Denon DL 103R vs. Rega Exact

Posted by David Sevir (A) on January 12, 2008 at 22:41:38

Well after 10 years of having Rega cartridges, I got the yen to upgrade. After reading Art Dudley’s rave review of the Zu modified Denon in Stereophile, I decided I’d like to get my first moving coil. I started doing my research—in the Asylum, of course, and read lots of reviews of the Denon DL 103R before I ordered one from Audio Cubes.
There have been scores of opinions posted regarding the DL 103 cartridges, so I thought I’d add my two cents worth, and compare it to my old moving magnet Rega Exact, a cartridge I had been quite happy with. I listened to a variety of records with the Exact first, then replaced it with the Denon for a replay. I’ll admit I’m not analytical enough to review for the magazines, but for those with less-than-analytical tastes, my experience may have some value.
The two cartridges have a lot in common and a similar presentation. There was possibly a little less surface noise with the Denon, but it’s not a super quiet cartridge either. The loudness for a given volume level was roughly the same with both cartridges. The soundstage is a little better defined with the Denon, with a better sense of space, but I haven’t a system that is the ultimate in soundstaging. What I do like is a punchy and dynamic sound, and both cartridges deliver on this. The very big differences lie at the frequency extremes. The bass is less emphasized with the Denon, which unfortunately is not a good thing for my system. Both cartridges have what people call wooly bass, and that’s fine by me, since whenever I get a component with “tight, tuneful” bass, it just doesn’t move me. The highs are much more defined with the Denon, although girls backing vocals can be a bit strident at louder volumes. From my listening notes, I came to this summary:

Rega Exact: Similar to my old Dynaco tuner FM-3 or my Conrad Johnson PV-1 preamp—one big, dense whole; instruments merge together more; it’s a nice full sound. Good boogie factor with a prominent low end. Super punchy bass and drums but a dull top end with muted cymbals.

Denon DL 103R: There are not any “I’ve never that heard before” sounds or lyrics, but they are much clearer, more prominent, and better separated. The bass is tight and tuneful in comparison to the Rega, but still bearable for my tastes. Comparatively a tad less punchy and therefore a tad more reserved. In short, I wound up preferring the Denon, because I enjoyed the increased details in the high end, and I figured low-end prominence was a job for other parts of my system, not the cartridge.

Music: Funkadelic, “Take Your Dead Ass Home,” The Coasters, “Youngblood,” Gong (live), “You Can’t Kill Me,” Bob Marley, “Wake Up and Live,” Nina Simone, “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” and “I’ve Got it Bad,” Joan Baez, “Tears of Rage” and “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” Richard and Linda Thompson, “Shoot Out the Lights,” and Townes Van Zandt, side 1 of “Live at the Old Quarter.”

My equipment:
Rega Planar 3, Incognito rewire, Origin Live Counterweight, Naim Armageddon power supply, Audio Note Kit M2 phono stage, and Audio Note Kit Step Up Transformer (1:20 configuration, 117 Ohms resistance).
Dehavilland Ultra-Verve pre-amp and a Dehavilland Ios (SET 845) amp.
Rethm 2 speakers with Lowther DX4 drivers.
For bass augmentation (at least until I can buy a decent subwoofer set up), I simultaneously use a Conrad Johnson MV-125 amp and a pair of New Large Advents.

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Topic - Denon DL 103R vs. Rega Exact - David Sevir 22:41:38 01/12/08 (9)

RE: Denon DL 103R vs. Rega Exact - hairydog 13:35:07 05/07/13 (0)

it seems - OMalley 07:25:00 01/13/08 (8)

Thanks, O'Malley - David Sevir 19:15:21 01/15/08 (3)

How many hours... - blake 19:21:02 01/15/08 (2)

RE: How many hours... - David Sevir 21:29:51 01/15/08 (1)

RE: How many hours... - blake 04:38:20 01/16/08 (0)

That's a LOT of Work - rdr 15:42:41 01/13/08 (3)

That's why I bought the Zu 103 - boyo 21:37:31 01/15/08 (0)

That's why I stuck with Rega all these years - David Sevir 19:52:41 01/15/08 (0)

true - OMalley 17:18:23 01/15/08 (0)

Denon DL 103R vs. Rega Exact

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