By John Wheeler
Roy Hall is no dummy! He knows that one of the best selling points of his Music hall turntables is that they come completely set-up. They include a cartridge, and all though his choice of brand and model likely have more to do with wheeling and dealing with the manufacturer than it does performance, the fact that it has a cartridge at all, has sold countless turntables to newbies and vinyl veterans alike. Forget the fact that surely down the road, you will realize that there are better cartridges out there and for whatever reason you will likely bite the bullet and change.
I am not immune to the wiles of good salesmanship or value. That is how I came to own my Goldring Eroica H, the cartridge that came mounted on my MMF-7.
Despite the negative opinions from some reviewers with regard to high output moving coil cartridges, I found The Eroica H to be a wonderfully detailed cartridge. At times it may be a bit too detailed, particularly on older records that it plays “warts and all”, it’s the brilliant sound that I find so involving.
One day, as fate would have it, it suffered a twisted cantilever. Not willing to let it go, I decided to send it off to Soundsmith for a re-tip and a ruby cantilever. I’ll keep you posted on that adventure, but in the mean time, I couldn’t resist the temptation to try one of the audio world’s best bargains. I refer to the original giant killer, the Denon DL103R.
This thing has been around for so many years in one form or another and so much ink has been spilled extolling its virtues, it should be in an “Audio Hall of Fame”. There isn’t much I can say about the 103R that has not been said before. Trust me, it is all true, the good and the bad.
To compare the two is like apples to oranges, but let’s face it, performance is performance. So forget that one is low output and the other is high output. Forget that one sports an elliptical stylus and the other a line contact. Forget that one costs around three hundred fifty dollars and the other more than twice that. No concessions. No handicaps.
As expected, the only thing they have in common is their function; they both play records very well, each one having its distinct character, which it presents the moment the stylus touches the record. Surface noise that the Eroica H tends to display in all of its ugly glory is moved to the background with the Denon. However, details that smacked me in the face with the Eroica are subtle with the Denon. It doesn’t fuss with the little details. They are there but it doesn’t make a big deal of them. It’s like my laid back older brother who is aging better than I because he just doesn’t sweat the small stuff. The Glodring on the other hand gives it to you like your best friend that “calls em like he sees em”, doesn’t pull any punches and will tell you when your fly is down.
It won’t over look a flaw anymore than the nuance of a harp string or the resonance of a Stradivarius’ wood. It’s all there, the good and the bad.
The Eroica H is never lacking in bass and it has a surprisingly sweet high end that sizzles. I do find its tone to be a bit analytical which is not a bad thing and often that is what I am looking for. But as records get old and pick up a pop here and a tick there, I find myself wishing for a little less honesty and a bit more forgiveness. After all, I am supposed to be listening to music not dissecting it. Far too often don’t we find ourselves listening for that creak from the bassist’s instrument and upon hearing confirmation we make some declaration about the resolution and detail coming from our rigs. The Denon makes it easy to listen to the music. It has a sense of rightness that is non-fatiguing, smooth and warm and a sound stage that is, in a word, impressive. It’s huge and open, with everything in the right place. The Denon is known for its fine bass and a tonality in the midrange that is rich and satisfying but it lacks some of the sparkle on the high end that a more detailed cartridge would bring forward.
Common wisdom tells us that the DL-103 and a Project 9 tone arm are a slight mismatch, (close but no cigar), which could explain some of the performance shortcomings. The addition of about 3 or 4 grams to the head shell should remedy this. There is also an unfortunate side effect of using a low out put cartridge with a high gain phono amp, that being noise in the form of gain hiss, something that I was not prepared for. The Goldring as it is in my system is a church mouse. While the hiss is not excessive, you know it’s there and whether I stick with the Denon may very well depend on if I ever come to terms with the noise. No doubt the use of a step-up transformer may aid to reduce the hiss, but this is yet more equipment (read “more money”).
Frankly, it is my hope that the Soundsmith re-build of the Goldring will address some of my negative issues with the Eroica H without adding new quirks. I have read countless testimonials and reviews that praise the work of Peter Ledermann, the wizard of Soundsmith. If he can tame it, that is to say, make it a bit more forgiving of surface noise, it will be well worth the $250 spent on the face-lift and I will likely drop the Denon romance like a fling with a mistress and go back to my true love.
