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Little help in cartridge purchase?

First of all, I am new to the forum and have really enjoyed reading the posts.

Recently, my nephew destroyed the cantilever off my Benz Micro MC Silver and for the first time since owning the system (10 years) I have to replace it. I have a VPI HW-19 Mk III TT, Audioquest PT-6 arm, and Ensemble Phonomaster phono stage. The question is what do I buy? I'm looking at used cartridges thinking I'll get much better value. My price range is $200-$400. Right now I am most seriously concidering a used Benz Micro Glider HO. I can go MM and might concider a Clearaudio cartridge. Any other suggestions? Thanks.
macm75
twl
3,251 posts
 
IMO, regarding the DL103, and I have one, the regular DL103(spherical stylus) model is the best value. It is $200 or less, and does as well as some very high priced cartridges. When you get to the DL103R(improved coil strucure), DL103PRO(Broadcast cart), DL103FLS(Hyper-elliptical line contact, ceramic body), you are raising the price close to where you can do better by spending a little more and going with a Shelter 501($650). The output of a standard DL103 is .28mv-.3mv and requires a step-up device. The correct load for it is 40 ohms. I didn't recommend it in my above post, because I didn't know if the PT-6 could handle it. I have since checked it out, and the PT-6 has ABEC 3 grade bearings, so it should do fine. ABEC 3 is the same rating as the bearings in the SME IV. The DL103 is VERY stiff and tracks at about 2.75 grams. It takes quite a few hours to break it in. Cartridge weight is about 8 grams, compliance is 5.
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rwwear
2,867 posts
 
If you like your original cartridge why not send it to Stanalog and have it repaired. I've had several cartridges rebuilt by them and they are usually better. They send them to Van Den Hull and he replaces the cantilever with a boron one and a Van Den Hull stylus. The new stylus rides deeper in the groove and extracts more information and less surface noise.
twl
3,251 posts
 
Viridian, thanks for the reminder. I forgot to mention the very fine DL103D in my list. Also a great value. For the money it is practically impossible to beat these cartridges. There are better ones, but you're going to have to pay significantly more to get them. They are good enough that many or even most people would not need to ever upgrade them. Of course, "need" seldom enters into our audiophile buying decisions, so many of us might "want" to spend a bundle to upgrade. I'm considering a Shelter for my next one.
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