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68.44.20.65
Thanks, Jim, for sending me this cartridge. I really helps to get a chance to trial these things directly.The 304 is very smooth but without the verve of the 103 or 160. The top end is very present and some events shoot out at you.
Starting with Ricky Lee Jones ~ Pirates, the drums sounded nice with a sound of skin. Attention getting. Her voice was followed easily by the 304, not as easily done on the 160, and then 304 didn't miss a beat. Can't remember how it sounded with the 103 but I wasn't paying that type of attention with the 103. BUT by the third song it was tiring. It became bloodless.
Maybe I was wrong so I put on Benny Carter ~ Additions to Further Definitions. That is a very sweet record and the 304 didn't capture the soiund nor the spirit. the sound was too light. The 103 brought the weight of the event previously but the 304 couldn't swing it.
In comparison the 103 was weighty and toe tapping but utlimately, for me, too heavy and missed out on excitement factor. The 304 was bloodless, events did not hold together like the 103 did. There is something scattered about the 304. I kept listening 'at' it. I kept the 304 on the arm for days trying to tweek it into a better sound, it had drawinging power. The 304 had to come off after one side and less than one song.
Now with the 160 back on and it can be seen how grainy it is in comparison to the 304 but who cares? When I put Benny Carter back on it was like "Yeah, that's it!" It swung.
I think that the 160 is a very 'musical' cartridge, now. Detailed and I thought it was smooth until I heard the 304. (I can do without the detail that the 304 brought out because who could care if the spirit is not there?) It renders everything with enough weight and agility and with an eveness of range. It has a big sound and dynamic but it is not congested or peaky. It is thin in comparison to the 103, but airy and open in a way that the 103 was not. It doesn't throw things out at you like the 304 and it is not laid back like the 103. It is the baby bear mush.
When I read descriptions of the Dyna 20X it sounds a lot like the 160 but better... so maybe that's the next cart. I will keep looking, but not for a while. I think I can be happy with this 160 for years.
Big thanks again, Jim. The loan made me appreciate what I already have.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
Follow Ups:
i dunno omalley--judging by the aforementioned descriptions of what y' like-- that dyna might sound WAY too reedy and thin for ya... it's got those crazy nuances.. but it seemed to me, overly hi rez and not too fleshy.. very much an xray cart.. black & white.
granted.. i like 'em really gooey.. but the 20x was just not my flavor at all.. coulda been loaded funny though- that i don't know- heard it at my local shop, and i believe they were giving it a go on an AN 'table.
obviously- yer mileage may vary..
d.
...
~Slainte,
The OMalley
Is it true that you are running a 0.18mV output cartridge into
a souped-up MM phonostage with only 50dB of gain?DL-304 needs lots more. DL-103 too, but less so.
I fondly remember a stock GyroDec with RB-300 and DL-304 into a Michell ISO with 65dB gain. One of the best LP sounds I've heard at that price point.
I am using the Denon AU300LC sut going into the Bugle w/ combined 70dB gain. Loading might be high for the 304, though, at 470ohms.There is no accounting for taste.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
I think you've hit the proverbial nail on the head, O'Malley. 470 Ohms is WAY high for the 304. 47 Ohms would be far more suitable. Even 100 would be much better.
HenryMushrooms are the opiate of the mooses
that if I load the cart down i will lose too much gain. ... Now you've done it!! Damn.Now I have to get some resistors and the connectors and give it a shot. I can tell you that there is no charm in the purstuit. The capture is the only things that means anything.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
My preamp has a set of switches that by whick I can change the load.Jim N
We need to sort this out. I am glad that I have a removable arm on my III.Jim N
thanks. ok, I will get the resistors, etc. My Bugle is not switchable on the fly. I have to manually load those resistors via RCAs 'tween SUT & Bugle.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
"hat if I load the cart down i will lose too much gain. ."How that? The generator impedance of the 304 is low enough to allow driving 100 Ohms straight.
i misinterpreted some esoteric loading stuff that someone told me. I will load it at 100ohms.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
HenryMushrooms are the opiate of the mooses
That we can help each other get to where we want to be, without making huge monitary mistakes....Except....where the hell did all my money go?
i know where some of my money went. - just joking.
~Slainte,
The OMalley
I do know where some of your money went ;=)I have been comparing my two idlers against my two belt drives.....and in classical the ROK N-33H is a clear winner.
For Rock and Roll I prefer the Idlers.
I am set to receive a tranformer isolation unit soon. I hope this cures some of the speed inaccuracy I hear in my tables. I miss the Kenwood and Technics DD in terms of their speed accuracy.
Well, I am not getting rid of my NAD. I have to cut out a small bit of the armboard to accomodate the rb250. that will be ok because i can build it back up for the sme.maybe i will fetch the hardware this weekend ...
~Slainte,
The OMalley
that with the money you saved can be spent on more LP's.Jim N
More LPs is definitely what I need.It was a valuable experience, doing that evaluation. The one nervy part was putting those cartridges on and off and on and off.. what a tedious bunch of nervous activity. Those screws are small.
Half of it is the satisfaction of knowing I don't have to take any cartridges on and off again. ;-)
~Slainte,
The OMalley
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