Roy Hall is no dummy! He knows that one of the best selling points of his Music hall turntables is that they come completely set-up. They include a cartridge, and all though his choice of brand and model likely have more to do with wheeling and dealing with the manufacturer than it does performance, the fact that it has a cartridge at all, has sold countless turntables to newbies and vinyl veterans alike. Forget the fact that surely down the road, you will realize that there are better cartridges out there and for whatever reason you will likely bite the bullet and change.
I am not immune to the wiles of good salesmanship or value. That is how I came to own my Goldring Eroica H, the cartridge that came mounted on my MMF-7.
Despite the negative opinions from some reviewers with regard to high output moving coil cartridges, I found The Eroica H to be a wonderfully detailed cartridge. At times it may be a bit too detailed, particularly on older records that it plays “warts and all”, it’s the brilliant sound that I find so involving.
One day, as fate would have it, it suffered a twisted cantilever. Not willing to let it go, I decided to send it off to Soundsmith for a re-tip and a ruby cantilever. I’ll keep you posted on that adventure, but in the mean time, I couldn’t resist the temptation to try one of the audio world’s best bargains. I refer to the original giant killer, the Denon DL103R.
This thing has been around for so many years in one form or another and so much ink has been spilled extolling its virtues, it should be in an “Audio Hall of Fame”. There isn’t much I can say about the 103R that has not been said before. Trust me, it is all true, the good and the bad.
To compare the two is like apples to oranges, but let’s face it, performance is performance. So forget that one is low output and the other is high output. Forget that one sports an elliptical stylus and the other a line contact. Forget that one costs around three hundred fifty dollars and the other more than twice that. No concessions. No handicaps.
As expected, the only thing they have in common is their function; they both play records very well, each one having its distinct character, which it presents the moment the stylus touches the record. Surface noise that the Eroica H tends to display in all of its ugly glory is moved to the background with the Denon. However, details that smacked me in the face with the Eroica are subtle with the Denon. It doesn’t fuss with the little details. They are there but it doesn’t make a big deal of them. It’s like my laid back older brother who is aging better than I because he just doesn’t sweat the small stuff. The Glodring on the other hand gives it to you like your best friend that “calls em like he sees em”, doesn’t pull any punches and will tell you when your fly is down.
It won’t over look a flaw anymore than the nuance of a harp string or the resonance of a Stradivarius’ wood. It’s all there, the good and the bad.
The Eroica H is never lacking in bass and it has a surprisingly sweet high end that sizzles. I do find its tone to be a bit analytical which is not a bad thing and often that is what I am looking for. But as records get old and pick up a pop here and a tick there, I find myself wishing for a little less honesty and a bit more forgiveness. After all, I am supposed to be listening to music not dissecting it. Far too often don’t we find ourselves listening for that creak from the bassist’s instrument and upon hearing confirmation we make some declaration about the resolution and detail coming from our rigs. The Denon makes it easy to listen to the music. It has a sense of rightness that is non-fatiguing, smooth and warm and a sound stage that is, in a word, impressive. It’s huge and open, with everything in the right place. The Denon is known for its fine bass and a tonality in the midrange that is rich and satisfying but it lacks some of the sparkle on the high end that a more detailed cartridge would bring forward.
Common wisdom tells us that the DL-103 and a Project 9 tone arm are a slight mismatch, (close but no cigar), which could explain some of the performance shortcomings. The addition of about 3 or 4 grams to the head shell should remedy this. There is also an unfortunate side effect of using a low out put cartridge with a high gain phono amp, that being noise in the form of gain hiss, something that I was not prepared for. The Goldring as it is in my system is a church mouse. While the hiss is not excessive, you know it’s there and whether I stick with the Denon may very well depend on if I ever come to terms with the noise. No doubt the use of a step-up transformer may aid to reduce the hiss, but this is yet more equipment (read “more money”).
Frankly, it is my hope that the Soundsmith re-build of the Goldring will address some of my negative issues with the Eroica H without adding new quirks. I have read countless testimonials and reviews that praise the work of Peter Ledermann, the wizard of Soundsmith. If he can tame it, that is to say, make it a bit more forgiving of surface noise, it will be well worth the $250 spent on the face-lift and I will likely drop the Denon romance like a fling with a mistress and go back to my true love.
RSS Feed
