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Besides the last time I checked is not this forum on the internet?
Believe me I know that most you read on the net is BS including whats posted here.
I talked with two guys that are in the business of rebuilding and modding Denons, and even that I took with a grain of salt.
I take what I read and find out, weigh the information and decide to give something a try. If it does not work I start over, but I do not
stand on any soap box and declare that what I do is right or best. I am having fun, and listening to music.
I do not need criticism when I did not ask for opinion. If I do ask for suggestions or help then I would enjoy seeing other opinions.

Here I go again. There are lots of roads you can take to get something to sound to your liking. Regardless of what you read or test, you still have to listen. If it sounds like you want at the end of the day you are home free. No one can tell you what you like and if you are not doing it commercially for someone else, you are the final arbiter. Everyone has their own preferences and all you can do is share what you have learned that works for you. If it doesn't work for someone else, so be it. Digest what other people say but don't let it give you indigestion. Life is too short. BTW, a Happy and most important a Healthy New Year to all.

What Tom said is 100% correct. I have used a lot of 103 variants (stock, nuded, brass plate, Al enclosure) and they all have their pros and cons. The Al bodied variants tend to work better on arms that may not be ideal for low compiance carts like the 103. It is a catridge that can be very enjoyable to listen with, but not for those who want audiophile levels of detail and air.

There is only one way. The way that works for you!

That said, if it'd been me, I woulda broken it in first, then tried the mods....

Roscoe

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I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.

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Walt

Both Roscoe and Paul are right, depending upon the their goal.

In our wonderful hobby, we seek satisfaction in journey we take to reaching the audio goal. If Paul wants to modify the cartridge, he obviously has reasoning behind it. There is nothing wrong in modding the system without spending weeks with it first. How many times we find ourselves replacing dozen-a-dime caps as soon as we get new gizmo?. In the DIY DAC I built, I ditched all the stocck Panasonic caps for Elna Slimic II before soldering them. DIY is not just about enjoying the music in HiFi system, but also how we build/assemble that system. All of have different priorities and approaches. There is no right or wrong approach. There is single correct solution.

We are here to share our experiences and learn from each other.

I have not had an issue with the Denon DL-103R I modded with a similar potted aluminum body (from the same guy, but earlier design). I am using it on a Jelco SA-750E arm and it sounded just fine, and even better once I had a line contact stylus installed (from Andy Kim).

One crazy thing to try is reversing the phase on the leads if you do not have switchable phase on your preamp and see if it works better. I find myself very sensitive to phase, and find that a brash forwardness often appears to be the result of phase inversion. Of course, it varies by recording, which is why I currently use a passive transformer attenuator with switchable phase.

Good luck with the break-in.

David

You've said it's deadly, but no description of what that actually means sonicly.... What are you loading it with?

Roscoe

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I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.

Roscoe,

A Great and most obvious point. With a 14 ohm impedance, and using the typical rule of thumb for loading of at least 10X impedance, around 140 ohm is a good starting point. I think in my setup I am using around 150 to 200 ohm as a point of comparison for Paul. If using transformers, note that the 103R needs a different ratio than the 103 because of the lower impedance.

David

I am using a 1:10 SUT into 47k input impedance 54db tube phono
What I am hearing is very forward presentation and a missing bottom end. Sound has square edges as opposed to a rounded feel. Not really edgy but almost there, all of which I hope goes away with time.
If not it will be trashed!