Interesting reading the 10audio.com reviews.
Well I have a Shelter 501 MKII along with Denon 103R (I've probably bored you all in the past with my thoughts on this cartridge) and Goldring Eroica Denon 304 and a few others.
At the moment the battle is between the Shelter & 103R.
It is something I'm struggling with as the 103R is proving to be a hard one to beat.
The Shelter has a lot more, in fact, it is very forward. Funnily enough something the Denon has been accused of. The 501 has massive bass slam and attack. I'm finding the Denon the subtler of the two at the moment!
The Denon has a HUGE soundstage, much bigger than the Shelter and this has a big bearing on my perception of which is the better. You close your eyes and there is a 20ft wide wall of sound with instruments and vice dispersed and moving throughout the soundstage, both in width and depth.
The Shelter on the other hand is rock solid with the focus in between the 2 speakers. There is width to the soundstage but no where near as wide as the Denon. The Shelter’s soundstage has greater height, floor to ceiling, and is more forward sounding.
Now there are reasons for this, so I believe. I’ve spent a lot of time playing with the loading on the Denon; this has made a huge difference. I have yet to find the sweet spot for the Shelter when it comes to loading. (I’d love to know where you ended up Steve on your 901?).
7th December 2007, 03:13 PM
Re: Cartridges
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