I own both a Denon 103D and a Shure V15Vmr, both are one model removed from the cartridges that you are asking about. That said, the Shure prefers a light to medium mass arm, the Denon medium to heavy mass. The Denon is rich and liquid with a marvelous development of the mid-bass (some would say "coloration") and an easy character that extends through a layered midrange into nicely balanced highs. The Shure has much less layering of the soundstage and richness, but the eveness of the midband is just great. It sounds lighter and sharper and less developed. The very low output of the Denon will be an issue in many systems. If I had to choose just one of the two it would be the Shure, primarily because I think that it pulls the music off of the record with less editorializing, plus it is really a lot more forgiving and easy to set-up. Feel free to e-mail me directly.
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