benz micro mc3 set up question

Hi Sstauss
This post is great timing.
I acquired a Benz MC3 as part of TT (TNT,ET2)I bought 3 months ago. I knew it had to retipped and sent it to soundsmith. I just got it back this week and am trying it tonight for the first time- it sounds real nice so far.
Its on another TT - SP10mk2 with a JMW 12 arm - loaded at 100 on the dial of my ARC SP11. Started at 2.0 gms and now 1.9gms. The range is 1.8 - 2.2.
Chris

I had a MC3 for over 10 years... I was always happy with it... you have it loaded correctly at 1 Kohm and 2 grams... it should have good midrange not rolled off at 1 Kohm loading.. check if possibly not mounted correctly??
or maybe needs retip at this point. I now have the Benz Silver Ref. and like it a little better.

Thanks for the responses. I was taking an educated guess at the 1k and 2 gr. It sounds real smooth but on some older recordings it is not right on highs mostly. Mids are usually good I guess. It may need a retip or the recordings are poor. I will listen for a couple weeks to a month before deciding. I am under the impression that this cartridge was fairly high end in it's day. How much did a retip cost and how does this compare to the Ruby 3 or other high end cartridges.

I paid $250 for a complete rebuild not just a retip and it took 3 months. I will listen for a while then compare to the xv-1 on my other table and let you know. The service was great - I will use Soundsmith again.

Before sending for re-tipping, perhaps check a few other things first. Have you done a really good visual inspection of the Stylus to insure that it is indeed clean?

If not, search the archives, and read Doug Deacon's use of the MrClean Magic Eraser. Doug has claimed to resucitate many a Cartridge that was originally thought to be bad, and in need of re-tipping.

Is your gain possibly too hot? Too much gain can cause problems with distortion.

Are you certain you have properly aligned this Cartridge? What have you used to align with, and are you sure it has been done correctly?

VTF could possibly be too heavy? Maybe try dropping VTF to 1.9g. Then go from there.

Lastly, is it possible some of these records you are using, have groove damage, and/or are not properly cleaned? Mark

Does a new cartridge which is less flexible do more wear on an lp until broken in? Should it played on just certain disposable type lp/s for 50 hours first? Or does it not matter.

Dear Ct0517,

I'm not so sure that a tight cantilever suspension would be detrimental, but in another forum, somebody made a claim about all cartridges, and a possible issue.

This is of course some food for thought, I am unsure that it is totally factual, but it does sound plausible to me.

Somebody like Cartridge Designer of Lyra Cartridges, Jonathan Carr could perhaps confirm this as fact?

What I have read, that when a Cartridge is brand new, and has not yet broken in, that there could be some possible very minor azimuth mis-alignment of the Stylus in relation to the Record's Groove? And that after a period of time, the Cartridge's Cantilver, and Suspension will begin to alter slightly, and take on a slightly different set in regards to proper Azimuth alignment.

It is probably why some of the gurus who go beyond many's abilities, choose to set Azimuth via electric Multimeter, or other program, rather than relying upon eyesight.

It makes sense, and I'm thinking with lesser Alignment Methods, that yes, some possible damage to the Record's Groove could be occuring until full break in occurs.

Perhaps not exactly the beat thread to veer off on another tangent with this discussion, but I think all would agree the high importance of correct Azimuth.

I would love to hear other's thoughts about this? Mark