VAS Ebony 103, Hana SL, Denon DL-103 Fosgate Signature Phonoamp

Top, the Hana SL on my Technics SL-1200 Mk II turntable. Coin used to add mass. Pics below show installation and sounding on Andy's Garrard turntable. Click pics to enlarge.

Revised 7/21/19 and 7/22/19.

Three Cartridges: VAS Ebony 103, Hana SL and Denon DL-103

Prelude For the past two months, thanks to Steve of VAS, I got to play with his new cartridge offering, the excellent VAS Ebony 103. Prior to that, I had been evaluating my own Hana SL on and off for several months. I have delayed this for far too long, but this report also benefits from the extra time, as the comparisons are interesting. I shall start with Hana SL.

Hana SL
In a short time, Hana, Japanese OEM cartridge manufacturer Excel's own brand, has garnered rave reviews everywhere and gained a wide following. When it comes to the ridiculous pricing of MC cartridges, $750 for the Shibata models and $475 for the Elliptical ones, all with alnico magnets, seem great bargains by current standards. I got curious and bought one second-hand from a nice fellow in HK but has delayed its installation for the better part of a year due to my move back to NYC.

Backgrounds I have no need to give backgrounds as reviews are plentiful. Perhaps start with Michael Fremer in analogplanet and Herb Reichert in Stereophile (the SL mono also reviewed), but savor the very good TNT report as possibly the "last word", should you be looking for that kind of thing. There are numerous others which I shall not mention.

First Hearing My second-hand sample was presumably already run-in. I installed it in the Technics SL-1200 MkII in my System II (see sidebar). Right from the start, the sound was excellent. Most LPs played in a no-nonsense, straightforward way with good detail and color. Yet, music seemed to be a tad overly controlled and, at least with the solid state LCR Aurorasound Vida (here), with certain records, there was clearly a little brightness in the low-treble region. With big orchestral works, my usual staple, the mild hardening was clearly audible. This improved quite a bit with further run-in, but a trace of that still remained. I tried both the Low and High Impedance and could not decide which was better.

Working around the Phonoamp A more forgiving interconnect to the preamp (like the 47 Labs) smoothed out things a bit, but at the expense of detail and speed. Using a SUT Fidelity Research FRT-3G (here) made a more substantial improvement. This SUT also has both low impedance and high impedance settings. Suffice to say, again I couldn't decide which was better.

Tubed Phonoamp I then turned to my trusty Fosgate Signature (v1) (here), and that solved everything for me. I started with 100 ohms, and the result was excellent, but moving to 300/500 ohms was even better - what little edginess went completely away. The Respighi/LSO/Kertesz (London) album sounded resplendent. It should be noted that the official spec's say >400 ohms for loading, which may be on the ball. Nonetheless, fly in the ointment, even with tonality evened out, the restraining manner of the cartridge never went completely away.

Earlier I also took the cartridge to Andy's to try out on his Garrard 401, which has a proper SME 3012. I heard much the same characteristics.

VAS Ebony 103
Thanks to Steve of VAS I received a brand new loaner of their new offering, the Ebony 103. If you look at the official link, you'll see there are other variations. Aside from the wood housing, the VAS 103 series is obviously based on modification of the venerable Denon DL-103.

Extensive Modification If you look at the spec's. you shall see that although the performance spec's nominally mirror that of the original DL-103, structurally the changes are drastic. The main differences are: 1) Cantilever, much shorter (though not as short as Dynavector) and said to be "Ruby" on my sample; 2) Stylus a hyperelliptical instead of conical; 3) Body now solid wood, making the cartridge much heavier than the original. Also, in a private conversation, I learnt that Steve has also tinkered with the coil and magnet. Details about this kind of thing is usually trade secret so I never pursued it further.

vs other Denon DL-103 cottage industries Attesting to its basic worthiness, the legendary Denon DL-103 has spawned a HUGE number of cottage industries. Most of these are body replacements of wood or aluminum, even gemstone. The Zu DL-103 is an example, a formal offering by a loudspeaker company of a DL-103 in an aluminum body. More extreme is MusiKraft, which takes it further by offering various aluminum shells (outrageously, more expensive than the cartridge) and wood inserts. NONE of these involve changing the cantilever or stylus, not to mention the motor. The VAS Ebony 103 is FAR beyond any of those - it is a rebuild from the ground up. Cartridge Repair VAS could do this because they have long have the skill of cartridge repair (here, and they are on Ebay too), which has a good reputation of being expedient and reasonable in cost.

