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My Benz Micro L2 is due for replacement (loss of high frequency and slightly bent cantilever). I have a VPI Aries w/ JMW 10, SDS controller, Herron Audio MC phono pre-amp. Recently I installed the Anthem Statement D1 pre/pro and P5 amp. Revel Studios round out the system. My preference is for neutral w/ a slightly lush midrange. I think either of these cartridges will do the trick, but I've always wanted a Koetsu Urushi. Am I being blinded by lust, or is it worth the additional $$$?
Follow Ups:
Benz has a "house sound", just as Koetsu does. If you like the overall sound of your L2, but just want an improvement, stick with Benz.Between the two, I'd get the Urushi (review on my site below), finding it much more musically involving than the Ruby 2 or Ebony LP (sorry, I haven't tried the Ruby 3).
OTOH, the Shelter 90x (review below) has the harmonically complete sound of the Urushi with much better bass and a cleaner, more extended treble. I think it even tops the RS Platinum. I enjoyed the Urushi (2 cartridges - a Sugano Sr. and a new production), but after installing the 90x, I never looked back.
Happy listening.
Regards,
JerryS
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for your equipment reviews. I think you influenced my decision to get an Aries over the Immedia RPM.I had the L2 prior to the VPI. Subsequently I've changed my phono stage (to Herron) and my preamp and amplifier (Anthem Statement D1 and P5). With all these changes, it's been kind of hard to decide about the L2. I do know I have to replace it, though, because the cantilever has been damaged (under mysterious circumstances!).
General sonic characteristics of my system at present... bass is tight, full range, midrange coherent, relatively neutral, and treble slighty forward, without unpleasant sibillance. The Anthem equipement is still breaking in as of this writing.
I think I'd like to enrich the midrange without sharpening treble, and leave bass energy alone. It sounds like the Urushi may be a nice fit, but I don't want to roll off dynamics. I have a reasonable upgrade path with Benz or Koetsu. Also, both of these cartridges have characteristics that fit this description. Believe me, it's not like I'm agonizing over this...just wanted some Inmate wisdom before I make my choice.
The ZYX have a design flaw that none has spoke about so far. The body is completely plastic and can not conduct static away from the cartridge through the tone arm. On very dry days, static drives me insane.Yes. I also agree that the ZYX is incredibly lenient with LP surface noise. My ZYX is out of phase by the way.
I have the Ruby 2 prevous to this Cosmos Airy 2S ZYX and miss the Ruby better rendition on any pop material. The ZYX is superb at Classical, Jazz can sometimes sound boring with the ZYX. The ZYX IMO also lacks PRAT or have no concept of it.
Just could not live with the ZYX alone. My cheque is in the mail for a new Ruby 3.
If you like pop more than other music, I would advise that you buy any Koetsu. I'll be also buying one (I hope) soon.
Until you have the wood removed from the cartridge, you would not know how good the Ruby really is.Cartridge is muddied by the body more than you think.
how do you remove the wood?
You can get them from the factory nude or remove the wood with a firm blade knife. It is only silastic in place.You will get more inner detail and no overhang on the bass. Much much more open and clean.
In regards for them to be easier to damage, it is not so. The Benz wood range has got no bottom protection anyway. The wood is just hanging there to provide warmer resonant to hifish system. In good resolution system, the nude cartridge is the cleanest that you can get.
Why make a good generator and colour it with resonating material?
The ZYX range sounds clean because of its revolutionary light plastic body IMO. Almost like nude, but not quite.
interesting...i ask because i own a fairly new ref2 silver, and it wouldn't have ever occured to me to order it nude. And I would be scared to death of trying to remove it with a knife or anything else. yikes! but i would be interested if anyone else has done this and the results they have experienced.
One of the most neutral cartridges you will find. It is not analytical sounding like the Lyra's and the Clearaudios. You want the silver wound coils and the high output if your phono stage is less than 62db of gain.
How does the ZYX 100 sound compared to the Ruby 3. How does the ZYX 100 compare to the Urushi, please? Would you mind describing the sounds in a little detail and the conditions under which you heard each of the cartridges. Thanks.
Haven't heard a Benz.I've heard both an Urushi and an RSP in the same system (Teres 340-2 with Schroeder Ref and Graham 2.2). I own the ZYX R1000 Airy2 (LO, copper coils, silver weight) and use it on a Teres 265/TriPlanar VII.
The Koetsu's are seductive, but they're not realistic or neutral. What they do is slightly roll off the leading edge of every waveform, at every frequency. They do this with great subtlety and finesse, but it quickly became obvious (at least to me and my partner) that the fabled honeyed warmth we were hearing meant listening to the cartridge rather than the music.
The ZYX is neither warm like the Koetsu's nor edgy and hyper-detailed like a Shelter 901. It seems straight down the middle neutral, from top to bottom. It comes closer to being a perfectly linear transducer, so gives a greater sense of transparency between you and the musicians.
The ZYX's do require exacting setup. The microridge stylus is very sensitive to SRA changes. Fortunately, your tonearm makes that easy to deal with. The upside is that the tiny stylus traces tough passages and inner grooves better than anything I've heard.
The Airy2 is a slightly polite cartridge. It's never in your face or forward, so rockers might not enjoy it. For classical or jazz however, it's superb. Another thing it does well is play quiet, pianissimo passages at a breathtakingly low whisper.
A ZYX or Benz would also be a better compliance match for your arm than a Koetsu.
I concur with Jwm's recommendation, though I wasn't aware the gain of one's phono stage was a factor in choosing silver coils or copper. We chose copper coils simply because our Discovery tonearm wire and stepup transformer windings are all copper. FWIW.
