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Azur 640p /w Denon DL103 and Clearaudio Virtuoso?

Do the specs on the Cambridge Audio Azur 640p allow for safe usage with the Denon DL 103 and Clearaudio Virtuoso carts? (I own both carts). According to the 640p stats:

Sensitivity for nominal output: 3.35mV / 0.5mV

I assume that figure relates to the MM/MC inputs. The output on the Denon DL 103 is 0.3 mV, and the output for the Virtuoso is 3.6 mV.

Thanks
jwglista
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
You'll probably need a step-up device for proper gain with the low output MC DL103.

I think the Virtuoso MM will be OK.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
To answer your question, yes both will be safe, in the sense that nothing will break. You may find that both the gain and loading in the MC section will not be optimal for the 103, resulting in too much noise, not enough dynamics and a skewed frequency response. As Mapman says, the Virtuoso should be a good match from an electrical standpoint.
jwglista OP
205 posts
 
Interesting. So a difference of 0.2 mV will make that big of a difference in the MC stage? The output and load impedance on the DL103 are both 100 ohms, which matches directly with the 640p specs.

According to the 640p manual:

"If your turntable uses a moving coil cartridge, connect outputs here
(0.5-1mV, with 100 ohm 220pF loading)."

So it does look like it requires an output of 0.5, but would it really sound bad with the an output of 0.3 mV from the DL103?
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