DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge

My first venture into a Moving Coil Cartridge. First, let me see I have built a high end audio system over the years. McIntosh Amp, McIntosh C47 Pre Amplifier with an awesome built in Phono Amp that accommodates bot MM and MC cartridges with all the adjustments you need. Played through a VPI Scout turntable. Most recently I enjoyed an Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge that is superb. Well, with a quest to build a second system for our vacation home I had the chance to buy the exact same turntable from a friend who was upgrading. This caused me to decide to stick my toe into the Moving Coil world. Not wanting to layout over a grand for the highly rated MC cartridges on the market that have great reviews, I found many people stating that the Denon DL-301MKII plays way above it's price range. And they were right. So I thought since I have inputs for both MM and MC on my preamp, why not A/B the Ortofon against the Denon. Same Equipment and exact same turntable. After playing about 10 albums on the Denon to get it broke in, it was a very nice experience, the Denon is so smooth with great detail, a wide soundstage with great bass response solid midrange and nice highs that are not real in your face highs. Very enjoyable to my surprise. So then i did the A/B against the Ortofon. Same exact Album (got 2 for Christmas Carly Simon Greatest Hits) and I was amazed the Denon to me sounded better! I went on to compare other albums and found the Denon outperformed on instrumental, Jazz, Vocalists and in most cases Blues. The Ortofon did a better job with poor pressings and Rock and Hard Rock. The Ortofon is a more forward sounding cartridge, while the Denon is more laid back. And then makes sense why the Ortofon sounds better on Rock. Now my friend then came over and heard the Denon with me and was amazed! He has some High End MC cartridges in the 1K to 2K price range and his comment was it sounds as good as those cartridges, and I agreed as we went to his system and listened to some of the same albums. If you are thinking of a Moving Coil cartridge, the Denon is an absolute GREAT BUY and a very fine performer for the money and performs very well above it's price point. As a matter of fact it is staying in place on my main system and the Ortofon will move to my second system. Don't get me wrong, the Ortofon is a stunning cartridge, but it was over twice the price. If you are primarily a Rock listener go with the Ortofon, if you like a good mixture of Jazz, Vocalists, and Blues you will Love the Denon and it does ok on Rock! Fast shipping by the Amazon supplier! Hope this helps, and I know all listening is subjective to the person listening so in the end have fun and Good Listening!

Phenomenal cartridge, absolutely. For the cost, or lack thereof [compared to many Moving Coil carts], it is a bargain. Surface noise is very much attenuated because of the mysterious 'special' diamond stylus (a line contact perhaps?) and the slight background buzz becomes not unlike the analog hiss of reel to reel tape. In other words, surface noise on great vinyl becomes innocuous. As a point of comparison, Ortofon's 2M Blue, which is only a third less (!) simply cannot handle sibilance and top-level (high freq.) information like this MC. As others have pointed out, this cart has a refined presentation, and is as smooooth as can be had at this price point. What the MM cart turns out as mushy is rendered by the DL-301 as clear intrumental differentiation and realistic timbres (aka, is it live or is it...). This is the cart that converted me to MCs in general and I haven't looked back. I got my cart from Amazon for $279 (!!!). Note that this cart's low output of 0.4mv requires a MC phono stage or a step-up transformer plugged into a MM phono input with the familiar RCA red/white cables. Most vintage receivers and preamps up until the late 1970s will lack an MC stage and many similar integrated amps today only have a Moving Magnet (with the Ortofon mentioned above you can plug the turntable straight into the amp) 'phono' input. The best [budget] option, if you are set on trying out this Denon DL-301mkII or a variant of the legendary DL-103, is to find a vintage Denon step-up transformer. They can be had online for not too much cost and when one is paired with the DL-301mkII, the humble vinyl really sings. Additionally, unless the device really looks destroyed, you need not worry about bad capacitors or age with vintage step-up devices in general as there is no active amplification or need to plug it in to a power outlet. To conclude: this MC cart is HIGHLY recommended!

This beauty sings. Made for a lower mass tonearm and dialed in at 1.40 grams of tracking, it will cut through even the most difficult records that other stylus will skip. Beautiful tone, with great bass, clear highs that doesn't over color the music. Easy to set up and adjust.

Very decent cartridge, LOTS of correct details YOU will be VERY happy with this one, if you cant afford the dearer denons...etc... Good Cartridges Tried Recently in many tests that I LIKE : ( kini itta saikin Test shita Cartridge ....) denon 103D denon 103R denon 301 - 2 denon 110 at 7 v at 5 v at 100 e nagaoka mp 110 gomi / trash = sumiko pearl