Denon Dl-110 phono cart

I'm seeing 1,000 hours quoted as a lifespan. That will, of course, vary depending on the condition of LPs played with it. Clean records = more stylus life.

 

I've been using a DL-110 since April of 2012 & I play a hell of a lot of LPs. Still going strong with at least 1200 hours on it. Sure, the stylus tip is worn down a little, but compared to the new DL-110 I've got the tip is just a little smaller & still holding it's shape. Impressive, to say the least.

 

I can't wait for mine to show up tomorrow. Through happy coincidence I also have the day off work, so I hope UPS shows up early!

 

i'm in the same boat as you save for one thing: my carts didn't last. my last one got atrocious quicker than my first. i handled with great care, too. my shure is holding up way better at this moment.

 

Hmmm, strange. I've used my DL-110 on at least 5 different tables & never weighted it at more than 2 grams. It has performed flawlessly on each occasion. It currently resides on a direct-drive Hitachi HT-51 that I scored at a flea-market for 25 cents. The performance is thunderingly fidelious & never fails to get my toes tapping...

 

I'm currently on my fifth DL110. I paid 160 UK pounds ($250) for it and they have been around that price in the UK for several years now. I'm hoping the price doesn't increase further, but if it does, and it's no more than a modest price hike, then I will still be buying another one as the only other carts in its price range that I'm aware of is the AT440 MLA and the Ortofon 2M blue, both of which I've tried and was not keen on. I'm currently tracking my DL110 at 1.7 grams on my Rotel RP-855/RB300 and it sounds mighty fine indeed.

 

I don't recall ever going over 1.75 grams of weight on my DL-110, regardless of tonearm mass. That's one more quality that the DL-110 has: it seems to succeed on many different types of tonearm.

 

Got it installed on my vintage Denon DP-37F. Sounds crystal clear already, but I can imagine how it'll sound once it breaks in. And I can already tell it has a blacker noise floor than the MM carts I've been using, which is nice for needledrops.

 

I was somewhat taken aback when first listening to the DL-110 by 3 things:

1 - clarity of instruments & vocals
2 - no sibilance right to the deadwax
3 - very quiet in the groove

Just wait for 20 or 30 hours, that's when I noticed the bass really coming on strong. Bass guitars & drumkits are incredible sounding with that cartridge. Good luck!

 

That's a classic description of a Denon Cartridge.

 

The bass presence is already noticeable. Very energetic and impactful.

I should point out that this particular cart from Amazon looked like new "old stock." The box was worn and obviously had spent a lot of time running against other boxes. All of the instructions were in Japanese. I wouldn't be surprised if this were actually 10-15 years old. I may look through everything again to see if there's a manufacturing date.

 

Love the Dl-110. It sounds "smooth" and is very musical!!! (its a backup cart for my Dynavector 20X2H). I like the Dyn for rock and the Denon for classical but routinely switch them up.

 

I'm only five hours in and this cart is blowing me away. It's providing better bass punch than I've ever had with any other cart, previously dead-sounding LPs suddenly have life and verve, and it's played through skips that neither of my Nagaoka carts or my Shure/Jico combo could track.

 

Ok I can't stand it lol. I am hopefully going to have enough funds on this next paycheck to get one lol!! I love hearing about how awesome it sounds tho!! I think my at440mla is really starting to sound really thin. I don't know if it's just me but I have been playing back a lot more stuff or I am noticing it more and there just seems to be way more high end and not as much bass. But I guess it's just me wanting to upgrade to the denon lol

 

Cool. Could you describe the differences between them a bit more please? The 20x20 is one I've got earmarked for potential future upgrade from the 110!

 

The DL110 was an incredible bargain at $100, the DL160 was even better at the same price. They both sound much the same though. You young dudes may find the top end bit "airy" but it's only at the upper end (probably why it tracks so well). The mechanical tip resonance is just above the audible range. Not sensitive to loading.

It has fine a "true" elliptical nude diamond. Great tracker, quiet in the groove. Devoid of that pesky reactance in the audible band, unlike the at440MLa (which has a superior diamond).

I have mine set up on Well Tempered Turntable tracking at 1.5g and it is a fine performer.

I would probably try the 440MLa now but I can tweak the loading pretty easily.

 

You do realize that all these glowing reviews of the DL-110 are being monitored by Denon and the suits are now thinking they should raise the price even more!

 

The 20x2H is on a different level (price wise too) than the Denon DL-110. Has better detail (not bright), quick, and can handle any type of music. IMO the Dyn just sounds "right" if that is any kind of description. But the Denon is no slouch! This review sums it up for the Dyn..(ever see how fast used Dyns sell on Audiogon for an indication of their reputation)

 

This thread made me pull out my DL-110 ,which had been out of rotation on my Technics 1210 for a while, due to me owning a limited number of headshells. I re-installed it a few days ago and I've been enjoying it and realizing that I might have under estimated it before.

While it does sound good, it does seem to give up to a bit of sibilance on sections of records that my M97xe/Jico combo and my AT-440mla could handle better. It's not a major difference, but for example, with the Shure/Jico and the DL-110 set up with the same alignment, Technics' recommended 52 mm distance using the Technics alignment tool, and playing the same track,"Clover Over Dover", the last track on side 3 of the Blur reissue of Parklife (though other records were compared), the DL-110 started playing with a little bit of sibilance around the last 20 seconds of the track. The Shure/Jico combo tracked the last section much better. I also noticed a little bit more surface noise on the DL-110 compared to the Shure/Jico combo.

The EQ and sound stage are pleasing on the DL-110, but I think the the stylus shape of some other carts, now around the same price range since it's price increase, the Jico SAS/Shure M7xe combo and the AT-440, might yield slightly better tracking results, though all of them are pleasant to listen to. It's not a night and day difference, but just what I found when comparing the two.

 

I'm using Stevenson alignment with a custom protractor as per my blog:

http://scouringthebins.blogspot.com/2013/03/tweaking-audio-technica-at-lp120.html?m=1

However, I'm running it on my Denon table, not my AT. It's still breaking in, but it's sounding excellent. It was able to play Daltrey's last scream on "Won't Get Fooled Again" on the reissue of Who's Next without distortion, which my Shure M97xE / Jico combo couldn't do.

And I love its tonality. Such speediness on bass and drums.

 

You guys are killing me - I have a marantz tt15s with the stock clearaudio virtuoso cart, and it's solid - but I do notice some igd here and there. Very tempting to take a flyer on a $200 cart that gets such good reviews!

 

My Parasound zphono MM input has 46 db gain, is that plenty to get the DL 110 to loud enough levels? I suspect so just want to make sure before I pull the trigger

 

IMO, 42 db is ideal, so yes, more than enough. Now, amp damping factor and speaker sensitivity are going to factor in. What you hear about the DL-110 is that it's output is closer to .22 mV. I'm using my 40 db setting currently, and I have a 44 db and 46 db option.

 

my parasound amp damping factor is 1000... my def tech speakers are 91 Db sensitivity... i think i should be good... thanks dude!

 

Typo, right? I think you meant 2.2 mV versus the rated 1.6 mV.