Hey Joel/Bufuddled, et al,
Yeah, I'm really surprised at the 'pop' on this cartridge. It's different than the 'wallop' of the Grado, but decent all the same.
I went to a concert of the local Youth Orchestra yesterday, about a 40 piece ensemble, in a local school gymansium. I've been listening to a lot of classical of late (something only my analog set-up seems to get harmonically right). Comparing real versus what I have here in my listening room, I'd have to give the edge to the
Grado, overall. But, and
this is a very subjective area where I may well be in the minority - but, it's my opinion, nonetheless.
But, and this is a BIG one, I am so engaged by the musicality (I know, overused term...but my head is bopping to the music it produces, so I'll use it
) of this DL-160. I think where it falters in the same area I have found with every Moving Coil (either owned or heard) and that is a certain
fakeness to the treble (cymbols, triangles, even smaller string instruments and piano). Unlike many other MC's I've heard, it is passably fake....keeping in tact the transient attack, detail retrievel, etc, etc.
NOTE: I am listening at 47K ohm input as that is the only one available to me...but the electrical figures of this cartridge would be better suited to 1 or 2K inputs. That difference may be meaningfully over-emphasizing it's treble faults and I hope to address that soon in my preamp situation.
So, maybe I'm listening to hi-fi and
not music...but I like it, so there
Joseph Grado, founder and opera singer and buff, invented the moving coil concept and may have as many patents on cartridge design as the others combined (just do a Google Patent search and see for yourself). He believed that the moving coil had an inherent flaw that no damping method could fully overcome (physical and innate in the design)...so he built (primarily) moving irons for his company. Whereas, moving iron/magnets had electrical related restraints to overcome that (
he believed) could be largely addressed with thoughtful engineering.
Whatever the method, it seems Denon has produced a high output device (I have 39 db of gain in my phono stage - it is more than enough, folks, if you've wondered if 1.6mv is enough) with just the right internal damping to make this cartride sound mostly believable, while retaining the inherent strengths of moving coils (fast/good snap, transient attack, transparent, huge soundstage). I should also note, this cartridge reduces pops and clicks to nearly
nothing (they are
far more noticeable with the Grado)...probably a function of the extra lengths regarding damping that Denon has to do as a (good) moving coil manufacturer. The
teeny vdH stylus tip and more inert boron cantilever could be part of that equation, too.
There is to much 'voodoo' surrounding cartridge design now....what I probably hear is the effect of vastly lower inductance and DC resistance figures in the Denon (or, any moving coil....but not all makers get the internal damping equation right). The Grado, at 3mv output, has 45mh inductance and 475 ohms of resistance. The Denon, at an official 1.6 (but really measured at 2.2mv) has well under 1mh inductance (probably more like 0.2 mh) and 160 ohms of resistance. Less resistance means more signal reaching your ears
eventually and lower inductance will mean lower internal noise levels, all other things equal.
So, Denon has taken the inherent physical flaws of a moving coil, damped them so they are greatly minimized to a point where you can realize it's excellent electrical properties and how they impact sonics. Somehow automating all of this as only a large company can, and offering their cartridges at reasonable prices.
Bravo Denon
- I'm quite sure what I'm listening to is a bit 'simulated', but also quite enjoyable in it's own right.
