Soundsmith Modified Denon 103 Gold Rare and Special

Very rare and no longer available. But serviceable by Soundsmith in the future if needed.

Soundsmith took the venerable 103 cartridge to a whole other level scrapping basically everything except the moving-coil drive system. Optimized nude line-contact diamond built onto a single crystal ruby cantilever. Everything then potted into a handmade wooden body with a brass top plate threaded to accept mounting screws. Rated 8/10 for age only.

14.4 grams of musical heaven. All the considerable virtues of the stock 103 mated now to outstanding detail retrieval and air.

Note: This is a VERY heavy cartridge and may require a heavyweight counterweight depending on your arm. My SME 309 handles it just fine.

I encourage you to read Ron Nagle's review in the June 2010 issue of enjoythemusic.com as well as trolling the analog enthusiast sites about this cartridge.

I am the original owner. The cartridge has about 250 hours of use and was purchased new from Soundsmith in 2012. I collect cartridges like my wife collects shoes :)

See my perfect feedback going back years and buy with confidence.

PLEASE NOTE: I do NOT accept paypal or any credit cards. Personal or cashier's check or USPS money order. No exceptions.