Denon DL-103 -- Was it a mistake?

Also, I assume the "loading plugs" would be male-male, so that you could easily solder both ends of the resistor to the + and - ends of the male plug.

I have had both the 103 and the virtuoso at the same time. They are very different cartridges. I always preferred the virtuoso but that is a matter of taste. It will take you a while to get used to the 103 sound if you were fond of your virtuoso. To get the 103 to sound really good you will have to spend some money on a good sut and then see if you like it with the cambridge. Personally although the 103 is a pretty good unit I think you can do way better for not much money.

I assume by "sut" you mean step up transformer. That really isn't an option at the moment, as I only purchased the 103 as a temporary replacement for the Virtuoso. I think that even with the 103 put in an ideal setup, I would still prefer the Virtuoso. Therefore it really isn't worth investing more money at the moment to get the 103 to sound good. I would like to try Gordguide's loading method with the Cambridge, but I'm not entirely clear on how that is done yet.

I agree they are very different sounding carts. I think the 103 definitely has potential, but I could not tolerate the brightness in my system. The Ortofon 2M Red is starting to sound pretty decent in my system now. It isn't fully run in yet, but it sounds more "musical" than the 103. Of course it lacks a great bit of detail by comparison.

You may not need a step up with the cambridge but you will have to mess with the loading most likely. Ive had my 103 for many years and have found it really needs the right tonearm and step up and loading to work properly. After spending the time and money to sort it out I found it wasnt my cup of tea as I gravitate more towards the clearaudio sound. I think the speakers you use have a lot to do with it also which explains why many listeners have a completely different experience with this cart.

03-27-09: Jwglista
I assume by "sut" you mean step up transformer. That really isn't an option at the moment, as I only purchased the 103 as a temporary replacement for the Virtuoso.

With the painful acknowledgement that I'm too late, I think the AT150MLX would have been a much better substitute than the DL103--it's another high performing MM cartridge (with replaceable stylus, no less).

4mV output, great speed, dynamic range, detail, and body; compliance in the customary range so tonearm mass matching is easy; high output, so no fuss, no muss.