SONICS Right off the bat, the VAS Ebony 103 startled. The superb transient and phenomenal bass were undeniably exciting. There was a touch of leanness in the treble, which took over 50 hours of run-in to largely ameliorate. During this period, like with the Hana SL, I made adjustments with cables and switched phonoamps. By the time my friend shidi from HK came to visit me, sound had smoothed out mostly. He is a jazz connoisseur as well as a Wagner and Mahler addict. I played him Ellington's immortal Indigo and he was delighted. Ditto the opening of Solti's Die Walkure and Horenstein's Mahler 3rd (still the best recorded sound imho). The Ebony 103 gave a vivid portrait of each of these works: whether it was Ray Nance's sinuous violin line in Autumn Leaves (my favorite cut), or the menacing atmosphere in Wagner, or the brass fanfare in Mahler, the drama was brought out in full measure. 

Not surprising for a drama queen, the VAS Ebony 103 played mono LPs with total command! The first recording of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.2 (Jorge Bolet/Cincinnati SO/Thor Johnson, Remington) was stunningly full bodied.

The take-no-prisoner aspect of the Ebony 103 has its flip side. When the recording or pressing is not the best, in large scaled orchestral works the string tutti can be a little hard. That is, somewhat unforgiving. But I should not exaggerate this as I lived with this cartridge for 2 months and was mostly satisfied.

Denon DL-103
I have never written formally on this most famous of cartridges - there is no need, as there is info galore on the internet (a good one here). Suffice to say: 1) there has never been a time when I don't have at least one playing in my systems; 2) aside from the brief period on my Thomas Schick 12" arm, I have been using it on much lighter arms, such as Rega RB300 in the past and currently my Thorens TD-309; 3) despite this, I have never heard the fabled negative effects nor mis-tracking; 4) no matter what I use, and what system it is in, I always hear the highly communicative and emotive midrange, good presence and drama.

I have also experienced the effect of an aluminum body in the form of daiwok's Midas (he of lencoheaven fame)(chronicled here and here). As mentioned, these bodies usually improve resolution and bandwidth but can take away a variable amount of midrange magic.

I don't remember whether I have used it on my Technics turntable before, but for the sake of comparison, after I returned the Ebony 103 to Steve, I swapped in the DL-103. Was I shocked! Right away, the leading edge felt slow and the bass woolly. Images were not as etched as the Ebony 103 and there was some loss of detail. But after a period of acclimatization, I realized that the liveliness, presence and midrange magic I so loved about this cartridge were all there as before, just not as upfront as the VAS, but with the D-103 I could play more records with good results - it is more forgiving.

It should be noted in passing that the DL-103, like the Hana SL, also has an alnico motor. I cannot say for sure for the VAS.

Assessment

• My Setup A word has to be said about my choice of turntable. Basically I am lazy, and would avoid mounting and dismounting cartridges as much as I can. For comparison I always use the Technics SL-1200 with its removable headshell. The tonearm is classifiable as medium-weight, which is more disadvantageous to the low-compliance Denon and VAS. In addition, the Hana was mounted on the original Technics headshell, which is of better quality than the generic plastic headshells I used for both Denon and VAS (these also further lighten the effective mass of the arm). All that said, I am confident that the setup (turntable and system) reveals most of what I should know, as it has before with many other cartridges, in particular the magnificent Decca ffss (here). The Technics SL-1200 may be humble, but its virtues far outweigh its perceived faults and I highly esteem it (for details see my Direct Drive Overview). One thing of note, the Technics can sometimes be a tad dry, or have just a little grain in the treble, and you can factor that into your reading.

