In the Seventies there were some audiophiles that removed the load resistors from their preamps and transfered them to the headshells. This was supposed to improve cartridge damping. Instead of having the interconnect L,C and R have their effects on the damping, why not put the load resistors right next to the cartridge?
"...ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die" as the saying goes. I tried it out and it gave me better sound. Better definition? Less "ringing"? Increased focus? Who knows/cares; just more pleasant and relaxing listening experience .
There are many ways to skin a cat but DO NOT EVER SOLDER ON DIRECTLY TO THE CART PINS or your cart is skinned! I did the conversion with a DIY adapter with pins salvaged from a junked computer connector. Users of removable headshells will have an easier time since the resistors can be soldered right on the headshell leads.
The adapter with load resistors soldered in place:
Cartridge with adapter in place:
This tweak was well worth an evening or two at my workbench.
BTW, for MM carts, don't forget to "lift" one end of the original load resistors (normally 47k) in the preamp input to take it out of circuit. Use a pair of good quality 1/4W (better is 1/8W) for the external load resistors.
For MC, the original resistors can probably be left alone, just use low-valued (30 to 300 ohms) at the cart end.
The resistors go between "hot" to "ground" of each channel.