---
product_id: 1201140
title: "DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge"
brand: "denon"
price: "₪2818"
currency: ILS
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 4
category: "Denon"
url: https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/1201140-dl-301mk2-moving-coil-phono-cartridge
store_origin: IL
region: Israel
---

# 33Ω output impedance for seamless MC compatibility 20Hz-60kHz frequency range capturing every sonic detail 0.4mV ultra-low output for pristine analog clarity DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge

**Brand:** denon
**Price:** ₪2818
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎧 Elevate your vinyl game with Denon’s smooth MC magic—hear what you’ve been missing!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge by denon
- **How much does it cost?** ₪2818 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.il](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/1201140-dl-301mk2-moving-coil-phono-cartridge)

## Best For

- denon enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted denon brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Exceptional Value:** Outperforms competitors costing twice as much—upgrade your vinyl setup without breaking the bank.
- • **Wide Frequency Mastery:** Extends from deep bass to sparkling highs (20Hz-60kHz) for immersive listening.
- • **Balanced Tonal Signature:** Laid-back yet detailed profile perfect for Jazz, Blues, and Vocal enthusiasts craving warmth without harshness.
- • **Effortless MC Integration:** Optimized 33Ω impedance ensures flawless pairing with modern and vintage MC phono stages.
- • **Audiophile-Grade Precision:** Special elliptical stylus delivers smooth, detailed soundstage with minimal surface noise.

## Overview

The Denon DL-301MK2 is a moving coil phono cartridge featuring a low 0.4mV output and 33Ω impedance, designed to deliver a wide 20Hz-60kHz frequency response. Its special elliptical stylus minimizes surface noise while providing a smooth, detailed sound ideal for Jazz, Blues, and vocal records. Praised for outperforming pricier competitors, it offers audiophile-level performance at a compelling value, making it a top choice for discerning vinyl enthusiasts seeking rich analog warmth.

## Description

desertcart.com: Denon DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge : Musical Instruments

Review: Superb Cartridge that plays as Good as Competitors for more than Twice the Money! - My first venture into a Moving Coil Cartridge. First, let me see I have built a high end audio system over the years. McIntosh Amp, McIntosh C47 Pre Amplifier with an awesome built in Phono Amp that accommodates bot MM and MC cartridges with all the adjustments you need. Played through a VPI Scout turntable. Most recently I enjoyed an Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge that is superb. Well, with a quest to build a second system for our vacation home I had the chance to buy the exact same turntable from a friend who was upgrading. This caused me to decide to stick my toe into the Moving Coil world. Not wanting to layout over a grand for the highly rated MC cartridges on the market that have great reviews, I found many people stating that the Denon DL-301MKII plays way above it's price range. And they were right. So I thought since I have inputs for both MM and MC on my preamp, why not A/B the Ortofon against the Denon. Same Equipment and exact same turntable. After playing about 10 albums on the Denon to get it broke in, it was a very nice experience, the Denon is so smooth with great detail, a wide soundstage with great bass response solid midrange and nice highs that are not real in your face highs. Very enjoyable to my surprise. So then i did the A/B against the Ortofon. Same exact Album (got 2 for Christmas Carly Simon Greatest Hits) and I was amazed the Denon to me sounded better! I went on to compare other albums and found the Denon outperformed on instrumental, Jazz, Vocalists and in most cases Blues. The Ortofon did a better job with poor pressings and Rock and Hard Rock. The Ortofon is a more forward sounding cartridge, while the Denon is more laid back. And then makes sense why the Ortofon sounds better on Rock. Now my friend then came over and heard the Denon with me and was amazed! He has some High End MC cartridges in the 1K to 2K price range and his comment was it sounds as good as those cartridges, and I agreed as we went to his system and listened to some of the same albums. If you are thinking of a Moving Coil cartridge, the Denon is an absolute GREAT BUY and a very fine performer for the money and performs very well above it's price point. As a matter of fact it is staying in place on my main system and the Ortofon will move to my second system. Don't get me wrong, the Ortofon is a stunning cartridge, but it was over twice the price. If you are primarily a Rock listener go with the Ortofon, if you like a good mixture of Jazz, Vocalists, and Blues you will Love the Denon and it does ok on Rock! Fast shipping by the desertcart supplier! Hope this helps, and I know all listening is subjective to the person listening so in the end have fun and Good Listening!
Review: Excellent cartridge - Phenomenal cartridge, absolutely. For the cost, or lack thereof [compared to many Moving Coil carts], it is a bargain. Surface noise is very much attenuated because of the mysterious 'special' diamond stylus (a line contact perhaps?) and the slight background buzz becomes not unlike the analog hiss of reel to reel tape. In other words, surface noise on great vinyl becomes innocuous. As a point of comparison, Ortofon's 2M Blue, which is only a third less (!) simply cannot handle sibilance and top-level (high freq.) information like this MC. As others have pointed out, this cart has a refined presentation, and is as smooooth as can be had at this price point. What the MM cart turns out as mushy is rendered by the DL-301 as clear intrumental differentiation and realistic timbres (aka, is it live or is it...). This is the cart that converted me to MCs in general and I haven't looked back. I got my cart from desertcart for $279 (!!!). Note that this cart's low output of 0.4mv requires a MC phono stage or a step-up transformer plugged into a MM phono input with the familiar RCA red/white cables. Most vintage receivers and preamps up until the late 1970s will lack an MC stage and many similar integrated amps today only have a Moving Magnet (with the Ortofon mentioned above you can plug the turntable straight into the amp) 'phono' input. The best [budget] option, if you are set on trying out this Denon DL-301mkII or a variant of the legendary DL-103, is to find a vintage Denon step-up transformer. They can be had online for not too much cost and when one is paired with the DL-301mkII, the humble vinyl really sings. Additionally, unless the device really looks destroyed, you need not worry about bad capacitors or age with vintage step-up devices in general as there is no active amplification or need to plug it in to a power outlet. To conclude: this MC cart is HIGHLY recommended!