P.S. Search the reviews and you'll find an excellent one by Todd Krieger on the Airy2. I agree with everything he said except that he didn't find the cartrdige sensitive to SRA changes. We do, so YMMV.
__________
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - JRRT
As happy as I was with the Airy 2, I just got an Airy 3 with silver coils and silver base to try out and just fell in love. It's absolutely gobsmacking the amount of delicacy and inner detail that's revealed. I'm not sure what changes were made to the cartridge but it's a whole new world. I know it sounds SO cliche but I'm literally hearing things I've never heard before.For example, I have a 1s/1A pressing of Harry Belafonte's Live at Carnegie Hall. On Matilda, with the Airy2 you got an amazing impression of space, the soundstaging was excellent, etc. With the Airy3 you get all that but now there's inner detail that the Airy2 just didn't have. On that track there's a piano WAY down in the mix that's vamping all the way through the track. You can hear it in spots with the 2 but with the 3 it's CLEARLY audible. Also, the sense of dynamics is much improved as well, to where you can hear what the engineers were doing with regards to gain-riding, etc... things that may have been audible with the Airy2 but that weren't resolved in as great a detail. Even with the extra detail, average recordings are still perfectly listenable and excellent recordings are just gobsmacking.
Very often with any new purchase we hear what we want to hear. I'm sure that there have been some minor changes (maybe for the better) in the Airy 3 but let's be realistic here. It's mostly about marketing and maintaining position in the audiophile arena. If anybody really thinks that the Airy 3 sounds monumentally different or is levels above the Airy 2, I for one would challenge that. I'm not saying it doesn't have different attributes but the Airy 2 is a marvelous product and if you're hearing things you didn't hear before, you probably weren't listening close enough.
It's a recording I've listened to countless times via numerous pressings and even on reel to reel thus I'm extremely familiar with it and with this particular pressing.I had both cartridges on identical tonearms (Moerch blue dot precision for the DP-6) aligned identically which made it very easy to switch back and forth. Say what you will but the difference was very noticable.
So other than placebo effect; given nothing else changed what would you attribute the changes to? Unit variation?
It is indeed possible, I suppose, to have had a poor example of an Airy2 and an excellent Airy3. Yet, in going from a standard Airy2 to the Airy2 silver base I noticed changes that were much more subtle. If I 'wanted to hear' a huge improvement, why not then?
Thus, before stating that I need to listen more closely, I suggest you actually do take a listen before forming an opinion based solely on conjecture.
> > Thus, before stating that I need to listen more closely, < <I never said you need to listen more closely; perhaps you need to read a little better. What I said was often times we justify a purchase through subjective claims of better clarity, unheard information, extended transparency, et.al. Egos play a large part in large expenditures. Who among us would like to admit that after dropping 2K on a new cartridge that the difference was minimal? How many posts have you read to that affect? Not many. Does every new more expensive component purchased mean that the system is soncially improved? I think not.
I'm quoting from your post. Your statement above (which I quote) isn't ambiguous. I assert I hear positive differences when comparing the Airy3 to the Airy2. You assert that if I am hearing said differences that I wasn't listening closely enough. Ergo, I need to listen more closely. How else would you expect that statement to be taken??Regarding your assertions on ego and audio purchases, methinks you overgeneralize. I have no trouble calling bullshit on a purchase I made and am very happy to do so. NOT doing so does a disservice to this community. Read my statements regarding the ELP turntable I have.
It's quite easy to sit on the sidelines and take potshots... but until you've heard it for yourself you merely spew conjecture with no knowledge or experience. If you have an airy2, talk to your dealer and see if you can get an Airy3 on a trial basis. Then discuss what I am or am not hearing. Until then, your statements sound like just so much sour grapes.
I hear the same things with my Airy 2 and Silver Windings on the Coils.
oh I just got my airy 2 silver coil.....but I am very happy with it already
I said the higher gain cartridge should be used for certain phono stages. I did not discuss the coils for the above situation. I use the Silver winding coils on my cartridge and it works beautifully with my Basis Arm that is wired with Discovery wire. I have no interface problems. The ZYX cartridge is more nuetral than either of the other two cartridges. The ZYX is more extended and refined than the other two. The bass is tighter than the other two. The Koetsu is seductive in the midrange, but a coloration none the less. The ZYX has the most quietest background that you will ever hear. And yes it is very sensitive to proper setup. VTA off just a teeny bit effects sound. The better your system becomes including the wires and power cords the more you will respect this cartridge. I feel this is the best cartridge around. It beats the Clearaudio which is bright and beats the Lyras which are lean. It beats the Allerts as well. I heard the Myabi 47 and the ZYX beat it too. I would love to hear the 10,000. one but I feel I would have to buy it as well.
Seems like going the wrong way, is less more?
I said it's less "hyper-detailed", as in "hyped detail".The 901 takes every piece of information it can retrieve and throws it to the front of the soundstage, whether it belongs there or not. The Airy retrieves MORE information, ie more detail, but it keeps each detail in its proper perspective. You can still hear the 4th violist sniff and wipe his nose, but it's clearly coming from the middle of the orchestra. With the 901 it's more like he jumped up on the podium to sniff and wipe his nose JUST for you.
__________
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - JRRT
b
__________
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - JRRT
There's a thousand good combos, but I can tell you that I have the Aries 2 with a JMW 10.5 and a Benz Ruby 3,and it is the sweetest set-up I've ever had.
I also have a Lyra Helicon on a JMW 9 on an Acoustic Signature Final Tool (for headphone listening), and the Ruby 3 is a level beyond.
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