Is it me ? This cart...LP-S MR rides so low I really can't see the cantilever for protractor type alignment on the platter...
Benz Micro LP S
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
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:b Hehehe I see You have been having this problem lately.These days the font size of my ipad is almost a centimeter.
Tang
These days the font size of my ipad is almost a centimeter.
Tang
That’s what I like about Graham arms and the off turntable alignment jig. This cart may end up on a Graham armwand just like my Coralstone diamond cart...another real low rider with invisible cantilever...
Nice to see an active thread about the top Benz Micro cartridge. It is a real sweetheart. Plenty with apparently higher resolution, sharper transients, and greater dynamic range, but the LP S doesn't ask you to think about. It yields an easeful path to comfortable limbic listening. I don't play it everyday but it does call me back. And it is, imo, a bargain.
Here's some mildly obscure and brief coverage from Harry Peason on the Benz, the Goldfinger v2, the A90, ZYX Omega, MSL Eminent, the Dynavector XV-1T and a few others from 2010:
HP's Workshop: The Third Generation of Moving Coils -- Part 2 (TAS 206) includes the Benz. Part 1 is here.
I believe it was HP added the 'MR' addendum to the name LP S, in an effort to recognize the pre and post Micro Ridge stylus shape. Strictly 'MR' is not part of the product name.
Then there is this downloadable PDF (at Clearaudio) from Valin on the Benz, the GFS and the Ice Blue cartridge from a former Ortofon guy.
Here's some mildly obscure and brief coverage from Harry Peason on the Benz, the Goldfinger v2, the A90, ZYX Omega, MSL Eminent, the Dynavector XV-1T and a few others from 2010:
HP's Workshop: The Third Generation of Moving Coils -- Part 2 (TAS 206) includes the Benz. Part 1 is here.
I believe it was HP added the 'MR' addendum to the name LP S, in an effort to recognize the pre and post Micro Ridge stylus shape. Strictly 'MR' is not part of the product name.
Then there is this downloadable PDF (at Clearaudio) from Valin on the Benz, the GFS and the Ice Blue cartridge from a former Ortofon guy.
Well, for me it has definitely been the most used one out of all my cartridges lately, surpassing Anna, Colibri, MC 7500 and Titan i during the whole fall of last year. It is definitely something special.
Thanks for posting the link, that is a very good description of the LP-S and its approach to presenting music. Although I must admid that the use of the word "gemütlich" in this context makes me cringe a little bit. For a native German speaker in this context it conveys a bit of slowness that the Benz clearly doesn't have. Instead I think it is colourful and lush but still very fast in its presentation, just pleasant in what it does.
Resurrecting a rather old discussion here. I bought a Ruby 3 maybe 13 or 14 years ago and enjoyed it. It hasn't been used since I moved on to a Kontrapunkt C, and then discovered moving iron cartridges. I still keep one tonearm (of six) for an MC stereo cartridge, which has housed a Cadenza Bronze, then the re-tipped Kontrapunkt C. Now I'm at the point of deciding whether to re-tip the Ruby 3 or follow up the line I have on a year-old 30-hour LP-s. The LP-s will cost me ten times more than a re-tip of the Ruby 3, but I'll go that way if it is worthwhile. Any thoughts?
I don't have a comparative, evidence-based answer. I loved my Ruby 2 for 18 years.
But I believe that the LP S-MR embodied Albert Lukaschek's best work. It is a very well known quantity, has been reviewed in many places, and people on WBF still have it and use it.
I just think it makes more sense to get the mint condition LP S-MR, and enjoy that cartridge forever.
I don't personally know the Ruby 3 in particular (I know the Rubys had different output models). But I would be perfectly happy using an LP S-MR for the rest of my life. If I faced this decision I would get the LP S-MR.
But I believe that the LP S-MR embodied Albert Lukaschek's best work. It is a very well known quantity, has been reviewed in many places, and people on WBF still have it and use it.
I just think it makes more sense to get the mint condition LP S-MR, and enjoy that cartridge forever.
I don't personally know the Ruby 3 in particular (I know the Rubys had different output models). But I would be perfectly happy using an LP S-MR for the rest of my life. If I faced this decision I would get the LP S-MR.
Get the LPS ! I have used one for 7 years as my main cartridge, and it is the best all round cartridge i have heard. I also own a Ebony TR running into a SUT, probably more in line with the Ruby. The LPS is better in all parameters, something confirmed by another member owning both cartridges. I almost bought a second LPS as backup to use while my old one gets refurbished, but ordered a costlier Van Den Hul Grand Cru Elite instead, because of long waiting time, price increase and desire to have a different type cartridge in the stable. I am afraid i will be disappointed by the Van Den Hul, the LPS is that good !
Many people prefer the Gullwing over the LP-S, because of its more purity and neutral attack. The LP-S should have some warmth and color resulting from the wooden case.
Do you have such experiences and can confirm this view?
Do you have such experiences and can confirm this view?