## Features

- Output: 0.4mV
- Output Impedance: 33ohms
- Frequency range: 20hz-60khz
- Tracking force: 1.2-1.6G
- Stylus: special Elliptical tip

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B001AIPXLC |
| Best Sellers Rank | #116,773 in Musical Instruments ( See Top 100 in Musical Instruments ) #1,312 in DJ Turntable Cartridges |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (44) |
| Date First Available | May 30, 2008 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item Weight | 0.056 ounces |
| Item model number | DL-301MK |
| Manufacturer | Denon |
| Product Dimensions | 4.5 x 3 x 2 inches |

## Images

![DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/618pYKbTKnL.jpg)

## Questions & Answers

**Q: Does this fit a Pioneer PLX-1000 Headshell?**
A: Turks,Yes, this should fit your PLX-1000.Eric C

**Q: Any problems you know of  with set up? i own a denon dp59l straight arm  with a vincent 300 preamp.**
A: Your turntable and preamp should work fine with this cartridge.  Your preamp loading on the MC setting is the recommended 100 Ohms, and your turntable has dynamic electronic damping to control subsonic tonearm oscillations.

**Q: With the low output, do you find you need to use more of your amps power to drive at the same volume as you would with a higher output cart?**
A: The output on the 301mk2 is actually pretty high for a Moving Coil cartridge. As long as you have a proper MC compatible phono preamp, or an MM/MC switch on your amp, you'll actually find that this needs less power to drive than other MC cartridges.You might be comparing the output of this to a Moving Magnet cartridge, which will have a much higher output than any MC cart out there.

**Q: Is it a good upgrade for my SL-1200 from a DL-110 if i only have a solid-state MC phono stage, or do I really need an SUT?**
A: Hey there, I have this cartridge on my 1200 and love it. I've not used a dl-110 so I can't comment on a comparison. However I can say that wether or not you need a sut will depend on what your my stage is rated for. The 301 is  .4mv output so it's on the lower side. It not as low as a lot of the real high end cartridges. I would look for 60 db and an input sensitivity of .4mv on your mc preamp section. I have use this with 58 db and .6 my sensitivity in another set up but the receiver has to be up quite a bit if you like to listen at a loud volume. I've used it with a nad pp2e, on the me section and it was fine. If you pick something with those specs you won't need a sut.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Superb Cartridge that plays as Good as Competitors for more than Twice the Money!
*by A***Y on April 19, 2020*

