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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 1 response by rossb

rossb
183 posts
 

Personally, I preferred an XV-1S to the LPS. I found the LPS very coloured with a very distinctive voicing. The XV-1S is still on the warmer side of neutral but is faster and more dynamic, and less coloured. It also matches well with an SUT.

But like others earlier in the thread, I sold my LPS and XV-1S (and my earlier Lyras - Delos and Etna SL) and went in the direction of Ortofon. I have the Cadenza Black, Bronze, Windfeld Ti and Jubilee. All are great, the best tracking cartridges I have used, without the colourations of the wood bodied cartridges, neutral and yet musical and dynamic. The Windfeld Ti is excellent if your phono stage can cope with the very low output. But personally, my favourite is  the older MC Jubilee, which I bought new from Ortofon last year as part of their "Treasure Trove" release of re-built cartridges.

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