AT440Mla & Denon DL103R

I know this sounds very silly asking this

Has anyone here compared the Audio Technica AT440Mla to the Denon DL103R?

If so, what are the sound differences between the two.

 

Well....almost.....I compared the AT440MLA to the Denon DL-160...which is a step lower than the DL103R.

The Denon smoked the AT hands down. The AT sounded bright, brittle and bass shy next to the Denon, which just had a beautiful sound. The 103 would sound even nicer.

Hope that helps.

 

Interesting, thank you.

 

The DL-103R should be far more balanced than the AT440mla. The AT was lacking in the low end and tipped up in the treble in every system I have heard it on.

I don't have the R version, just a regular DL-103.

 

I have the regular 103 and the 440mla. Especially with vinyl, performance is highly system dependent, so take my comments for what you paid for them! I think I'm one of the few who don't like the basic 103 sound, mostly because I find the treble too grainy and of low resolution. I don't think the 440 is tipped up, but it is not a balanced cartridge in that it doesn't have the bass weight to balance the well resolved treble. I find the AT's high end much more enjoyable, of very good resolution and better continuousness. It also tracked better in both of my tonearms (Hadcock 242, Trans-fi T3). If I was forced to live long-term with either I'd take the 440, which is surprising because I generally look for mid-band tonality and a solid bass, but the negatives of the 103's top end outweighs any positives for me. I am curious if the 103R is better, or if perhaps the UWE wood body helps significantly.

John K.

 

Interesting

Do you find your 440Mla to be faster sounding over the DL103?

 

That IS interesting, that you feel that way.

I play a lot of records from the 50s and 60s on budget labels, which many times were mastered on the cheap, so that there isnt a lot of balanced bass. So, to counteract that, I need a cart that will at least dig out the bass thats there and show it. The AT isnt that cart, at least in my system.

 

Well, I think the 440Mla is more suited to systems that's on the Warm and soft side of nature.

 

With age, one's higher frequency hearing also diminishes this might be another factor.

 

Oh yes, true. These things can happen.

 

That is exactly my experience too.

 

I can't understand the comments about bass on the MLA. It measures flat down to 20 Hz, what more do you want? I have albums (DSTOM/Icky Thump) which cause my subwoofer major fits with this cartridge.

 

Sorry for my little silly question.

Is the Denon DL103R a lot warmer sounding over the AT440Mla?

 

Hey, you asked about cartridge preference, which is only slightly less contentious than vinyl vs. CD.

Warmer, yes, but not by a huge margin.

John K.

 

There are so many valid arguments concerning cartridge "break in" that it's hard to know what's true. Did the equipment really break in, or did I just get used to it? I don't know. It seems to me that my AT440mla warmed up a lot over an 9 month period...

Of course, maybe I lost the ability to hear a couple of thousand kHz during that time period as well....

Hmmm... I guess this post is pretty useless. Anyway - I'm happy with the AT cart.

 

This stuff is real, folks. After building a variable loading contraption in order to load my 440MLa correctly, then using a PC to analyse the frequency response, I can confirm that the treble will back off significantly over time.

My contraption basically allows me to apply anywhere between 32 kOhms to 52k in parallel with the phono inputs (i.e. 32k for less treble, 52k for more). When I first got the cartridge, this was plenty of leeway. Now, with around 300 hours on the cart, I have it set at 52k, and the treble is now ever so slightly soft, and measures so. I really need to swap out my fixed resistors for ones of a higher value in order to bump the variable ones up to a higher range...

Oh, and I have no problems with bass - there's plenty.

 

Interesting. This could be an argument against "break in" however - if one likes the sound initially, then it will get duller over time - that's one perspective at least. I do tire of reading about how break-in always makes something sound better... can't be that way.

I'm dialed in at 37 kOhm with a very low capacitance setup after probably 100 hours and am pretty satisfied with the sound, but have not taken measurements.

Phil - would you mind telling me what LP you are using do your frequency tests? Your tests have me thinking that it would be neat to try out something similar. I found the "Cardas Frequency Sweep" LP which is a decent price and does sweeps plus pink noise.

 

Not to threadcrap or go off-topic, but s the 440 approaching the $200.00 mark now? WOW, it wasn't terribly long ago they were $99.00.

For people who enjoy the Audio Technica sound but are on a budget, try the AT120E. LP Gear has them for $79.95 and in my opinion I'm not sure you'll find a better cart for the money.

Back on-topic now

 

I have an AT120E in a secondary system here and it is a fabulous cartridge for the money; it should be noted that some people actually prefer it to the 440 MLa.

I haven't heard the 440 MLa, but also own a Denon 103R (now in a wood body with a Soundsmith ruby cantilever and line contact stylus). The AT and Denon 103 will have a different presentation but one should also take into consideration that the arms that ideally match up with these cartridges will be very different. The AT will probably be most comfortable (and give its best) in a low to medium mass arm, the Denon in a medium to higher mass arm.

On top of that, the Denon will be much more demanding of phono preamplification and high quality phono preamps for low output cartridges can cost some money.

With the right arm and phono preamp, though, the Denon is capable of some very good performance. Put another $150 or so into it with a good aluminum or wood body and an additional $250-$350 at Soundsmith (you can do both of these in stages if you want which is kind of nice) and you will have a cartridge that can compete with some extremely exotic and very expensive cartridges.

 

I think that is basically right. They are such different beasts, I see little point in even comparing them. They are not likely to work equally well in the same arm, or with the same phono pre-amp. As you say, the 103/103R cartridges are capable of exceptional performance in the right system.

 

It's the pink noise track on the HiFi News HFN002 disc (however, I would go with the Cardas disc). I cross reference this with digitally generated pink noise aswell, using the spectrum graph in "Visual Analyser", which is free.

Anything with pink (or white) noise will do, as long as you have something to reference against.