What is the appeal of the Denon 103 cartridges?

If you like the beauty and soul of real music then the stock 103 is the real deal.  A little more Hi Fi then 103r.  If you want alot more Hi Fi this forum will give you all kinds of reasons to buy something else.

This is the one industry that took a bunch of wrong turns for profit and graph results.  Another great product from the good old days Quad 57.  Of course not cheap.  And those shitty dht tubes and transformers etc...

I would suggest reading up on the reviews and notice how many people would state, " Well it was not the most detailed but it was musical and enjoyable".  

Enjoy the ride
Tom

Chakster  DHT tubes  go back to at least the 30's  transformers even further.  I am guessing  you are not a musician  who has played in bands and orchestra's.  My objective  is easy, I like the sound of real live music.  Black backgrounds, air around instruments,  super tight bass, sound stage, etc...  are audio file terms.  Attack, decay,  pitch, tone, vibrato, body are  musician terms.  Go to a live performance  which is not using amplification and close your eyes and listen to a bass play even electric bass.  How tight is it? Then listen to a drummer  does the cymbal  sound like wood/plastic hitting a piece of brass or some tilted up sound which hi fi people  seem to like.  Maybe a simple test is to sit near a grand piano and does it sound WARM  and inviting  or NEUTRAL  and detailed?

In regards to your total discuss  for denon 103's my question is how many arms did you try.  How many step up trans and loads did you try??? How many phono pre  amps???  Etc...

I bet my 16 inch silicone damped Brazillian  rosewood arm with my 103 / 103r/ 103 wood / alum body etc...  On a 50 pound platter with a 3 phase 50 watt motor / controller,  does not sound like a 78 on a gramophone. 

Enjoy the ride
Tom