Benz micro glider cartridge loading advice needed.

@lewm  thanks for checking in again. This whole phase issue is confusing to me. You had mentioned that it didn't make any audible difference. I have to be honest that I have not had any experience with hearing it in my system while out of phase.. But I'm still shaking my head as to why Sonic Frontiers requires inverting it for mc carts, which is the preamp prior to my new one. Will have to say though: the SFP1 modified at parts conexion sounds fabulous. The only problem is if you want to change carts you have to take off the hood and do calisthenics to set loading values. Modified vintage is great, but give me dials on the front panel, please.😊

Best regards 

Some gain stage topologies just naturally invert phase. Some don’t. You can judge for yourself by experiment in your own system whether that makes a difference to your listening pleasure.

If you have no “phase” switch on your preamp, then just reverse the speaker wires on BOTH speakers. Thus both speakers remain in phase with each other, which is vitally important for stereo imaging.

I should have added that, for those who can hear differences in absolute phase, the optimal phase might be different for each LP, or even for different tracks on the same LP.This is why I’m grateful that with my dipolar ESLs, absolute phase makes no audible difference either to me or to others who are younger and have better hearing.

@lewm 

I should have added that, for those who can hear differences in absolute phase,

You should be so lucky.

Unfortunately I hear inverted absolute phase even in foreign systems. David Fletcher of Sumiko the same.

Sadly there are many records where instruments/vocals are out of phase relative to each other - eg you can have clean vocals with fuzzy sax or  vice versa.

Can be annoying.

ESL's are less pronounced than cone speakers.

Your last bit about instruments vs vocals being out of phase with each other in a given track is something I didn’t dare mention for fear of scaring the OP. A good reason to just pick a polarity and live with it unless one has a preamp with a phase switch that permits convenience in choosing absolute phase per each recording.

Years ago I ran a blind test of my wife, my then teenage son, and a friend, using the phase switch on my Atmasphere MP1 and listening to my full range Sound Lab ESLs. I stood behind them, out of their fields of view, and flipped the phase switch on several recordings. Neither they nor I could hear any effect.