Sumiko F4 with 103R sounds flat???

Dear Route30: For a starting analog source person you need not only advise from other people but some one that ( locally ) could help to " interpret " in the right way all the advise you can get on this and other forums.

IMHO a best " road " could be that you start/use a MM/MI cartridge where at least you don't have to worry about step up transformer because your phono stage has enough gain ( this help to the cartridge quality performance because the cartridge signal has not pass to additional stages: transformer, cables, connectors, etc. that makes a signal degradation always. ) and in the other side the quality performance of the MM/MI alternative is very good ( with your tonearm. ) and even better than the performance on the 103R and certainly over your CD.

This is a good choice:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ortofon-M20E-Super-MM-cartridge-M-20-E-Super-NOS_W0QQitemZ400085013949QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d26ecd5bd#ht_2634wt_1165

Your call.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

I just bought the 103R, and hate to start over with cartridge.

Dear Route30: As I said: your call.

regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Thank you Raul. You are probably correct. I am new to this, and didn't want to become an audiophile nut. I sell vintage Porsches, and know how deeply you can get involved. That is NOT what I want for my sound system. I just want to enjoy it. I love the Vintage components, and they are affordable. I have a McIntosh 6500, Meridian 608.24, Infinity RS ll. I bought the Sota Sapphire, and thought the 103R was the right cartridge improvement. I guess I have created new issues I wasn't aware of. What is the Cartridge you advise? Previous owner loved the 103 MM. I really appreciate your input, as its getting discouraging. I want to get through this asap.

I used a 103R on an FT3 for a few years and it worked well. The Denon benefits from a body change (to wood) and a higher mass arm than your FT4 but if it's sounding crappy compared to your CD player, there is something definitely wrong.

Could be improper setup on the cartridge. The remark about tracking the Denon at 2 grams above is totally off base; tracking range given by Denon is 2.2 to 2.8 and I wouldn't consider tracking a stock 103R below 2.5 and think that 2.6 is definitely THE tracking force for the cartridge.

You need very close to 60 db of gain in your phono stage with a load preferably in the 40 ohm to 100 ohm range. It's quite possible, as another poster above mentioned, that you do not have an appropriate phono stage for the cartridge.

In any event, something is wrong and it's not likely to be the Denon or your FT4.