[tonyptony]

Hi everybody. I just fitted my 103R into a MIDAS shell. I was under the impression that it would have been a press in fit, but I had to trim the corners of the cart's mounting plate (top side) to get it to drop into the shell. Did anyone else have to do this?

[griffithds]

I did not have any problems mounting mine.  Tight, yes!

Regards,
Don

[neobop]

Hi Griff,
Welcome to the monkey house.   

Maybe you guys have different top plates?

I goggled Midas headshell and came up with some posts that referred to it, but nothing on the mfg.  Apparently Midas makes an aluminum body for the 103.  What is this, an alum headshell?
With the name Midas I expected it to be made out of gold. Maybe that only refers to the price.
neo   

[jsawyer09]

Odd. When I had mine, it fit perfectly — no fussing about whatsoever.

[tonyptony]

Don and Jsawyer, did either of you need to use the Allen screw on the side to eliminate (very) slight play when the cart was in the shell?

[griffithds]

Hi Tonyptony,

Mine must be an earlier version because it doe not have any adjustment screws.  Just a tight fit.
It definitely does make a difference when compared to the vibrating original plastic housing!.

Regards,
Don

[griffithds]

Neobop,

The designer/seller of the Midas cartridge body replacement for the Denon 103, go by the name  Diawok and can be found on the Lenco heaven forum. It's under other components/cartridge and styli,  and is about 18 pages of discussion.  Nice improvement for very little money.

Regards,
Don

[jsawyer09]

Don and Jsawyer, did either of you need to use the Allen screw on the side to eliminate (very) slight play when the cart was in the shell?

Mine must've been like griffithds's, as there was no allen screw, either. I just had to very carefully slide it in after removing the Denon's plastic cart shell. It was a perfect fit and had no give. If anything, I couldn't imagine attempting to try prying it out of there, as it was quite rigidly placed. I wonder if you have a pic of yours? At any rate, David is a very courteous man, and a real good guy in this hobby. I wouldn't hesitate contacting him on the matter. He's passionate about the Midas, and would do anything to help, I'm certain.

[tonyptony]

Don and Jsawyer, when did you get your MIDAS shells?

[griffithds]

Tonyptony,

I bought mine directly from David (Diawok).  See my last post above to neobop for his location.

Regards,
Don

[jsawyer09]

Don and Jsawyer, when did you get your MIDAS shells?

Sorry I'm not getting to you until now. Good question, actually. I believe I bought it from David about a year-and-a-half ago. I sold it about a year ago because it wasn't the best match compliance-wise for my SME 309. On the Jelco 750D, it was outstanding, though.