I use the new Benz Ruby Zebra Wood Bodied cartridge and absolutely love it. To my ears, it plays "music" very naturally in a very balanced way without calling attention to the treble or the bass or the dynamics or the details. It just simply immerses you into the music and allows you to connect to the music in such an amazing way. It has all of the above mentioned traits, but when it plays.. to me it's more like when I'm in a concert hall. I don't focus on the hifi attributes of the treble/bass/ the hyper details, etc.... rather, I'm connecting with the music... with what the composer was trying to convey thru the musical message, etc. Maybe that's just the musician in me and I might be wired a little differently than others.
I've heard other "big dog" cartridges and after listening I'll think... wow, did you hear that amazing bass??? Or, man does that thing do detail, etc But rarely do I feel it connecting with my soul on an emotional level, because those cartridges often times are calling attention to themselves which detracts me from achieving the connection with the music.
Just my opinion at the present moment... maybe that will change over time.... I don't know. But, what I can say is I love what my Zebrawood Ruby does for me and at what I would consider a very competitive price.
Best wishes to you all,
Don
I've heard other "big dog" cartridges and after listening I'll think... wow, did you hear that amazing bass??? Or, man does that thing do detail, etc But rarely do I feel it connecting with my soul on an emotional level, because those cartridges often times are calling attention to themselves which detracts me from achieving the connection with the music.
Just my opinion at the present moment... maybe that will change over time.... I don't know. But, what I can say is I love what my Zebrawood Ruby does for me and at what I would consider a very competitive price.
Best wishes to you all,
Don
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I'd say that I'm pretty much split right down the middle between loving both classical and jazz. I think for myself, I'd rather have my cartridge error a little bit on the side of warmth, than being on the leaner side of the spectrum.
Especially with classical music... I love to hear the resonance of the body of the cello, or for that matter... all of the stringed instruments. (I probably referenced the cello, because that is what I play) I feel that sometimes with a leaner cartridge, it may focus too much on the details whereby highlighting the bow across the strings and missing out on the warmth and resonance that captures the beauty of the body of the instrument.
Don't get me wrong... I love to have enough detail so I can tell what kind of instrument is being played. For instance, is the piano a Yamaha Grand or a Steinway. Is the trombone a Bach or a King. Are the strings of the guitar steel, nylon or maybe gut? My Ruby Z allows me enough detail to determine all of this, but yet it does so in a balanced way by still allowing the beauty of the whole instrument to come thru.
So, I think with some cartridges, you may notice a deeper stronger bass, or they may highlight the hyper details more in the treble, or whatever. But then when that happens your focus may be drawn to that aspect all of the time and in the long run you may become dissatisfied with the overall sound and then feel compelled to switch to yet another cartridge to compensate, etc...
With he Benz, at least for me, it has everything I want... it does sound staging, it has highs, it has bass, it has a glorious midrange, it has dynamics... but it does it all in a way without calling attention to itself. Albiet, with it being just slightly a little bit on the warmer side vs the leaner side, but without it becoming thick or muddy or dark. Although, as with any component, the key is having the entire system match together in a synergistic manner.
Best wishes,
Don
Especially with classical music... I love to hear the resonance of the body of the cello, or for that matter... all of the stringed instruments. (I probably referenced the cello, because that is what I play) I feel that sometimes with a leaner cartridge, it may focus too much on the details whereby highlighting the bow across the strings and missing out on the warmth and resonance that captures the beauty of the body of the instrument.
Don't get me wrong... I love to have enough detail so I can tell what kind of instrument is being played. For instance, is the piano a Yamaha Grand or a Steinway. Is the trombone a Bach or a King. Are the strings of the guitar steel, nylon or maybe gut? My Ruby Z allows me enough detail to determine all of this, but yet it does so in a balanced way by still allowing the beauty of the whole instrument to come thru.
So, I think with some cartridges, you may notice a deeper stronger bass, or they may highlight the hyper details more in the treble, or whatever. But then when that happens your focus may be drawn to that aspect all of the time and in the long run you may become dissatisfied with the overall sound and then feel compelled to switch to yet another cartridge to compensate, etc...
With he Benz, at least for me, it has everything I want... it does sound staging, it has highs, it has bass, it has a glorious midrange, it has dynamics... but it does it all in a way without calling attention to itself. Albiet, with it being just slightly a little bit on the warmer side vs the leaner side, but without it becoming thick or muddy or dark. Although, as with any component, the key is having the entire system match together in a synergistic manner.
Best wishes,
Don
My 15-year old Benz LP (not S) came with the MR stylus. After 3 retips by SS, it is now on its fourth lifetime, and it still makes me smile. It may not be the last word in detail or soundstaging but it has a natural, musical quality that still connects with me. I recently borrowed a Koetsu Rosewood Signature for a few weeks; it did some very nice things but it also had some colorations that I know would bother me over the long term. The Benz just sounds like music to me.
Even more recently I have listened in a friend’s system to an Audio Note IO-1 with S8 stepup. I am fairly certain I would choose the Audio Notes over my Benz and EMIA SUT, but I doubt that will be happening any time soon.
Even more recently I have listened in a friend’s system to an Audio Note IO-1 with S8 stepup. I am fairly certain I would choose the Audio Notes over my Benz and EMIA SUT, but I doubt that will be happening any time soon.
The LPS does everything you love about the Ruby, just a little bit better. Still a smidgen on the warm side, but with more detail and fantastic bass for music that has it. It plays rock very well. Even badly recorded records.
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