What cart on Denon DP-300F?

[marc]

Anybody know if there's a particular cartridge on this TT? All the vendor descriptions just seem to say it's MM, so wondering if it's pretty generic.

If so, what would be a good, reasonably priced replacement/upgrade cart for this level of table?

[jrhymeammo]

Do you live in Europe?

If so, whatever this is "Hochwertiges MM-Tonabnehmer im Lieferumfang" is what you get.

You can't go wrong with Grado Green as I used to own one. But I really can't believe how great Denon DL-110 is. I should do somethng with Grado Silver I got laying around, but spare cartridge is good to have around. When you replace your stock cart, you should keep whatever cart Denon TT comes with. I would go insane if I broke my 110 and didnt have an extra cart to play my records with.

[basite]

Do you live in Europe?

If so, whatever this is "Hochwertiges MM-Tonabnehmer im Lieferumfang" is what you get.

You can't go wrong with Grado Green as I used to own one. But I really can't believe how great Denon DL-110 is. I should do somethng with Grado Silver I got laying around, but spare cartridge is good to have around. When you replace your stock cart, you should keep whatever cart Denon TT comes with. I would go insane if I broke my 110 and didnt have an extra cart to play my records with.


Hochwertiges MM-tonabnehmer in liefrumfang ... as far as i know that means that it comes with an mm cartridge (the cartridge that comes with the tt)

extra carts indeed are a real must, i've got 3, 2 new ones and one old one,

Greetz,
Basite.

[JohnMichael]

Judging by the picture I would say an Audio Technica cartridge. An entry level AT. The table is made in Japan and AT is one of the larger makers of MM cartridges in Japan so it seems to be a likely match. I wonder if the built in phono preamp can be bypassed in case you would want to purchase a better preamp at a later day.

[basite]

i had an entry level at cart, (20€ or something) and it didn't have that plastic part to protect the needle, i do think it's a audio technica cart but it's a little above the entry level ones. considering that, it is likely to be a conical needle,, buy another needle then.

[marc]

I am in the US. According to the product sheet on Denon's site, the built in pre-amp is on-off switchable. I was wondering that too.

The 110 and Green look like good choices.

[jrhymeammo]

I'm not sure about DL-110 with that tonearm. Manual states that it can take carts from 5-10 grams. Denon is less than 5.
I have to say the stock cart gotta be crap. Denon suggests that stylus needs to be changed after 400 hours. That seems really short to me.
Replacement stylus is DSN-85. http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=DENONSTDP0300F
Replacement stylus for Green is $30 also and will last at longer. Claimed S/N ratio is -60db. For the price you are willing to pay, you can do much better.

[royphil345]

When they don't give you any specs at all for the cartridge... it's obviously crap...

A Grado green would work on a tight budget. I'd also consider a Shure M97xE or an Ortofon OM 20 Super for a little more $.

You can upgrade an Ortofon OM 10 Super to an OM 20 Super or OM 30 Super with a stylus change. The OM 3E and OM 5E bodies wil fit the 10, 20 and 30 styli, but it's not the same body as the OM Super and Ortofon says the results will not be as good.



FROM ORTOFON:
" Naturally, you can upgrade a Super OM 10 to a Super OM 20, or even a Super OM 30 at any time. Your only expense will be the cost of the stylus unit. And if the original stylus is not worn out, you can still use it for less demanding applications.

The Super OM stylus units are also compatible with all the bodies of the entire ortofon OMP line. IF you own an OM cartridge, you are able to enjoy the improved stylus and cantilever technology of the Super OM range. However, it takes a Super OM body with Ortofon's new magnetic circuitry to realize the full Super OM potential."

[jrhymeammo]

yeah what Royphil said. I've never had an oppotunity to try out Ortofon cart so I cannot say. I can only speak from my experience. I've heard alot on this site about OM series and how you can increase Soundquality by just swapping stylus. OM-10 costs $69.95, and that isnt costly for a cart. If SQ is an significant as members say, then it gotta be worth it.
The difference in Green and Silver isn't that great.
-JRA

[basite]

yeah what Royphil said. I've never had an oppotunity to try out Ortofon cart so I cannot say. I can only speak from my experience. I've heard alot on this site about OM series and how you can increase Soundquality by just swapping stylus. OM-10 costs $69.95, and that isnt costly for a cart. If SQ is an significant as members say, then it gotta be worth it.
The difference in Green and Silver isn't that great.
-JRA


ortofon's are good, (i have one) sometimes a little hard to mount, but real flexible, when set up right (what should be after the phono preamp topic) they sound really good,
one big difference between ortofon and grado is the frequency response which is from 20hz to 20khz with a ortofon cart, with grado, the cheapest one will go from 10hz till 50khz.

[marc]

OK, the Grado Green sounds like a good choice. Can it be "upgraded" with a Blue or Red stylus, or aren't those interchangeable?

[jrhymeammo]

OK, the Grado Green sounds like a good choice. Can it be "upgraded" with a Blue or Red stylus, or aren't those interchangeable?

I've talked to Mr Grado over the phone and he said there are no difference in cartridge
you are basically paying for stylus. I was suprised to hear him tell me this.
For his honesty, I will continue to do business with him. I'm looking at Sonata now.
Grado Red will be a good choice if you can afford it. Green will sing and little money left over to buy more music.

If you wanna upgrade, I would go to Red. I wouldnt go to Blues since they are just Reds that didnt meet the GradoLabs' standard. Could it be that Blues are kinda like factory outlet kinda product?
I'm thinking that I wasnt too impressed with my Silver, cuz I was too cheap/broke to get Gold.

[marc]

What I meant was, can I put a Blue Stylus or Red Stylus on a Green Cartridge to make it better?

[jrhymeammo]

Opps, I forgot to say it. Answer: YES, and they are really easy to do. Cartridge is exactly the same, except for gold shell that comes with well...Gold. Again, I couldnt believe he told me this.Then why would anyone pay 110 for Red, then you can get a Black cart for $40 and get a Red stylus for $55(total of $95). I asked him this and he didnt explain why, but just told me that they are all the same. But............

the part that still doesnt make any sense to me is that, then why would they use higher quality copper wires between connector pins and the part that comes in contact with back of the stylus. I dont really get it.

Paying for better cantilever is probably more important than internal wiring. Just decide what you think about wire quality.