Looking at a wood bodied Grado Sonata3. Possibly one of the Denons, not sure which one and could use some pointers. Also other recommendations in comparable price range. Thanks.
If you had a heavier tonearm, I’d recommend the Denon 103 (standard one, not the 103R) with the Auditorium 23 103-specific SUT (though that increases the budget quite a bit).
A lot of people around here are finding the Nagaoka MP-500 very musical at just under $600 from Japan, so about the same price as the Grado, but with boron cantilever and Shibata diamond. But yea, the Grado may be more fun I've almost pulled the trigger a few times on the current version of the Ortofon MC20 Super SE, looks like it would be a fun cartridge to use, has the aluminum cantilever and Nude FG-70 tip. About that same $600 price from Thakker ... A lot of people around here are having fun with the Stanton 980 cartridges, especially with a good NOS stylus ...
I think you can run a 103 on a 1200 GR with some tweaking. Headshell, Aux weight. Avanti's Sutherland phono pre prob has LOMC settings I'm guessing. Doesn't break the bank to try it out either!
You can get it to work okay on the stock arm, but it won’t be ideal. At the very least, I’d get a metal bodied Zu 103 and a heavy headshell, like the Yamamoto HS-1A ebony headshell. As for the phonostage, it’s about the gain, it’s more the loading since the 103 has an internal impedance that is much higher than most cartridges, hence the reason to use a specific SUT.
Uncertain if any of the Ortofon SPUs would be compatible with the stock arm on the 1200GR, but musicality seems to be on the tip of the tongue for all of those SPU users.
Mine sounds nice with 100 ohm loading and 60db gain with a lowly Emotiva XPS-1. 13g headshell and aux weight. An SUT would be better of course. I'm looking at the Darlington head amp to match the MM-6 next.
Each/every cartridge can be(come) musical and/or fun. You know that . just try some = own experience, of course Grado Platinum 3 can be fun, much cheaper Shure can also be fun.
Avanti - assuming it is for the GR as the tonearm, also what carts have you tried to date. I know about past experience with ART9, and also about more recent thoughts on the Delos. And when you say "Denon", I'm thinking you're not looking at the lower compliance, more borderline match for the GR, DL-103 series? Or the HOMC DL-110. You thinking 301? (Note, I own all three - and got mine when they were much lower in price. Thanks, 2junki.)
That MC 20 super mentioned above has also caught my eye. I own a couple Ortofon SPU's, they're pretty musical , but alas a lead bomb for your tonearm with their 30-34g mass and lower compliance. I'd go a step above the Qunitet line of Orto knowing how discerning you are.
I just looked at the specs for the Sonata 3 for the first time - the High Output a 4mv easy match for MM stage, but the Low Output a 1 mv made me balk, it's in that HOMC range that is a gap for many stages --- but then realized your 20/20 can be configured for 52db, which may be close for that cartridge match --- although I think the 58db setting would be a little hot. The Grado looks interesting, something fun and different to try.
The good news for Technics owners is that the fixed length overhang for the SPU equates to the 52mm required, the bad news is their mass and lower compliance makes them unusable on that tonearm.... though I'm sure some have tried and taped all sorts of weight to the back of the tonearm, etc. It's just not a good match... but yes, incredibly musical.
I had a statement sonata years ago(not sure if it's the same cart?)i remember it as doing voices extremely well,most things very well and doing nothing wrong.If that sounds like faint praise it's just that it got out of the way and i didn't find myself analyzing its sound.I don't know if this is helpfull
Scroll down a bit in this link: Mono & Stereo © 2022: SILVERHEART SE-10Σ DENON DL-103 HEADSHELL This sure is sweet, maybe it makes the 103 more palatable on the GR, IDK but it sure is cool. I think it's probably true that the 103 really needs a heavier arm though.
Yeah I've seen this one. It is very cool. Probably a must for DL-103 heads. Sold out. I think with a 1200 you should use a heavier headshell. Stock Technics are only about 7.5g. 13-15g probably more like it. A 103 weighs 8.1g. So that brings the mass up to close to 21g with cartridge. And you'll need the aux weight to balance it after that, which also adds mass to the tonearm.
You didn't mention the Benjamins, but if they're extensive enough a Wood Benz would be a fun cartridge to try. Surprised Davey didn't mention it above! (I think he still owns one).
Well, it's quite a bit above the price range he seems to be in with the Grado (around $600). That would put you more in the Benz Micro ACE price range. But the Benz is a pretty refined sound, not sure that is a "fun" alternate to the Delos and/or his previous ART9. I'm thinking "fun" may not be a perfectly flat response, and maybe a little on the wild side. But if just talking about cartridges we'd like to try in the $600 range, the Charisma ECO is available in a NOS version from Analogue Seduction for around that price, nude elliptical on a ceramic cantilever, medium compliance, I've wanted to try one for a while now...
Well, you've forgotten it's Tony, didn't say how much he'd spend, and would never be surprised if spent up for more "fun" No assumptions here... Don't forget he's owned a $1K ART9, and a $2K retail Delos too.... but you're right, he did say "comparable"
I’m trying a wood bodied DL-103 on the stock 1200G tonearm right now - just arrived today. The weight of the wood bodied 103 is 11G. I’m using the AT-LH13H headshell (13gr) and a 3gr spacer. I’m waiting for the heavier auxiliary weight to help offset the additional weight, but have stuck some blu-tak on the smaller aux weight til it arrives. While I’m sure a truly high mass arm might get a bit more performance out of this cartridge, and while I’m only a couple hours into playing the cartridge, the best way I could describe it is “fun!” Definitely worth a taking a chance on. I’m happy I did. Will keep you posted.
Is the wood bodied 103 still 5cu @ 100Hz Dynamic Compliance? (I've not spec'd the wood version and Denon has many 103 variants, some not spec'd the same over the years of course - but 5cu @100hz is the "base" 103 / 103R spec).
Yeah. I should have been more clear. It’s a stand are 103 re-housed by a third party, so it should have the same specs as the standard 103 other than the weight.
Thanks... yes, it should then (be spec'd the same), only thing that changes is the weight - plus it's at least two grams lighter than other re-housed options I've seen!
