I use a SUT for my Denon DL-103 carts. I based my decision on popular opinion plus the fact that it is a passive device. A well built SUT should be dead quiet as there is only a transformer used to boost the voltage. You may have to try different grounding schemes to get all of the noise out but it isn't generating any, it's being picked up from external sources.
An active MC preamp can have noise as it's dealing with so low a signal and must amplify it to a great extent. That is one reason there are so few good tube MC preamps, it's harder to keep them quiet.A lot of folks think that the SUT just sounds better as well if it's properly matched. I didn't buy an active stage after all my research, I went straight to a SUT, actually got it in a trade with another audio friend before I picked up my first MC cartridge. It's a Denon AU-320, perfect match for the DL-103.What cart do you have?
BillWojo
An active MC preamp can have noise as it's dealing with so low a signal and must amplify it to a great extent. That is one reason there are so few good tube MC preamps, it's harder to keep them quiet.A lot of folks think that the SUT just sounds better as well if it's properly matched. I didn't buy an active stage after all my research, I went straight to a SUT, actually got it in a trade with another audio friend before I picked up my first MC cartridge. It's a Denon AU-320, perfect match for the DL-103.What cart do you have?
BillWojo