From Benz to?


I've been on a Benz ride for the last few years, having owned and enjoyed the Wood SL, then the Gullwing SLR and my current Benz LPS, which I love (and has been retipped a couple times).  I find the Benz sound to be superbly balanced, leaning just to the warm side, with no apparent loss of detail.  Prior to Benz I had a Lyra Delos and a Clearudio MC (among a couple other ones.. Shelter 501?).  I even experimented with vintage MMs (Stanton 981 and Grace Ruby F8) on my Tracer tonearm (which is fairly low mass at ~9-10g) but went straight back to the LPS, cause it sounded more satisfying.  For those who have moved on from Benz to another cart and enjoyed the switch, are there any suggestions in the same sonic style of Benz, just perhaps a bit more treble refinement?   FWIW I detest treble tipped up cartridges.   One thing I've noticed is that Benz have a large stereo separation (and measures as such, >35dB), which helps (IMO) lead to a large soundstage.  Benz just hit all the buttons for me, but I'm feeling a desire to change, just to try something different. I've never tried Dynavector. Are they worth a shot, or are they completely different vs the Benz sound signature? 

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Showing 2 responses by fsonicsmith

After starting out with two Benz Glider SL's and then trying many different cartridge "houses" I ended up with a VdH Crimson Strad and a Lyra Etna Lamda. The Lyra is my favorite but I love the VdH too. I own a slew of Ortofons. I find them a bit boring and I actually prefer the Benz's. 

How does someone shell out $5,000 for a cartridge and not notice how it is spelled. Windfeld is the last name of a guy named Per Windfeld who was an important guy at Ortofon