DENON DL-304. Is it the bargain sound or not?

08-08-11: Stanwal
It would be worse in my opinion. I have had several 304s and never found them bright. On the other hand 2 of my friends have the Technics table and I find them bright. The AT 150 has a reputation for being aggressive on the top end so I would look for something softer in sound.

My first attempt at responding to this turned into an eye-glazing manual on vibration control for the Technics.

The succinct version is: the SL12x0 and AT150MLX can be a transparent, dynamic, linear, organic-sounding combination IF you damp the vibrations and resonances in the Technics. Wrap the tonearm with Teflon pipe thread tape, upgrade the mat and headshell, throw out the stock feet and use Vibrapod Cones and Isolators under the turntable instead. Platform it on a thick cutting board and isolate it from below with silicone gel pads or more Vibrapods.

If you do all this, the Technics should be smooth and linear whether you choose an AT150MLX or Denon. I use an AT150MLX to good effect. You'll have a linear enough platform to evaluate downstream cabling and components for further improvements.

My Technics sits in hokey pucks as an "isolation" solution.
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8235/p1050267.jpg

You can see also the technical specs of my Onkyo preamplifier:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6859/p304ompage10.jpg

08-09-11: Delamostre1
My Technics sits in hokey pucks as an "isolation" solution.
[img]http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8235/p1050267.jpg[/url]

That's a good start, and I see you have the thicker mat and a clamp. but here's what I'm talking about:

My Technics isolation setup

Everything you see underneath the turntable noticeably improved the sound quality. Getting RID of the Technics feet improved the sound as did adding the Vibrapod products. I'd used a smaller cutting board for the first 3 years, but replacing it with the massive cutting board made a big difference. Also note the wrapping around the tonearm.

The sorbothane mat (not visible under the LP), tonearm wrap, LPGear headshell, the isolation footers and the butcher block removed the harshness, brightness, and glare, replacing it with linearity. a lower noise floor, and with that, more inner detail and better dynamics.

Try a 1:36 SUT, unloaded, and tail down on the cart with the manufacturer's recommended VTF. I have been using 304's for 4 years now. I have 65 lbs platter on my Garrard 301 and 55 lbs. platter on my Thorens 124.

Yes, I agree. I think loading is the problem. The MC input impedance on your preamp is 220 ohms. I guess somewhere between 40 and 100 ohms would do it for you if you don't have a transformer. You could make up some loading plugs and try different values. 49 ohms would net you 40. 183 ohms would get 100. Loading plugs are hooked up as a parallel load, usually with a Y adapter. You can figure out the values here:
www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-paralresist.htm

The 304 is a good cartridge, just a little tricky to get dialed in. Once you figure out the load you can solder the parallel resistors right to the input jacks inside your preamp.
Regards