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Shelter 501 MkII

Product: Shelter 501 MkII moving coil phono cartridge
Manufacturer: Denon / Nippon Columbia
Approximate price: variable, from US$650 on

According to Thorsten's subtle opinion, only two MC cartridges are really worth their money these days. The cheap Denon DL-103, and the still-affordable Shelter 501. The former is well-known all over the world, the latter seems to be a mystique and elusive animal. The Shelter cartridges (there is a more upmarket 901 too) as well as a step-up transformer are made by Mr. ######, a former employee of Fidelity Research. For those too young to remember Fidelity, this company thrived during the seventies an eighties, making wonderful tonearms and cartridges that made a splash all over the world. The FR-64S tonearm was one of the arms used during the design of the GyroDec, for instance. Curiously, the Shelter doesn't even resemble any of the FR cartridges. The black metal body has all of the blockiness of a Koetsu, the frontal stylus alignment line of a Denon, and the open bottom of a Benz or a Lyra (with cloth-covered generator). Simple and unadorned, the Shelter oozes class, it clearly is one of those jewels that are sometimes encountered in the population of serious cartridges. It comes with a curious metal stylus protector and two lengths of mounting bolts and nuts. Speaking about mounting, the 501 lacks threaded holes (unlike the 901) and so mounting is something of a minor hassle. Luckily that protective metal cover can be kept in place at all times, and then there is always the added luxury of my SME IV's hands-off approach to cartridge alignment.

When speaking of quality phono cartridges, the name Denon probably won't come to mind that often. You may think Shure (when you never got beyond the Seventies), or Ortofon, or Koetsu (for the romantics), Clearaudio (iconoclasts), or Allaerts (obscurists). But Denon?

Denon seem to have a low profile, but not deservedly so. With only a handful of types released in the past two decades, they still built up an enviable track record: the DL-110 is an excellent budget high-output MC; the DL-304 is one of the better midprice MCs (together with my MC-25FL); I still cherish an old DL-301, my first serious cartridge and oh so sweet and easy-on-the-arm (there's a DL-301 MkII now in Japan!); and the exotic DL-S1 probably can hold its own against the Lyras and Dynavectors of this world.

But enough name dropping: this is not about any of the above Denons. No. This is about the DL-103, the low-output moving coil Denon have been making uninterrupted, and unchanged, for the broadcast markets since, oh, 1962. That's nearly 40 years. I know of only one other hifi product that comes close: not the Quad ESL-57, not the Linn LP-12. No. The SME 3012 (incidentally, to many the ideal arm for a DL-103!).

It is also unique in the sense that its price never really rose over time. Even better, you can get it today, with careful internet shopping, for a ludicrous EU150: that's a lot less than what it was listed for in 1990 or so!!!

To twentyfirst century's eyes the 103 may seem a crude device: 2.5g tracking force, 0.3mV output, a compliance demanding an arm mass of tons, 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 the basic one always has been there. And despite its primitive specification, Denon claim an excellent production consistency, as demanded by ... broadcast people.

On a Thorens TD-160 with TP-16 arm

I know this shouldn't work, not with that lightweight and floppy arm tube. But I leatned that there is at least one Japanese audiophile running exactly this combination, and as Japanese audiophiles are very serious about their audio, I had to try it.

On a Thorens TD-160 with Rega RB-300 arm

On a Michell GyroDec MkII with Rega RB-300 arm

© Copyright 2000 Werner Ogiers for TNT Audio Magazine (http://www.tnt-audio.com)

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