• Hana SL Of the three cartridges here, for reasons mentioned above, Hana is the one I am sure I have done the most for. However, to my annoyance, it is my least favorite, for 3 reasons: 1) most importantly, even on the pacey Technics, compared to the lively Denon and VAS, the over-controlled demeanor robs the music of some sparkle, and I am a horn user! 2) although there is good soundstage and imaging, I find there is a curious lack of air around the instruments; 3) perhaps because of this, I feel it does not have the best resolution of harmonics so important in classical music (Denon and VAS are better). In the end, my opinion is: the Hana SL is a very good MC cartridge, but it is not the giant killer that the Denon DL-103 most certainly is. I also suspect the Hana SL is more suited to solid state setups, an aspect that I may investigate in the future.

• VAS Ebony 103 I always thought of the Denon DL-103 as drama queen, but it is just a runner-up in this department compared to the VAS. Probably due to its short cantilever, there is kind of a Dynavector sound to the VAS (with its associated pro's and con's). In fact, I don't hear it as an upgraded Denon but rather as something its own. In terms of high fidelity, it scores high on multiple parameters: high resolution (highest of the three), fast transient, tight and walking bass. In terms of values I hold dear, PRaT and Presence, it is even better. Steve himself described it as best for jazz and pop, and I agree. Make no mistake, it plays classical's reasonably well too, just not so forgiving with music on a large scale or bad recordings. It is a good effort and I'd think many audiophiles would not mind having one in his stable for the fun ride. Highly recommended.

• Denon DL-103 You ask, after the fun ride (roller coaster would be an exaggeration) on the VAS, did I become unsettled after my return to the Denon original? The answer is: initially, absolutely; but after a while, the even handedness of the original and its ability to play most LPs well was reassuring, even necessary for someone like me. This quality is not to be confused with "forgiving", for the Denon is not that. It does not sound like the usual spherical stylus seen on many older cartridges and SPUs. Its resolution is actually quite good and under-appreciated - in this outing, for me it betters the Hana SL and is close to that of the VAS. When things are not all right, the DL-103 can be a little grainy too, which is actually the case when it is on the Technics. After this outing, I rearranged my systems a bit and moved my Thorens TD-309 into the system. It sports a DL-A100, which is sonically alike. The Thorens does a better job than the Technics, smoother and an even more seductive midrange. I thought, maybe the VAS would have sounded even better too?

• Fosgate Signature Phonoamp I have never really written a formal review for the Fosgate, but it was in my Best of 2011 article. It has been one of my mainstays and here I have to sing its praise again. Its superb design allows pure tube MC amplification without the use of SUTs, a feat rarely accomplished (this also meant tube rectification for lower noise). A bargain and Wonder, but one that is little appreciated. The world is not fair, right?

• Compare Notes By now you know my findings with the Hana SL are substantially at odds with all of the other reviews, and that is a great number. A couple of reviewers mentioned the "easy" quality of the SL, and what is "easy" to one can be "lack of dynamics" to another (me). Quite a few reviewers used heavier and well regarded modern arms, which would smooth out things. As for their modern turntables, I am sure all are competent but many of those I have no great feeling for and subjectively I think few can better my Technics. In terms of amplification, I also doubt, be it phonoamps or preamps or amps, their equipment are better musically than mine. As for loudspeakers, there is no way I'd trade my YL horn system and 15" woofers for any of them. In the end, I think the difference lies in musical values and beliefs. I am a high efficiency horn user, and I treasure timing, presence and the equipment must deliver good transients and dynamic performances. I can only conclude that many of these reviewers do not listen to music the way I do. I also wonder, by my standards, if their setups have enough resolution, in details, in harmonics, not to mention in dynamics. Aside from Hana, another example is my Aurorasound Vida, which is regarded as warm by most reviewers. Not in my setup! So take my findings with a grain of salt, as YMMV. But there may be another factor: if Hana does not have the muscular and influential Musicalsurroundings behind it, I wonder if it would have so many good reviews so fast. Corollary, I'd like to see at least some reviews of VAS 103 series products from these reviewers.