Denon DL-A110
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
93/100
Build Quality
82/100
Features Usability
78/100
Value for Money
81/100
The DL-A110 turns Denon’s broadcast-born MC legacy into a silky, deeply involving vinyl experience, pairing expansive soundstage scale with crisp dynamics, airy detail and convincing instrumental body. HiFi News found it poised across jazz, rock and vocals, delivering authoritative space without sacrificing long-session musical ease.
Pros
Exceptionally wide, authoritative soundstage with convincing spatial recreation.
Silky, airy and consistently musical presentation, with strong detail and engaging long-session listening.
Handles demanding rock dynamics and crisp attacks with grace and assurance.
Cons
Its spherical stylus is less forensic in detail retrieval than cartridges using more radical stylus profiles.
The anniversary package costs more than the closely related DL-103 and DL-103R.
Mounting can be awkward, owing to uncoloured pins, slotted mounting arrangements and limited supplied hardware.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 93/100
HiFi News found the DL-A110 exceptionally smooth, airy and composed, combining a relaxed musical character with convincing authority on demanding material. Its particularly expansive spatial presentation is a major attraction, while detail retrieval remains very strong despite stopping short of the most analytical line-contact designs.
Overall Sound
93/100
Ken Kessler describes the DL-A110 as retaining the DL-103's familiar "silkiness and air," along with smoothness and musical magic. It remained even-handed across rock, jazz and piano, handling powerful vocals and guitar with grace, assurance and crisp attack.
Tracking Retrieval
90/100
The reviewer reports no apparent groove-tracing shortcomings even on a challenging pressing, despite the spherical stylus. Detail is delivered with authority comparable to much newer designs, though he notes that more radical stylus profiles still offer a more forensic level of extraction.
Soundstage Imaging
96/100
Spatial reproduction is a clear strength. The review praises a "gloriously wide soundstage" and says the cartridge recreates space with an authority matched by few other designs.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 78/100
Tonearm compatibility and phono-stage matching need consideration because this is a low-output moving-coil cartridge. Its conventional weight should suit many appropriate arms, but its 0.25mV output makes it less plug-and-play than a typical moving-magnet design.
Tonearm Compatibility
78/100
At 8.5g, the cartridge should be physically manageable in a broad range of suitable tonearms. However, the 0.25mV output requires a quiet, capable MC phono stage or step-up transformer, so system matching is important for realizing its performance.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
82/100
The review offers little direct assessment of long-term construction quality or the precision of the generator assembly. The DL-A110 is a substantial 8.5g low-output MC design, but the available listening report focuses far more on performance than workmanship details.
Value for Money
81/100
The anniversary DL-A110 carries a premium over the still-available DL-103 and DL-103R, both of which the review notes cost less. Its sound remains highly attractive, but buyers should decide whether the special-edition presentation and package are worth the additional outlay over those closely related alternatives.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
No reviews found yet
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Type
- MC
- Output Voltage
- 0.25 mV
- Frequency Range
- 20 Hz - 45 kHz
- Output Impedance
- 14 ohms
- Weight
- 8.5 g
Manufacturer's Description — Denon
Celebrate 110 years of defining audio excellence with the Denon limited series Anniversary Edition DL-A110 MC phono cartridge featuring our exclusive, silver-graphite headshell.
- 110th anniversary edition
- Moving coil (MC)
- Exclusive graphite headshell
Limited 110th Anniversary Edition
Upgrade your expectations
Revitalized headshell
True to the original headshell developed in the 1960s for radio broadcast, the DL-A110 silver-graphite headshell is an exact reproduction of the original design.
Longest running product
The DL-A110 features the legendary DL-103 phono cartridge using copper wire that is handspun in the Denon Audio Works Factory in Shirakawa, Japan.
Get more
A certificate of Authenticity stamped with the approval of Denon’s head engineer and a premium, 5-year, out-of-box warranty (excluding stylus).
Sonic Innovation For the Past 110 Years
Sonic Innovation For the Past 110 Years
Sonic Innovation For the Past 110 Years
Why Denon?
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
All Dealers
Zoom out the map to see more dealers
Authorized dealers for Denon DL-A110
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- 2C Stereo — in-store — Washington, District of Columbia, United States (website)
- Abt Electronics — online and in-store — Glenview, Illinois, United States (website)
- Accessories 4 less — online and in-store — Apopka, Florida, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sound Design — online and in-store — Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acoustipower — online and in-store — Markham, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Acton Gate Audio — online and in-store — Cymru, United Kingdom (website)
- Adorama — in-store — New York, New York, United States (website)
- Alen Audio — in-store — Extramurs, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
and 357 more verified dealers