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a dilemma for cartridge/phono stage combination

the cantilever of my Benz-Micro MC-20E2 "High Output" cartridge was broke.
fixing it will cost more than a new one.
benz offered me what they call  repair/exchange with a nice 40 % discounted price.
i'm thinking to go on it.
my dilemma is between a high output cartridge like mc silver, which is kind of equivalent to the one i had, or to the low/mid output.
i'm working now without external phono stage and with my 2.0 mv that i had i used to raise the volume of my intagreted amp not more than 11-12 clock.
i read that generally low output mc are better quality that the high one's.
another cartridge that i have with 0.4 mv ( monster cable alpha 2) gives me very thin and dull sound, so i guess i will need an phono stage for the low output cartridge.
if it'll give me a real sound improvement i am ready to spend on a phono stage.
i know that benz micro also sell those. 
the models i consider for my budget limit are :
Benz Micro MC Silver
https://artsexcellence.com/benz-micro-mc-silver.html

Benz Micro MC Gold
https://artsexcellence.com/benz-micro-mc-gold.html

Benz Micro ACE-S low
https://artsexcellence.com/benz-micro-ace-s-low.html

Benz Micro ACE-S medium
https://artsexcellence.com/benz-micro-ace-s-medium.html

Benz Micro ACE-S high
https://artsexcellence.com/benz-micro-ace-s-high.html?___store=ae_en&___from_store=ae_nl

my turntable and arm are well tempered.

i'll appreciate very much some guidance .

stone1
stone1 OP
110 posts
 
thank you.
the link you gave me refer to a special addition 4240.
my unit was sold only with line level with the option to add a phono stage internal card for one of the rca inputs , which i did.
it’s a MM p.stage.
my direction now is to buy a phono stage, probably a tube one, and start to work with my alpha 2 cartridge.
so i’m looking for recommendations that will help me to decide which tube phono preamp to buy.
one option is one of the tube boxes of project.
another option is Parks Audio Budgie tube phono preamp .
those are around the price range i'm looking for.

i’ll be glad to have some opinion about it from people that have/had experience with it, or other suggestions.


raphaelmabo
5 posts
 
I have and love the Benz MC Silver. It has a clean, clear, rythmic and detailed sound with a great sense of presence. The MC Gold is essentially the same cartridge but with lower output and because of this a slightly lower mass. In theory this would mean faster response, but I’ve never felt the MC lacking here. 

The Benz Ace has a finer MicroRidge stylus so should be able to bring out more detail. 

If you liked your Benz MC20E, then you may be interested in LP Gear BIN 215 or 323. The LP Gear is a high output MC based upon the Excel MC100, a cartridge-platform that Benz used for the MC20E built by Excel. The MC Silver/Gold are designed and assembled by Benz in Switzerland, so it’s a different series. 

Excel also makes the excellent Hana MC cartridges like the Hana EH/EL. 

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,615 posts
 
   "you will have to find a way to load the output of the transformers."  
@stone1  Sorry- didn't see this earlier.
By this I meant that the SUT needs to be loaded, and the loading changes depending on the cartridge. Jensen has a chart that includes your cartridge so finding out what is needed isn't the issue; where to put the components (a resistor and capacitor for each channel, all very small) is.
Do you have a loading connection on your preamp? If not, a box can be had with the Jensens in it, and the loading components installed in the box.

stone1 OP
110 posts
 
thank you  atmasphere.
i decided to go on a low output mc cartridge and to use a phono stage.
think it'l be a tube one.
just need to decide which one.
one of the candidates is the pro ject DS2.
is anybody can tell me something about it?
 
raphaelmabo
5 posts
 
The Pro-Ject DS2 is not a "true" tube phono pre. It only uses the tubes in the output stage, as a buffer, sort of a "sound processor". The input and amplification stage is transistor based. Tubes is only used to colour the sound. This is the same with many other "tube" phono pre's, like Vincent, Dynavox and others. If you want a "true" tube phono pre, look at the Quad 24P but this one cost more than twice than what the DS2 sells for. I wouldn't pay extra for just a tube buffer in the output stage. 
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