Well, I will be the lone voice of descent I suppose, as I am not a big fan of the Benz line of cartridges. (However, I will point out that this is specifically in regards to the Benz Micro Glider and not the Gullwing, which is apparently one step above the Glider, so perhaps it is better.)
FYI: I started off with the Basis 1400 turntable, (albeit with a Rega RB 300 tone arm), along with the Benz Micro Glider 2, medium output. It sounded very good to my ears when I first got it. It had good frequency extension at both ends, and it had a fairly low noise floor, which impressed me at the time. (However, it has an exposed cantilever, and no stylus guard, and when my friend's kids came over and strummed it like a guitar string, well, you can guess that I needed to replace it soon after.)
So, I replaced it with a Koetsu Black, as recommended by my dealer. With the exception of the extreme frequency extension, I much preferred the Black to the Glider. (The treble response was a bit rolled off, but only slightly when it had broken in, and it was fairly refined. And the bass response was a bit more rolled off than the treble, and a bit loose, but still not too bad.) However, the mid-range of the Black more than made up for those deficiencies, IMHO. It definitely was lush, (I realize it is too lush for some people), but the Black just plain makes beautiful music to my ears. (I liked the Black so much, that after a year, I upgraded to the Rosewood Signature, which really was a very nice cartridge. Vocals are just incredible with the Koetsu cartridges.) One of the things that I really loved about the Koetsu line of cartridges is that they have an amazingly low noise floor. (I just love deep, dark, black backgrounds.)
I have since upgraded my table to the 2001 version, and my tone arm to the Vector M3. I used a Shelter 90X for a year or so, (I changed out the Rosewood Signature, as I wanted to find a cartridge with outstanding bass response), which indeed had great frequency extension, (especially in the bass response). But it was similar to the Benz, in as that as it had a slightly higher noise floor than the Koetsu line. Eventually I grew to long for those deep, dark, black backgrounds, so I upgraded to the Dynavector XV-1s.
The Dynavector XV-1S is my current cartridge, and the one that I intend to grow old with! (I have quit looking for cartridges, as a matter of fact.) It has the deep, dark, black backgrounds of the Koetsu, the bass response of the Shelter, and extended and refined treble response like no other cartridge I've owned. In addition, while the mid-range is not lush, it is very liquid, and musical, and very comparable to the Koetsu cartridges in my level of enjoyment. (It is one of the best cartridges I have ever heard, and I have heard many of the top cartridges, including the Clearaudio Goldfinger 2, the Brinkmann EMT, the Lyra Titan-I, the Transfiguration Orpheus, and the Koetsu Coralstone. While I won't say the XV-1S is better than all of those fine cartridges, it is within a hair of them, IMHO.)
So my advice is scrimp and save and buy a Dynavector XV-1S, and be done forever! (FYI, the XV-1S has been supplanted by the XV-1T, for more money of course, but there are still a few new and used ones around. FYI, I bought mine used, albeit from a friend.)
Good Luck in your search!
