nu2toobs

Thanks Mark, I liked the first Blueberry a ton, but I like the Blueberry Extreme slightly better, although unlike most, I liked the funky colors of the original.

Bruce, yes I got it back and it sounds great, thanks again. It really sounds good with this new cartridge[] Mark, if you're reading this, what's the difference between the first generation Blueberry and the BBX Extreme? There's a little difference in sound for the better in this newer one.

Hummingbird in snow at our old home in Aspen.

Double Arch in Arches Nat'l Park on Thanksgiving.

Allie, Guss, and Chase.

Not quite as large as others[H]

fini, they're made of mdf with a vinyl covering. I had some warping with regular use, which sucked. Since buying a used Clearaudio Smart Matrix, which is built much better than the VPI, I've had no problems. The Clearaudio is also quieter than the VPI. There's really no comparison in build quality between the VPI and Clearaudio.

Good point! Yeah those were the days, we only had to worry about Vietnam, commies, the BOMB, and sorting seeds out of our cheap grass. You kids today have HIV, global warming, and economic meltdown. I long for the good old days. It's because people were only worrying about Vietnam, commies, the Bomb and sorting seeds from cheap grass that today we now have, global warming and an economic meltdown. I long for a better future.

I love your avatar Pete, especially during the Christmas season. My parents bought me a red Honda Mini Trail 50 for christmas when I was a little boy when the bike first came out. The best present I've ever recieved. Corn prices must have been good that year.[]

ZU is holding a very good sale for their 103R's. No affiliation etc. http://www.zuaudio.com/turntables/dl103r.html

Call me crazy, but I still like the idea of a vacuum pulling all the dirt and grunge from my records. [*-)]

Brian, I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you. The best thing you can do, is buy directly from Craig. You won't be sorry. I can imagine the nightmare you had to deal with, buying from this guy. Then have it damaged to boot.

Boy, I'm glad I dodged that when it was first offered. I almost ended up with that mess, but fortunately the seller was almost impossible to deal with. I tried to warn people when it was up for sale here.

I just had a DL-103R done and it took from March to Nov. Peter's work is great if your not in a hurry.

If you look in the garage sale section of the site, HarryO has a Tercel for sale. Harry's a very trustworthy seller. Edit: Sorry , Harry's selling a Merlin.

Here's a good site that has a lot of 103 and 103R modding info. http://home.comcast.net/~omaille/audio/DL103/DL-103.htmlhttp://home.comcast.net/%7Eomaille/audio/DL103/DL-103.html' title="103 link">

I didn't do this in a scientific way, to say the least. There are so many variables thrown in that I don't really know what improved the sound. It could have been the setup was a tad off. These ultra small stylii have a very small window for the sweet spot. It could of been the break i, but the change was fairly dramatic in a good way so who knows. All I know is it blows away the stock 103R and is now definately better than the Zu with detail and soundstage IMO. It's hard to go wrong with the Zu though. It's more plug and play. Especially when you can buy a Zu from their Dutch auctions they hold on A'gon for a little over $400.

This photo is with the Marine epoxy putty

This is a post that I've put on a couple other forums of my findings between these two cartridges: "I'd like to share my results with the SS retipped Denon DL-103R with a Uwe ebony body. I sent the cartridge to Peter in March and received it back around the middle of Nov. I was emailing and calling in the interim to find the status. I heard the same shipping guy was out excuse, then an illness and great backlog. I bought a ZU 103R while waiting and I absolutely loved this Beauty. I installed the SS version and it sounded very detailed,quiet, THIN and fatiguing with my system which consists of VPI Scout, Cinemag SUT, Juicy Music Extreme Preamp, VRD st-45 amp, and Klipsch Lascala speakers. I played with the vta and vtf with no improvements. I finally switched back to the ZU Audio and promptly put the SS version up for sale. During Thanksgiving vacation I decided to try the SS again. This time I decided to pot the cartridge with some Marine/Plastic epoxy putty. This time it sounded a little better but still a little thin. I put about 10 more hours on it and WOW. This thing opened up and sings. It's very smooth and detailed with a much better soundstage than ZU's model. The more I listen to it, the better it sounds. I put the ZU up for sale last night and it sold within 2 hours and I'm keeping this amazing cartridge!!! Definitely worth the wait. " The photo is regular epoxy .

OB will be missed greatly by me. I had no clue it was this dire. Bless him and his family. RIP

Nope, you're not losing it. Reel to reel is a great medium. This is my Tandberg TD 20A in action[H]

Follow up: I used the retipped version for an afternoon and it's definately more detailed, especially in the high frenquencies. It seemed a little fatiguing after a few hours with my Lascala's though. I don't know if there is any break-in period on a retip. If there is, it would need more time. I switched back to my Carnegie One for a while. Here's a pick of Peter's outstanding work. What is the difference? I know that the R has rubber tabs around the inner body, but that should not make a difference if the body is being tossed and the inners are mounted in a new body. The output is also different so I assume that there are other differences. Copied from Denon "The DL-103R is an updated version of the classic DL-103. It provides improved sound by using 6N copper coils wound with precision to the cantilever shaft. Audio lovers will delight with detail that is brought out by this outstanding phono cartridge."I have a Zu 103R and a Soundsmith retipped 103R with an ebony body, and I must say that the retipped cart has the upper hand.

I agree completely, I'm after the sound I like. Resell means nothing, untill you've heard each preamp. That's why these forums are a great tool. You can listen to others that have owned and listened to each piece of gear, and go from there. I've owned both and prefer The BBX with my system. Of course that's just my opinion, trust it or not. That assumes one plans to sell. You're right. Mac gear holds its value better than our VRDs and BBXs. I've actually made a bit of money buying and selling a few pieces. No Mac I have owned thus far topped my current gear sonically (IMO of course) so I'll stick with my current setup. At least we're both happy with what we have.

PM sent pierceb.

I just bought one of these. This is the best way to get the Beatles LP's all at once with excellent sonics .