Denon DL103 + TEAC TC15 aka Fidelity Research FR1 MkII + Wooden Headshells

These two MC phono cartridges have gone through the skillful hands of Joseph Long, aka Groovetickler. Highlighting his fine craftsmanship in this blog is long overdue!

Denon DL103

I own two DL103 samples. This one is the newer version I acquired from audiocubes.com in the mid 2000s. During lockdown, I snapped the cantilever.😔 I sent it to Joseph with only one request: I wanted it to be restored as close as possible to its original condition. After receiving the cartridge, he emailed that he could re-attach the cantilever and also suggested rotating the conical stylus so that fresh profiles would be tracing the record grooves.

The DL103 is typically partnered with high mass gimbal-type tonearms, but for a more SPU-like sonic flavor, I mount it on my SME 3012 or Stax UA3NL.

If I had to split hairs, I always found this particular DL103 to sound a bit bolder compared to the more lush, older sample I acquired in the '90s. As far as my ears' memory is concerned, that tonal quality was retained as if the accident never happened!👍😊

Wooden Headshells

The wooden headshell I used with the DL103 cost me $18/shipped, but it's no longer available. A better quality alternative, albeit for about $30, is the CNC Ebony headshell pictured above from eBay seller klag176. IME, wooden headshells tame brightness or glare and warm up cartridges that sound cold and analytical. Not associated with the seller, just a happy customer. Give it a try!  😊

TEAC TC-15 aka Fidelity Research FR1 MkII

Shortly thereafter, this freshly re-tipped TEAC TC-15 with an elliptical stylus showed up in Joseph's eBay store at a price I couldn't resist. According to this Japanese site, the TC-15 was a Fidelity Research FR1 MkII OEM fitted with a 0.5mil conical stylus that came with the TEAC TS-85 turntable. All other web sources specified an elliptical stylus for this model. Because of its very low 0.1 mV output, it requires a high gain (at least 1:30) MC SUT + a very quiet phono stage. 

The TEAC TC15/FR1 MkII isn't a cold-sounding cartridge, but neither is it warm like the Ortofon SPU or Supex SD900 MkIV. It isn’t particularly tonearm fussy, and I've enjoyed it on the Audio-Technica 1501-II, Bokrand AB/AS309, FR 24/54/64fx, Grace G565, SME 3012, Stax UA3NL, etc. Lately, the Karmadon 311 seems to be extracting its fullest potential. This transducer produces a very smooth and cohesive sound, a mid- to back-of-the-hall tonal perspective with excellent resolution of detail across the audio band. There's an effortlessness to its sound that's soothing.

Great job, Groovetickler!👏🍻