Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow!

Posted by ctbarker32 (A) on October 25, 2014 at 16:40:29

I have read with interest the many threads on Denon cartridges and especially the 103 varients that are so popular.

Today, I would like to discuss the Denon 301 Mk II that I have not seen discussed as much.

I am late to the Denon party, as it were, but I recently purchased a second arm wand for my VPI Classic 2 turntable that allowed me to swap out my current wand with an Ortofon Quintet Black for the Denon 301 Mk II I purchased several months ago for a very favorable price.

Installation was a breeze. Either, I am getting used to the VPI setup quirks or the fairly robust aluminum cantilever of the Denon made sighting alignment a lot easier.

I run my turntable into a Ray Sammuels Nighthawk battery phono preamp out to the analog section of the Benchmark DAC 2 HGC and onto the latest Wyred4Sound amp powering Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 speakers.

I have been running the Denon now for several weeks and and all I can say is WOW! Vinyl has never sounded so absolutely right in this system. Brand new recordings or 40 year old recordings just sound so spot on. It's not clear to me how this magic is accomplished but the mid range as well as the high and low end are so well portrayed. I am just floored at all of this. I think I have played the Denon long enough now to say it sounds better than my Quintet Black. Plus, the surface noise is extremely low and unobtrusive. How is this possible for a cartridge that sells for about $329?

One way I sometimes know if I have a cartridge dialed in correctly is listening for the transition between an album track and silent grooves between the tracks. On my best setups, I can easily hear the transition between the tape hiss of an analog recording fade out to what I assume is blank unrecorded tape spliced in as a spacer between cuts. In previous setups, this distinction is lost in surface noise or not audible.

Another quality I hear is the timbre of the some string synthesizers especially of the analog variety from the last century. I am thinking Dave Linn's Prophet 5 a favorite of mine. With previous setups the sound of these synths would just be a gauze mask of sound. With the Denon, I can clearly hear the timbre and edge of notes that sparkle with a you are there quality to the sound.

Now that I have waded into the Denon cartridge pool, I am ever more curious about the Denon SL1 that I know at least John Ellison is so fond of.

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Topic - Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - ctbarker32 16:40:29 10/25/14 (9)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - tesla 18:28:50 10/25/14 (0)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - John Elison 17:59:42 10/25/14 (3)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - flood2 15:10:05 10/27/14 (2)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - John Elison 22:00:52 10/27/14 (1)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - ctbarker32 20:13:12 10/28/14 (0)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - bjh 17:07:04 10/25/14 (3)

RE: Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow! - John Elison 17:48:24 10/25/14 (2)

...The tape hiss starts abruptly... - Ripple 06:32:15 10/27/14 (1)

Thanks! I learned something today! ;-) /nt\ - John Elison 10:05:17 10/27/14 (0)

Denon 301 Mk II - Holy Cow!

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