You know when you've been 103'd new phono stage issue

What a stunning little cart the Denon 103 is. Picked one up and a MF XLP and have just set it up and the sound is to put it lightly stonking. One thing though I'm not sure the XLP is as good as the Gram amp 2 it's standing in for, certainly not on MM it isn't, but the Slee doesn't do MC. So anyone got any good ideas for phono at about £200? Love to hear them

 

Hi,
Was gonna recommend the Stageline then i remembered you'd sold your 62/140 so no point but the Rega Phono is quite good (if you like a slightly dryer presentation) and comes in well under budget.

Regards.

 

I'm looking for something big and chunky sounding, the Dino might be an option, or an Ear if I can get one cheap enough. The MF is growing on me slightly and not just like fungus, or it might be I'm just getting used to it. Could also be the cart is coming to life a bit as well

 

Good choice

You may find the 103 really starts to come on song after about 50 hours - they do take a while to loosen up.

I'm still hearing stuff on lp's with the 103 which I never heard with my OC9 (although that was on a different TT).

 

its got to be valve to go with your spangly new valve amp !!

well, tbh valve is a bit tricky for £200.

Theres some good stuff at the emp, as usual.. http://www.emporiumhifi.co.uk/Pages/ModernPages/Turntables.html

a dino there for £250, and plenty of step ups.
some graham slee stuff, but I think its all new..

 

The Dino is favourite at the minute, Slee is all MM that's what I have at the minute. I wonder if they'd do a trade on the XLP and the Slee, it'd save me selling them?
Tom Evans stuff seems to be available for about £300, you know at a pinch I could do that....... Any valves for £300?

 

£300? well the emp has an 834P MM for that. You could always run a step up into it.

They would probably trade in, but I'd instead put them on ebay, it will sell easy enough and you'll get more IME

 

I'm a bit wary of step-ups, I've heard lots about them spoiling the mood, I think I'd want to try before I bought. I shall peruse the back pages of Hi-fi plush before I go to bed!

 

Also just seen these, at ''shadow audio''

EAR 834P MM phono stage, one owner, boxed as new (£550) £250

Trichord Dino - silver front. £199

 

I would heartilly recommend the Dino. I recently bought one to replace my Graham Slee 2SE. I did a comparison of the 2 and posted my thoughts over on PFM. I have copied them below if you are interested:


Now that I've been living with the Dino for around two weeks, I feel that I'm well informed enough to give my opinions on it.

As I said before, I kept brief listening notes when assessing the unit, and so I shall refer to these here.

I began with Frank Zappa - Chunga's Revenge, and the first thing I noticed was the amount of gain that the Dino has! Foolishly I set the volume at the level I was used to with the 2SE and the opening on the track made me jump! The high output of the Super-Bias (6.8-7.2mV) coupled with the gain of the Dino on MM of 48dB, means that on my rig, vinyl is now louder than CD! After an adjustment to the volume I noticed that the sound was less full. Consequently, I could hear more detail and subtle timing cues were better communicated.

Next I put on Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing. Previously, on the 2SE, I always felt this track sounded too bloated, which robbed the song of its propulsive nature. I also have this track on CD and I would always prefer the CD version. With the Dino in place the "pace" in PRaT was back.

I was curious, with the Dino in place, would I prefer the Vinyl version or the CD? So I dug out the CD for the head to head. On pressing play I was greeted with that familiar foot tapping sound that I enjoy so much but, for the first time something was missing. I felt that the Vinyl version had a more natural and liquid mid-band - lending more humanity to the voices and doing a beter job of producing that much loved guitar tone on the track. I would still say that CD had the edge in terms of propulsiveness, but the vinyl just sounded more realistic.

At this point it became clear that the Dino is a much clearer stage than the 2SE, but I began to wonder - could this extra clarity result in a more fatiguing top end? There was only one track for the job Jimmy Hendrix - "Catfish Blues" from the radio 1 sessions record. I absolutely love this song but on the wrong system it can induce one hell of a headache. On cueing it up I was astonished at the sound coming from my little Avi's! The track was much clearer but was actually very much less fatiguing and harsh than with the 2SE! It was now just so realistic. This sound was in the grooves all along but I never realised!

After this followed a whole bunch of records with very similar outcomes. However, I experienced a different result when I cued up Sanatana - Oye Com Ova. Sure I heard the increased clarirty and resoultion, but something seemed to be missing. There wasn't the bite that I was used to. It was all very tidy and non-offensive, but not 'exciting' like I was used to.

Now, this I feel is very much a matter of taste, but having lived with the stage for a while now, I feel I can offer my take on it. I have heard this on other tracks during the course of the week and to me, it's a representation of the essential honesty and neutrality of the stage. If the record hasn't got it, it won't suddenly manufacture it for you. In comparison, the 2SE has more energy and gutso, but I feel that is the charcater of the unit. The Dino on the other hand does a much better job of getting out of the way and letting the character of the music speak. Of course, for £265 it ain't gonna be 100% neutral and if I had to put a character on it I would say that it is very slightly sweet. I must emphasise however, that this is very slight and in the main it is one of the most honest bits of kit I've heard.

As I said, this is all IMO and I can understand how some people might find it a tad polite and lacking in bite. For me however, this stage just hits the spot and it is staying where it is. I haven't decided what to do with the 2SE yet. I'll either sell it or see if I can turbo charge it with a bit of DIY - any suggestions?

Anyway, I shall stop rambling now and get back to some music

Lefty

PS: If there are any other Dino owners out there, I'd be interested to hear their take on things.

 

Well it's going to be a Loricraft Missing Link, it has a wealth of very satisfied users, and I've got one for £225 off. Going to pick it up tomorrow. How exciting.

 

We will await your appraisal (especially us fellow 103 owners).

 

Nice picture Gromit!

 

Cracking!

 

Lordsummit,
Might I ask where you got the Missing Link from ?

 

You have a PM!

 

Why not try the upgraded slee power supply?

Funnily enough a chap on HFC forum had the 2SE and tried the Era Gold, said the difference was huge (his father now has the 2SE) I don't know how much is down to the PS, (The era gold has the PSU1 which is an extra on the 2se) I tried the dino/dino+ and preffered the Slee era gold, agree it's a taste thing, and the slee is relatively quiet, but when level matched I much prefer the slee, nice write up BTW.

 

Guys - is a 103 likely to be better than a 110/160 cart? I'm thinking of getting a Denon at the end of the month (BONUS TIME!!!!) but only have MM boards in my Naim 72 - is the difference between 110(or 160) into MM versus 103 into MC worth the difference in having to get the new MC phono cards???

 

get a transformer, Dom, best way of stepping up an mc, I love em yes, tho worth getting naim mc boards denon carts are all good, not heard the lower ones, but 103 good if laid back.

 

I'm concerned that a transformer could induce hum... I'm gonna have a think about this - I guess at the £90ish it costs, gambling on a 160 wouldn't be the end of the world, as I could move it over to my NAD if I want to go the full deal and go for a 103/MC cards