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To twentyfirst century's eyes the 103 may seem a crude device: 2.5g tracking force, 0.3mV output, a compliance reminiscent of a train's suspension, and oh horror, a spherical stylus. There have been alternative versions of the cartridge over the years, with other stylus profiles and better coils, but these have gone long since and the the basic version still is with us. And despite its primitive specification, Denon claim an excellent production consistency, as demanded by ... broadcast people.

Could be. Handling this cartridge gives a certain kind of feeling, like you're handling a Tool instead of a toy. There's a minimum of packaging, no nifty screwdrivers, but a lot of manual (as cartridge manuals go), and an individual frequency response graph that is very flat, lacking the treble peak so often seen with MCs.

The squat black plastic housing has only right corners and straight edges, facilitating mounting and alignment. The only fly in the ointment is the lack of threaded screw holes, but you can't have it all for this kind of money. Mounting it in my arm wasn't half as dreadful as I expected it to be: the 103's body is chunky enough to afford good grip, and included is a sturdy stylus guard that remains in place during the whole process, while, for once, not obstructing it all. I did tracking tests with the HFN&RR record. The 103 cleared the +12/14/16dB tracks, and only emitted distortion in both channels during the +18dB torture. On its own a fine result, and even on that fourth track the cartridge pretty much sounded in control.

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