What is the best arm for a VPI Aries 2 and Benz L2


I have a VPI Aries 2, an SME IV and a Benz Micro L2. I know this isn't the best matchup but I like the Benz quality and the soundstage depth as well as the instrumental tones. I expect it will get even better when 'broken in'. With this table, what would be the best tonearm to let this cartridge open up and really sing?
gfloyd53

Showing 3 responses by gfloyd53

The Benz L2 is breaking in beautifully on my Aries 2 and SME IV. I have been blown away by how much improvement has come over just a few more hours of playing. I have had several combinations of arms/cartridges in the past, but I have never experienced such a 180 degree turn in performance! In future I might still try something like a Graham 2.2. I noticed that there was no mention of any cheaper arms like the Audioquest PT 9. What if the PT 9 had a drop counterweight like those from Express Machining?
I have owned VPI TNT and Scout turntables with the JMW arms. They sounded good once the arm settled down (about track 2). Those arms jiggle too much for me. What's the point of carefully setting up an arm and cartridge and getting a perfect azimuth only to have the entire arm assembly rocking from side to side after being cued onto the record. Thank you for your input Salectric.
Salectric, Stevecham and Readster,
What cartridges were you using and what were your VTFs? All three cartridges I had used with these arms (Van den Hul Frog and Black Beauty, Ortofon Kontrapunkt B) had light VTFs (1.3 to 1.7). Yes, the JMW 9 was much worse than the JMW 10.