Ruby Cantilever. In addition, the suspension and damping
compliance are modified. The cartridge body is replaced with a handmade wooden
body with a brass top plate; the damped cartridge is now heavier at 14.4 grams.
The output voltage remains unchanged at a nominal 0.3mV. As an option, you can
have any DL-103 or DL-103R body replaced with the wood body. The available
modifications and the extent of the rebuild options and prices are detailed on
line at the Soundsmith site. Click on the Denon cartridge section.
Verity
If anyone were to listen to and then evaluate
any cartridge, it seems to me that it should be done by comparing it (in theory)
to some immutable standard. If not, I contend that personal preferences become
far too much of a distraction. Consider that two people with matched cartridges
could get very different results after they install and adjust them. Carrying
this to the extreme, would you compare the sound of a $229 Dollar DL-103 or the
DL-103 Gold to a far more expensive $8000 Koetsu Onyx Platinum cartridge? That
would be invalid and arbitrary simply because you will most likely be listening
to your prejudices. Even a comparison with another $1500 cartridge like the
Grado Reference 1 comes down to choosing your favorite shade of gray. So what is
least arbitrary? Simple if one closely matches a pair of the same cartridges
(like Peter has done) then modify one of them. That is indeed a valid
comparison. You could also employ one other meaningful test method. Take the two
cartridges home and listen to them in the same reference system. I intend to do
both of these things.
Setup...
Or Upset
Mumbling under my breath... careful, take your
time don't slip up after all you don't own these things. It has been awhile
since I practiced the ancient art of analogue alignment using my Cart-align
Research Mirror Protractor. The Stock Denon and the Gold cartridges were placed
in two identical Grado headshells. The specific settings for tracking force and
(stylus tracking angle) cantilever rake angle more commonly called Vertical
Tracking Angle are slightly different for each cartridge. This is due mainly to
the more critical stylus profile of the gold and the increased weight of the
gold cartridge. The brass top plate adds mass to the Gold cartridge and requires
a tone arm capable of counterbalancing its 14.4 grams. By comparison, the Stock
DL-103 weights just 8.5 grams. Fortunately, my not typical Grado Signature tone
arm has three separate counter weights in three different sizes. There is an
added spring force adjustment that allows tracking force to be set within tenths
of a gram.
You should understand at this juncture that two
of the settings, cartridge tracking weight and VTA can best be determined by
listening. This statement is true for both cartridges but especially true for
the more critical nude line contact stylus of the Denon Gold. Test measurements
that were supplied for the Gold and the Stock Denon were both taken at a
tracking weight of 2.5 grams. However, there is a minimum and a maximum tracking
weight range listed. It is 1.7 to 2.5 grams for the Gold and 2.3 up to 2.7 grams
for the stock DL-103. I set both cartridges initially at 2.4 grams using my
Roksan Digital Electronic Stylus Balance. Additionally turntable speed was set
precisely at 33.3 rpm for each cartridge while playing a recording with a
Digital Stroboscopic Laser Tachometer Model DT2234A.
Let us start ear tuning with the initial set up
adjustments finalized and the top of the cartridge parallel to the record
surface. The last adjustment is to lock in the (vertical) alignment of the
stylus angle or VTA by adjusting the height of the arm pillar (lateral pivot).
The stylus is roughly diamond shaped the pointed sides/shoulders of the stylus
must be vertically aligned with the left and right surfaces of the record
grooves. Using a familiar recording and then raising and lowering the lateral
pivot point of the arm audibly alters the frequency balance. As you drop the arm
pillar lower there is usually a decrease of treble information and more bass
content. Conversely raising the arm usually has the opposite effect. Understand
the range of adjustment is very small; a change in the stylus tracking angle or
VTA in the record groove by a few thousands of an inch either way is audible.
Ideally as you change the arm pivot height, you should try to equalize the
amount of bass and treble that is present. And finally turn your attention to
small details in the midrange, when you find that critical midrange setting it
will open up a window on the performance.
Listening
First spun up on my SOTA Sapphire turntable is
the stock DL-103 numbered 4379. Measured at 1 kHz, the left channel is 0.40mV
right channel 0.39mV. Not only was this cartridge selected for near identical
channel balance but it was closely matched to the Gold test sample. Let's start
with a listen to Aja by Steely Dan
[ABC Records-1006]. It is while listening to the title track, Aja
that I lock in the stylus vertical tracking angle. The first few notes of this
recording reminds me of the reasons why vinyl will not go away. Incidentally, I
have this same album on a CD. Of course, the CD sounds just fine, that is until
you find out by comparison that some elements of the recording just aren't
there. Listening to the black disk there is no least significant bit dropped or
sample rate cut off.
In a comparison to the CD the stock Denon
cartridge opens up the whole performance space, especially the depth dimension.
A little slower to key in on it but now I also can get a better sense of sound
stage height. The first word that pops into my mind is
AIR! So now I am within the center of a distant, darker background
with small details that can be heard to start and slowly decay in a more natural
way. This natural reverberation better separates everything, the size and
positions of individual instruments embedded in the recording. Additionally
there are subtle differences of intonation and pitch that can better define and
separate vocal tracks.
