Have you ever had one of those periods of time where everything goes wrong? I'm in one of those periods now. Usually it seems like things go astray in triplets, for same strange reason. Usually, I sigh with relief after the third mishap, because things are about to get better, but this time it appears... Read More »

In the last six decades I haven't broken a single phonograph cartridge, but in the last two weeks I've broken two, and the crazy thing about it is I don't even know how I did it in either case. The first cartridge fatality was the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge Guy Pelletier sent me. I... Read More »

To get my mind off the plunging stock market and my plunging retirement savings, I thought I'd do something edifying like give my Thorens TD124 a try on my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers. I've wanted to revisit the Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier and Leben RS-30EQ combination that works so well together... Read More »

The full review of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 is now live at Positive Feedback HERE. I was just telling the editors at Positive Feedback, Dave and David, that I found it particularly satisfying to tell our readers about Audio MusiKraft and their great idea of developing the tunable Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge, and... Read More »

I'm working hard on my review of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 for Positive Feedback, and I thought you would enjoy a preview. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ The “Tunable” Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phonograph Cartridge Audio MusiKraft was founded by Guy Pelletier in 2016 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, and consists of “a small core of experienced craftsmen and devoted music... Read More »

In my “sixth tune” report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I reported to you my adventure with the oil treated Jatoba tonewood inserts (above). I've mentioned before what a dramatic difference a complementary set of headshell leads makes to the overall voicing and performance of a cartridge, which can easily be as great... Read More »

In my "fifth tune" report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I reported to you my experiences with the lime tonewood inserts treated with beeswax & lemon oil (above). In this "sixth tune" report I want to tell you about my experiences with Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge using the oiled Jatoba tonewood... Read More »

In my last report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I did a photographic strip-tease of the Denon DL-103 as I dismantled it from its aluminum Audio MusiKraft shell with maple tonewood inserts ... ... and then reassembled it in its Audio MusiKraft aluminum shell with oiled black walnut tonewood inserts installed. In my... Read More »

When I left you in the "Third Tune" post, I had settled in on the maple "tonewood" inserts as having the tonality that was the most complementary to my main music listening system (below). The maple set of tuning inserts was the first of the four sets of tonewood tuning inserts that I thought portrayed... Read More »

It's been a lot of fun exploring the tunable Audio MusiKraft Denon D-103 phonograph cartridge of Guy Pelletier. Guy sent me the entry level aluminum cartridge shell version ($579 USD) of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 to try, which has the look & feel of a beautifully crafted precision instrument. In my first listen to... Read More »

I've been enjoying listening to and experimenting with the voicing of Guy Pelletier's "tunable" Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge on my restored and "hot-rodded" vintage Thorens TD-124. As is my custom, I like to blog about my "getting acquainted" stage with new audio products, offering first impressions about the quality, ease of use, sonic... Read More »

Sometimes the best laid plans just don't pan out the way you think they will. Last weekend I had fully intended to do a little experimenting with the micro-tuning screws of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge. Between the need to tear down turntables, get them put back together and adjusted, as well as... Read More »

In my blog post about the Audio MusiKraft tunable Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge last weekend, I described its performance in comparison to my stock Denon DL-103 on my vintage Thorens TD-124, that was restored and hot-rodded by Christopher Thornton at Artisan Fidelity. I listened to the two Denon's with identical Audio-Technica AT-HS1 headshells and identical sets... Read More »

I've really been looking forward to listening to and experimenting with the voicing of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 tunable phonograph cartridge from Guy Pelletier. The idea behind the Audio MusiKraft tunable Denon DL-103 is that it offers a Denon DL-103 enthusiast, like myself, the potential of an almost unlimited amount of voicing options through... Read More »

The Artisan Fidelity Thorens TD124 Statement long-base turntable that I commissioned is here! The packing containers from Christopher Thornton at Artisan Fidelity were extremely well done, with the TD-124 and plinth arriving in the large wooden crate you see on the above left, and the two platters, extra armboard, and other miscellaneous supplies packed in... Read More »

It's been quite a while since I've given my Denon DL-103 MC phonograph cartridge a good listen, so I thought I'd get the Denon out, mount it up, and play some music. The arrival of the hot-rodded Denon DL-103 from Audio MusiKraft, which I've been listening to for a while now, got me to thinking... Read More »

Man, the last couple of weeks have been rough. A kidney stone that seems to think that playing hide and seek with me is a fun thing to do has been keeping me under the weather a bit, and as a result I haven't got nearly as much written as I like to. No worries... Read More »

Last weekend was a rough one. I was felled by a kidney stone on Sunday, which earned me a ride in an ambulance to the emergency room. The little bugger hasn't passed through yet, and still has some fight left in it, which it has been keen to remind me of from time to time. Ugh. I've... Read More »

I've been looking forward to giving the Audio MusiKraft hot-rodded and tunable Denon DL-103 a listen, and comparing it to my stock Denon DL-103, a trusted friend of many years. I think the idea of a tunable phono cartridge is brilliant, and I applaud Guy Pelletier, the owner / propriétaire of Audio MusiKraft, for bringing to... Read More »

I've been looking forward to the arrival of the Audiosilente cartridge clips so I can build a couple of sets of Duelund DCA26GA headshell leads with them. One I get the new headshell leads built - I'm hoping to find time over the weekend - then I'll be able to give the stock Denon DL-103... Read More »

I have been looking forward to getting some Audiosilente cartridge clips I ordered, as I want to build two identical sets of DCA26GA headshell leads with them. That way I can use them in two identical headshells, one mounted with my stock Denon DL-103 phono cartridge (above), and the other with the exotic Audio Musikraft... Read More »

It sure was nice getting together with Andy, Pete, and Ron, last weekend to listen to music, talk about hifi, and just have a fun ol' time! I could use a little more musical & audio fellowship in my life! Alas, it's been particularly busy of late, both on the day job, and in my... Read More »

While it'll be a while before I get a full formal review written for Positive Feedback about the Audio MusiKraft ‘Tunable’ Denon DL-103 phono cartridge I received from Guy Pelletier (it's a ways down the review queue), I want to keep you appraised of developments along the way about this interesting phono cartridge here at Jeff's... Read More »