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Denon DL-103R or AT OC9MkII

I'm presently using a Grado Reference Platinum and I'm making a cartridge change. Tired of the Grado sound,i.e., looking for better highend extension and low frequency articulation, low level detail. Tonearm is a medium mass Sumiko MMT on a SOTA Sapphire table. Tube preamp and amp (will hardwire Lundahl trannies in preamp). I have a rather large record collection and musical tastes that run from classical, jazz, folk and rock.
I'm unable to audition cartridges since there are no higher-end dealers in my area and I must depend on the advice of others. Help me to decide between these two contenders.
bflodave
2 responses Add your response
amandarae
512 posts
 
Oh boy! People at AA are almost "into blows" when these two cartridges are compared.

FWIW, I have the 103R on a Teres table and OL arm. My brother has the AT on a Teres table and OL illustrious arm.
Both sounds perfectly wonderful. On my 103R, I found that loading it at 100 Ohms is the best. On his AT, my brother is loading it at around 250 Ohms and the cart is performing brilliantly.

So, I would say that either one you come up with, you will be happy. Both are great carts IMHO.
twl
3,251 posts
 
They are both very good cartridges.

In your case, the decision is easy, because as much as I love the DL103R, it is not well suited to the MMT tonearm.

I vote for the OC9 in this particular case.
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