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experiencing distorted playback with Benz Ruby 2

Hi everyone, this is my first post here, hoping that some of you awesome audiophiles might have some insight to help me out.

I just received a Benz Micro Ruby 2 (LOMC)cart that I purchased here on Audiogon. The seller seems reputable (300+transactions, great feedback, etc), and has told me that the cart sounded beautiful when he had it set up. So I am hoping it is somehow the setup I have.

During playback, pretty much everything is distorted, crackling, etc. It's horrible. Prior to this, I had a Grado Gold MM cart, and it sounded pretty darn good. I changed over to the Ruby 2, and added a stepup transformer. The transformer is the only new part of the setup besides the Ruby 2. Here is what I have for gear:

Turntable is a VPI, essentially a HW 4...has had just about every upgrade available
Graham 2.2 tonearm
Bellari VP130 phono preamp
Bellari MT502 transformer (this is the new one, figured it made sense since I have the phono preamp already)
Amplifier is a Classe 75
All interconnects are decent quality.

I initially tried the cartridge without the transformer, basically to see how it sounded without it. I immediately noticed the distortion and chalked it up to a low-level signal coming from the new cart. Then I hooked up the transformer...much louder now, but the distortion is unbearable. It's not just an annoying thing that can be tweaked, it sounds horrible. I have played with the ground settings, A-B preference switch on the xformer, different tracking setting., etc.

Any ideas here? If I need to provide additional info, etc., just let me know. Thanks in advance!
sd02720

Showing 3 responses by sd02720

sd02720 OP
12 posts
 
Guys...after spending some time with a test record and tweaking, I noticed on the vertical tracking test the needle was almost bouncing out of the tracks in the 19-20Hz range. I increased the tracking force a bit and this went away.

Now the thing sounds awesome! I can't believe it is so sensitive, but it must have been a simple setup issue. I actually measured the tracking force at 1.9g, but I am thinking there must be a problem with my scale. It "felt" lighter than the 1.9g, and now it feels about right. I think I will invest in a new force gauge to make sure....but listening is believing.

Any other tips are certainly welcome..
sd02720 OP
12 posts
 
Thanks a lot for the detailed thoughts. As I also explained to the poor guy I bought the cartridge from, this is my first time ever playing around with a cartridge of this caliber. I was initially concerned that I was putting too much tracking force on it...but, as you elucidated, one has to trust ones ears at some point in the process.

Thanks to both of you for pointing out the distinction between noise and distortion...makes perfect sense. It seems that what I was hearing was the needle lightly leaving the surface of the groove, and likely damaging that particular Beatles album. Luckily, I did catch it quickly and the record subsequently sounds great.

I spent last night in listening bliss...the cartridge now reveals all kinds of new things in records I have listened to several times in the past. Quite a bargain, when you consider that my entire record collection is now brand new to me.
sd02720 OP
12 posts
 
perhaps the next upgrade....the system can always sound better! That's what drives us. That, and maybe some level of insanity, as well
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