My first venture into a Moving Coil Cartridge. First, let me see I have built a high end audio system over the years. McIntosh Amp, McIntosh C47 Pre Amplifier with an awesome built in Phono Amp that accommodates bot MM and MC cartridges with all the adjustments you need. Played through a VPI Scout turntable. Most recently I enjoyed an Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge that is superb. Well, with a quest to build a second system for our vacation home I had the chance to buy the exact same turntable from a friend who was upgrading. This caused me to decide to stick my toe into the Moving Coil world. Not wanting to layout over a grand for the highly rated MC cartridges on the market that have great reviews, I found many people stating that the Denon DL-301MKII plays way above it's price range. And they were right. So I thought since I have inputs for both MM and MC on my preamp, why not A/B the Ortofon against the Denon. Same Equipment and exact same turntable. After playing about 10 albums on the Denon to get it broke in, it was a very nice experience, the Denon is so smooth with great detail, a wide soundstage with great bass response solid midrange and nice highs that are not real in your face highs. Very enjoyable to my surprise. So then i did the A/B against the Ortofon. Same exact Album (got 2 for Christmas Carly Simon Greatest Hits) and I was amazed the Denon to me sounded better! I went on to compare other albums and found the Denon outperformed on instrumental, Jazz, Vocalists and in most cases Blues. The Ortofon did a better job with poor pressings and Rock and Hard Rock. The Ortofon is a more forward sounding cartridge, while the Denon is more laid back. And then makes sense why the Ortofon sounds better on Rock. Now my friend then came over and heard the Denon with me and was amazed! He has some High End MC cartridges in the 1K to 2K price range and his comment was it sounds as good as those cartridges, and I agreed as we went to his system and listened to some of the same albums. If you are thinking of a Moving Coil cartridge, the Denon is an absolute GREAT BUY and a very fine performer for the money and performs very well above it's price point. As a matter of fact it is staying in place on my main system and the Ortofon will move to my second system. Don't get me wrong, the Ortofon is a stunning cartridge, but it was over twice the price. If you are primarily a Rock listener go with the Ortofon, if you like a good mixture of Jazz, Vocalists, and Blues you will Love the Denon and it does ok on Rock! Fast shipping by the Amazon supplier! Hope this helps, and I know all listening is subjective to the person listening so in the end have fun and Good Listening!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent cartridge
*by Z***K on April 12, 2016*

Phenomenal cartridge, absolutely. For the cost, or lack thereof [compared to many Moving Coil carts], it is a bargain. Surface noise is very much attenuated because of the mysterious 'special' diamond stylus (a line contact perhaps?) and the slight background buzz becomes not unlike the analog hiss of reel to reel tape. In other words, surface noise on great vinyl becomes innocuous. As a point of comparison, Ortofon's 2M Blue, which is only a third less (!) simply cannot handle sibilance and top-level (high freq.) information like this MC. As others have pointed out, this cart has a refined presentation, and is as smooooth as can be had at this price point. What the MM cart turns out as mushy is rendered by the DL-301 as clear intrumental differentiation and realistic timbres (aka, is it live or is it...). This is the cart that converted me to MCs in general and I haven't looked back. I got my cart from Amazon for $279 (!!!). Note that this cart's low output of 0.4mv requires a MC phono stage or a step-up transformer plugged into a MM phono input with the familiar RCA red/white cables. Most vintage receivers and preamps up until the late 1970s will lack an MC stage and many similar integrated amps today only have a Moving Magnet (with the Ortofon mentioned above you can plug the turntable straight into the amp) 'phono' input. The best [budget] option, if you are set on trying out this Denon DL-301mkII or a variant of the legendary DL-103, is to find a vintage Denon step-up transformer. They can be had online for not too much cost and when one is paired with the DL-301mkII, the humble vinyl really sings. Additionally, unless the device really looks destroyed, you need not worry about bad capacitors or age with vintage step-up devices in general as there is no active amplification or need to plug it in to a power outlet. To conclude: this MC cart is HIGHLY recommended!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One Of My Favorite Cartridges
*by J***Y on March 28, 2025*

This beauty sings. Made for a lower mass tonearm and dialed in at 1.40 grams of tracking, it will cut through even the most difficult records that other stylus will skip. Beautiful tone, with great bass, clear highs that doesn't over color the music. Easy to set up and adjust.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Denon DL-301MK2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge
- Turntable Cartridge Alignment 3-pc Kit w/Premium PE Case-Vertical Tracking Angle Block for DJ Turntable & Phono Cartridge,Turntable Stylus Digital Scale,Tonearm Cartridge - Record Player Accessories

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*Product available on Desertcart Israel*
*Store origin: IL*
*Last updated: 2026-03-05*