Let me pass on some information as it relates to Clearaudio pivoted tonearms and phono cartridges and Benz Micro phono cartridges. We retail these lines and use various combinations of these products from eight to twelve hours each day. It's usually pretty nice to have a job where you can listen to the hi-fi all day while you are working.
First, in response to Afc's post, Clearaudio pivoted tonearms do not have anti-skating weights and hooks, but instead feature magnetic anti-skating. It's real simple to adjust and can be adjusted during play if you are careful.
Perhaps the "Clearaudio Rep" that was mentioned was partially misunderstood. Here is what I know based on experience.
Benz Micro phono cartridges track best near the top end of their recommended tracking force range in any tonearm, Clearaudio or not, that I have used them in. In some instances, and in some tonearms, they may track best if they are set up a bit above the top end of the range, but I have not found that to be the case very often, and not at all so far when they are mounted in Clearaudio pivoted tonearms.
I believe it is true of the Benz Micro cartridges, when used in a Clearaudio pivoted arm, that they will perform their best together with zero or nearly no anti-skating force. In other words, Benz cartridges and Clearaudio pivoted tonearms seems to perform best together with the tracking force set near the top of the recommended range and with the magnetic anti-skating set at or near zero.
Clearaudio moving magnet phono cartridges, by comparison, seem to need a bit of anti-skating applied to work optimally with a Clearaudio pivoted tonearm.
Although I haven't tried it, I have every reason to believe that in certain instances that Benz Micro and Clearaudio phono cartridges could pass along bass that certain users would find satisfying if the maximum recommended tracking force is exceeded, but I have not tried this myself.
Things will likely be different when you throw a different tonearm into the mix, which I can attest to based on the anti-skating setting needed when switching to an Ortofon AS Series tonearm, for instance. However, I have generally found that all of the cartridges that I have tried, and I have not tried anywhere near everything in my forty plus years of owning record players, that I like to run all of them at near the top end of the tracking force range that is recommend for each one.
That's all just my opinion. I haven't perfomed any formal studies or listening panel tests, but I do listen to record players a lot. What I do know is that one person can have a different perceived result with this sort of thing than the next person has. That's why it's always wise to do a little bit of careful experimentation on your own to see what suits you best.
Dealer disclaimer.
Jim Pendleton
Osage Audio Products, LLC
