[Shakeydeal]

I will be sending my Benz L2 to Soundsmith for a retip so I needed a backup. I picked up a DL103 but I am leery about how it will work with the low mass arm on the Amadeus. Does the silicone damping nullify the need for a high mass arm. Any thoughts on how this will work?

Thanks,

Shakey

[SteevA]

I have a 103r but have never used it on my Versalex (essentially same arm).

But, based entirely on the prior commentry of others, I believe it should wotk well. The silicone provides resistance to movement at audio frequencies and your cart will see this in the same way it sees high mass - as inertia.

Steve

[mick wolfe]

I will be sending my Benz L2 to Soundsmith for a retip so I needed a backup. I picked up a DL103 but I am leery about how it will work with the low mass arm on the Amadeus. Does the silicone damping nullify the need for a high mass arm. Any thoughts on how this will work?

Thanks,

Shakey

I've used a 103R /Auditorium 23 SUT with my Amadeus for over a year. Works just fine and the presentation is quite involving. For the record, the only change I made was replacing the original Amadeus counterweight an aftermarket version from England. This takes things up a notch sonically, but I believe this would have been the case regardless of which cartridge was being used.   

[cjbaron]

I use a 103r on a new Versalex w LTD arm and am very happy with it. Resonant freq is 12hz using the HFNRR test disc, which is certainly acceptable. I probably use more than the the typical 1/3 coverage of the ball. Considered adding a brass plate between cart and mounting surface, but just haven't felt the need.

Keep in mind that the 103's compliance is higher than you might think: the listed 5x10-6 cm/dyne is measured at 100hz rather than the standard 10hz.

[jimdgoulding]

ShakeyD, if it is a 103D find a way to make it work.  That is an exciting cart!  Temporarily weight the headshell if you must.  One of my favorites for jazz.

[mick wolfe]

Jim.... the 103R is no slouch on jazz either. Very present with good material. The quality of the step-up is a big part of the formula as well.

[roscoeiii]

IIRC, the 103D and the 103/103R have pretty different compliances, so one may be better than the other for certain arms depending on the arm's effective mass. Though how this applies to the unique design of the WTA I am not sure. Anyone called Mike Pranka to ask about this tonearm/cart matching question? He or a WTA dealer would have the most experience.

[Charisma12]

I have tried cartridges having high and low compliances with the Well Tempered Arm without problem.

Simply apply more damping for lower compliance cartridges and less for the higher ones.

[Shakeydeal]

Thanks for all the replies. I do have more damping applied for the Denon and that seems to work pretty well. I liked it so much that I placed an order with Peter this week for a fully tricked out 103 with his compliance mod. I hope to have it by the end of next week.

Shakey