My bottom line conclusion is that the DL-103 is
lucid in the sense that it dramatically opens up the soundstage to reveal many
small details, it this is that makes a recording come to life. Now I understand
why the DL103 has endured for so many years. You might have to listen to a far
more expensive cartridge to detect any relative short comings. Moreover, just as
the graph predicted the overall frequency response sounds almost ruler flat.
The
Firefly
After this first listen, I switched cables from
my ARC SP9 MK3 preamplifier over to the Soundsmith Firefly MCP-2 Moving Coil
Transformer Preamplifier. The output from that amplifier was now plugged into
the SP9 line inputs. The sound of that same Aja
album heard through the MCP-2 is very different. My first impression was that
everything seemed brighter. My ARC SP 9 hybrid MOSFET and tube preamplifier by
comparison sounds very much warmer and slower. It is important to know that only
by comparison with the MCP-2 does the Phono amplifier difference becomes so very
noticeable.
What you hear is the increased speed and
transient response of the MCP-2. It is this which immediately grabs your
attention. Very unexpected was the fact that over a span of months the sound of
the moving coil amplifier improved. It is a gradual and subtle change, one that
imbues the music with a greater sense of, BODY. It is a very difficult quality
to describe my sense is that seems to slightly warm transients. It seems a bit
more noticeable as you increase the resistive load. The MCP-2 can and does seem
to extract more midrange and treble details from a vinyl recording than my ARC
SP9. In combination with the DL-103, the Soundsmith Moving Coil Preamplifier
does extract more instrumental pitch information from the very same performance.
The other side of the coin is some of the natural body (for lack of a better
phrase) and more organic warmth that is a hallmark of some close mic'ed acoustic
vinyl is not as apparent with the MCP-2. Nothing is actually wrong with either
phono preamplifier it all comes down to a matter of taste. What you hear from
the MCP-2 is a modern high quality solid-state musical presentation. Ultimately
it will come down to those audiophiles who like solid state sound versus the
tube loving contingent. When I consider that the tube contingent has an even
more specialized faction, the low power SET people, then I don't think this will
be their cup of tea. Personally, I would like to combine the best attributes of
both phono preamplifiers into one device. Finally, I had fun experimenting with
the continuously variable load resistance that let me fine tune the tunes, very
nice feature.
The
Piece de Resistance
Speaking of resistance, all critical listening
was done at the test cartridge load of 1 kOhms for both cartridges. This was
done to standardize the testing procedure. The focus of this epic has to be the
sound of the DL-103 Gold and the transformation Peter has performed. To
launch this listening phase I peeled open a sealed DCC Limited Edition 180 gram
version of Joni Mitchell's Court And Spark
[Asylum LP1-20440]. I used the album track "Help Me" to set the VTA. I
had to raise the arm pillar higher and higher almost to it's limit. At this
extreme elevation the cartridge body is slightly elevated at the back where the
wires are. It is at this point that the critical stylus profile finally locks
into the record groove. This recording provides an excellent example of how to
find the G-spot, (G stands for groove). In the background of this track, there
is the prominent repetitive sound of a high hat cymbal. At exactly the optimal
VTA setting the annoying tizzy splashy sound of that cymbal turns into a
pleasant musical punctuation.
In direct comparisons with the stock DL-103, the
Gold has far better detail retrieval in every way. Another way to say this is
that it has greater power to involve you in the performance. The heart of this
recording is of course the sound of Joni Mitchells voice. The Gold revision
depicts Ms. Mitchell's voice so that it becomes warmer sounding and far more
intimate. Now you can far better relate to her as a human presence seemingly
standing in front of you just out of arms reach. (No, I will not use that worn
out phrase "Palpable Presence")
Conclusions
I might say that the Denon Gold was better than
any two thousand Dollar or three thousand dollar cartridge. But there are so
many to choose from, which one would you have me compare it to? The sonic
transformation of a very good low cost cartridge into one that is comparable to
cartridges costing many times more is a story worth telling. The Denon gold
shares some attributes of the stock DL103 but adds many layers of articulation
and transparency, midrange detail and bass resolution. I can still detect an
overall similarity in the sound of these two cartridge siblings. The quality of
the frequency response of this pair is still just as it was, essentially flat.
If you are not already into vinyl, I recommend that you start your analogue
system with the stock Denon DL103 or DL103R and eventually send it to Soundsmith
to be upgraded. That would be a very smart move.
The bottom line is the performance and cost of
the Denon DL-103 Gold should set a new benchmark for value. This cartridge
extracts so much of the music's natural body and air and I could just sit and
listen and forget it was there.
As always, Semper Hi-Fi
Reference System Used
SOTA Sapphire turntable with the Electronic Flywheel,
Grado Signature tone arm
Stylast, Discwasher Zerostat Gun
Audio research SP9 MK3 Preamplifier
Sanders ESL Power Amplifier
Von Schweikert UniField 2 speakers
Aurum Cantus 2 SE speakers
Wiring: DH Labs Reference 1, AudioQuest 12TC and Esoteric Ultrapath speaker cables.
Interconnects: DH Labs Silver Revelation and Wire World Eclipse- 2
Line Conditioners: Richard Gray RGPC Sub Station, Alpha Core balanced isolation transformer, Audio Power, Enhancer 1.
Tweaks: Michael Green Room Tunes, Argent Acoustic Lenses and homemade sound absorbent Panels.