Benz Ruby 2 vs. Van Den Hul Frog

Fooolish1, 18 months ago I narrowed the choice down to same two cartidges. Ended up going with the Ruby. Nothing to do with sound or system matching, but instead based decision on local dealer support. The Ruby dealer offered better setup and tweaking services. Suspect the Frog is a superb catridge, but I'm very happy with the Ruby.

I own the Aries w/TNT V platter/bearing, 10" JMW, and AR PH-3 (not the SE). I upgraded to the Ruby H from the Glider. If I were to do it again, which I might, I would go with the Frog. The Ruby H's mids and highs, if setup correctly, will be spectacular. Overhang and zenith are super critical. I cannot say this enough. The bass is a different story. You will need to use damping fluid. I would experiment with 40W oil instead of the silicon. The silicon damps dynamics. I have not heard a Van den Hul cart, but I would go with the Frog. The combo of the Aries/JMW/Frog seems to be ubiquitous. Read the Stereophile review of the Frog, the 2000 CES in The Absolute Sound, and Bound for Sound. All of the articles mention the same combo.

I own a Frog. The cartridge is very good but the service from this company is plain awful. After less than 250 hours, the tip and cantilever collapsed while it was being installed in a brand new tone arm (by a professional installer supplied by the dealer). The U.S. distributor of van den Hul determined this was due to a "structural defect" and said there would be no charge to repair it. Initially, I was told to expect a 2 week turnaround. Then, I was told 4-5 weeks. It is now 7 weeks and I still don't have a cartridge. If you go to van den Hul's website, you will search in vain for a "contact us" option: no email address, no phone number, no fax number. The only contact information is the distributors. When I contacted the distributor, he told me the only information he could solicit from van den Hul was when their next scheduled shipment from the factory in the Netherlands would be; he could not inquire as to the status of a specific repair. Indeed, there's no way to confirm that they even received the cartridge; for all either of us know, it could have fallen off of someone's desk into a trash can. There are lots of high end cartridges available. Do yourself a favor: don't buy a van den Hul.

van den Hul does indeed make great sounding cartridges, yet as you've witnessed, their service is the worst in the industry.

It is a real shame, their Tube Research Copper Hopper CHA Grasshopper is a favorite. It's no wonder that there has been multiple US distributors since introduction to the "States". It should also concern anyone why a manufacturer would be hesitant to supply direct contact info.

I compared Benz cartridges to the Van Den Hull Frog several years ago and chose the Van Den Hull. I've been very happy with it. It's fast, extended top and bottom and very musical. I do load it down a bit (100) to warm it up a tad. The Benz cartridges were slightly colored, just a tad euphonic. Since the rest of my system could be described as a tad euphonic (Conrad Johnson Premier 12's, Spendor FL9, etc), the last thing in the world I needed was a cartridge that was other than neutral. That said, if your system is a bit dry sounding, you might be better off with the Benz.