and I saw a DMM version of Please from Pet Shop Boys
https://www.discogs.com/release/163787-Pet-Shop-Boys-Please
will have to buy it 
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So I’ve now scoured the entire Internet in search of a heavier enclosure for the DL-103. The only solution that satisfied me both aesthetically and in principle was built by Steven Bedard (denonaluminumbody dot com): an enclosure made of black anodized aluminum into which the Denon is inserted completely. I’m not a fan of DIY solutions involving a utility knife and superglue. However, this case has apparently been out of production for years. Are there any acceptable alternatives, in the opinion of experts? Thank you very much!
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About 6 months ago I spoke to Denon support, asking if they sold spacers specifically for the DL103R. They don’t, but I asked what type of spacer they would recommend.
I was told wood produced a warmer sound, but was advised to buy carbon fibre. “You won’t be disappointed”.
I bought a 2.7mm carbon fibre spacer on ebay from a company in Germany called Stanley engineering. (they call it Racing Carbon) for £24 including postage. They can also be purchased direct from their website.
In between the Denon headshell that came with my DP3000NE and a DL103R, the improvement is very impressive. More detail, more clarity, better focus, yet more relaxing.
I’ve since found their website which gives more information about the sonic characteristics of various materials with different cartridges.
The carbon fibre description is very accurate, although if I’d read it before purchase I would have dismissed it as BS.
It appears some plastic bodied cartridges can be improved by a simple spacer or body cover.
They also make cartridge covers for the 103. Some involve removing the original plastic cover, some don’t.
When the DL103 was developed in the early 60s, it was only available to professional DJ, for use in radio studios. It was supplied with plastic headshell, which was basically also an enclosure. So a plastic enclosure might be a good idea for someone wanting vintage over hifi sound.
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Thank you very much, this looks promising.
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Just arrived. Another fantastic DSS release from APC. Much better bass and hearing nuances I’ve never heard before off either my CD or other vinyl copy.
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Without wanting to hijack this thread with a different topic, I once had a DL103R in a graphite(!) body (please see the picture), and to my ears it was clearly superior to all the aluminium, wood and carbon bodies I had tried. That combination played at the level of a EUR 2,000 MC cartridge. But it was definitely more ‚Hi-Fi’ and no longer had that much in common with a standard DL103.
By the way, I can only recommend reading the essays by Reto Luigi Andreoli, a fellow countryman of yours, published in Swiss magazine ‚HiFi Scene‘. I can send them to you if you are interested. You certainly don’t have to agree with everything he says, but sometimes it is good to hear a different point of view. Anyway, whatever you may think of his opinions, it is worth remembering that there are not many people who know as much about cartridges as he does, and who learned the subject from the ground up.
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Thank you for sharing your experience with the Graphite body - do you happen to remember who you bought it from? As for the articles, I would be glad to read them, if @Richard.Dane would be so kind as to share my email address with you.
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I can’t remember, it was a long time ago. I only remember that it was made in Italy, but I really don’t remember where I bought it.
Edit: Found it. The shop was ‚Audiosilente‘. I just googled it. I hope mentioning the shop is not against the community rules.
I recently received this in a Vinyl order from HHV in Germany; Analogphonic label reissue of a 1969 Snape Maltings Decca recording. It’s an absolute wow. To my ears, on my system it might just now be the best, most realistic record I own.
The Cello sound is top notch demo stuff but, unlike so many demo recordings, this is a document of one of the greatest Cellists ever to play and his masterly touch and sweet, rich tone are palpable. Britten’s Piano is very real too and his tasteful, expert support is wonderfully captured. Highest recommendation.
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The original (SXL6426) was always one of Decca’s finest sounding LPs, and consequently very sought after, but fairly rare, so expensive to buy secondhand, especially in original Wideband ED3 form.
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That’s interesting. Thanks Richard. I can vouch for the fact that the Analogphonic reissue seems to have captured the splendours of the original pretty perfectly. I believe the shop in Germany that I mentioned (hope that’s within forum rules?) seems to still have copies in stock if anyone wants to treat themselves.
My copy is perfect, but I bought it along with some other Analogphonic reissues which have defects and scratches so caveat emptor. The sound on all the Analogphonic records is excellent ( Emil Berliner, Rainer Maillard etc..), but like many of the DG Original Source series, the pressing (by Pallas) is frustratingly inconsistent.
That’s a shame about Pallas as it wasn’t that long ago that they were amongst the very best for pressing quality.
The Pallas issues are so odd. It’s a random variety of damages to disc surfaces that appear to be caused somewhere between the disc coming off the stamper and getting put into the sleeve. Sometimes multiple light scratches (almost like a Brillo pad has been swiped across it) sometimes deeper individual scratches. To me it almost seems like deliberate sabotage!
It conjours an image of that hilarious scene in the original ‘Bedazzled’ where Peter Cook’s Beelzebub is mischievously scratching new records as they go into their sleeves just for the hell of it!
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Thank you, @Veltliner, but unfortunately this graphite body requires an operation with a Stanley knife, and I‘m not planning on taking this risk.
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Alright, although it’s really not difficult. I mean, even I managed to do it.
I might give it a try. Do you use glue to fix the stripped pickup in the graphite shell? This would mean once the pickup needs to be replaced, you will need a new shell as well, because it is very difficult to un-glue the old pickup from the shell.
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Yes, just a very small amount of hot glue. You can easily remove it with your fingers without causing any damage.
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