[Boatanchors] D-104 Replacement Element

[L L bahr]

The bottom line:
Mouser used to have the Kobytone cartridges in their catalog for around $5.00.  They stopped stocking them. They will still take an order from you for them if you buy 1000 minimum. Some loved them and others did not.  I for one found they did not sound anywhere near as good as a real D-104 cartridge.  Yes the Kobytone was smaller in diameter but that hardly would be a deal breaker.  How well they sound also has something to do with how they were mounted. As for load impedance on a D-104 cartridge, they do like a very high impedance.  I use a lot of D-104s on a lot of rigs.  I normally use from a 7 meg to 10 meg grid leak resistor.  For whatever reason, the D-104s always sound great on most rigs but a Shure 444 always sounds better on a Drake rig.  
Lee, w0vt