Glider upgrade?

A few questions for you first:

How about a price range?

Are you open to buying used?
(This involves a bit of risk and trust on your part, but can get you twice the cartridge.)

What type of sound do you like?
(Lush like the Koetsu, or neutral like the Lyra, or somewhere in between? Based on the fact that you like the Benz, I would guess the later, but if you want something different, perhaps you really want the former.)

FYI, I upgraded from the Glider II to a Koetsu Black, and much, much prefered the Koestu. (I lost a bit of frequency extension, but the mid-range magic of the Koetsu more than made up for it, IMHO!) I currently have the Shelter 90X which is a very good cartridge, with some of the mid-range magic of the Koetsu line, but with much better frequency extension, especially in the bass response. (The Koetsu has a bit darker and blacker background, but the Shelter is better than the Glider was in that regard.)

Let us know the answers to the questions I posed, and we can be more specific with our recommendations.

Good Luck in your search!

I went from a Glider to a Benz M2 wood body on a Kuzma Stogi tonearm (I have an L2 now which is the low output version of the M2). If you like the Benz sound you will appreciate the upgrade to the wood body models. I believe Benz offers some type of trade in program that might save you a few bucks in the process of upgrading. Best to check with a Benz dealer for details though (I recommend John Barnes of Audio Unlimited in Denver, CO if you are in the US as I have puchased all my cartridges from him and he is great to work with).

Thanks for the feedback, you have raised some good issues. I have not established a budget so far. I have no problem buying used gear and bought my amp second hand. Is there a rule of thumb for the recommended percentage one should spend on a cartridge as compared to the table/arm? the entire system? I believe Robert Harley suggested 40% on the front end if you're really into analog, however there is no indication of the amount for the cartridge.

The dealer I purchased the Glider from said Benz cartridges have a generally "warm" sound and said if I like that to stay in the Benz line. By upgrading, I would get more detail, clarity and better imaging. Another dealer said the Shelter 901 would be an excellent move up. Sure would be nice to audition cartridges as we do speakers prior to purchase!

Clio09 what did you notice when you upgraded to the L2?

I noticed exactly what your dealer said. The wood body series are faster, more detailed, and if set-up properly the imaging and soundstage are much better than the Glider.

You really should enlist the help of a dealer who sells many brands of cartridges and knows the sound characteristics of them. David Lewis in Philadelphia or Audio Revelations of Carlsbad, California carry many lines. They will also know the loading and gain characteristics of your phono preamp and the mass loading aspects of your table/arm combo all of which are very important in selecting a cartidge. Without paying close attention to these details, it's almost senseless to talk about the "sound" of any cartridge since a table/arm, phono preamp mis-match will not yield the true sound of any cartridge.

I went from the Glider to a Lyra Lydian B and have never looked back. Although not made any more the Argo or Dorian are in the same price range and reportedly better than the Lydian.