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How do the Benz line of cartridges compare with Grado cartridges as to the "type" of sound? If one were using Grados forever, but wanted to go to MC type cartridges, would the Benz line be a good starting point. The entry level Benz sells in the area of $200. I could go up to the 7 or 8 hundred dollar range. Any considerations or recommendations? Thanks
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I have had both brands and the only similarity between the sounds is that they are both on the warm side -- the Grados, quite a bit, while the Benz just a hair.The Benz' will sound bigger and resolve more difficult music. They won't have the incredibly rich and detailed mid-range that the Grado has, though. You'll find the Benz mid-range a bit recessed in comparison. Still, the Benz cartridges are very nice all-rounders. Compared to the detail and speed-demons such as the Lyras and Clearaudio, the Benz really falls between them.
BUT, the Grados come in a low-output version, the Statement series. If your tonearm and your ears like the Grado sound, why switch? The closest you'll find to the Grado sound in a moving coil is a Koetsu.
Actually Fremer found the high end Statement Grado to sound really outstanding.Said it beat up a bunch of 3-5k dollar cartridges he had heard.
Interestingly I don't think he has ever owned one. I have owned all three listed, Benz, Koetsu and Grado.
They are all superb cartridges and each one brings its own pretty dress to the party.
I plan to retip my Grado Ref Master with a line contact to see if I can get the overall Benz quality of digging details from the grooves with the Grado's completely grainless midrange and deep low bass response.
The Grado Wood Body Reference Sonata and Reference Platinum and have also had a Benz Reference, Benz H20, Benz Ruby 3H.Their similaries are that they all had wood bodies. That's where the similarities end.
The Grado IMHO has a ballsy and colored sound that is fine for a small population of recordings but is no where near as refined or detailed as any Benz Moving Coil I have had. Overall, I found the Grado to be fatiguing.
Also, in my tonearm system the Grado clearly had different requirements than the Benz's. In other words, unless you have a tonearm system with several different wands, I don't see how you can optimize the Grado on an arm that is optimal for a Benz, and vice versa. So your choice may be limited to the one that best matches your particular tonearm.
By the way, at the time I went through this swap-a-thon between the Grados and 2 of the Benz's, I was using the same preamp as you.
The Audible Illusions Modulus 3A. Some tell me that this was a contributing factor to the Grado's overly warm presentation.Cheers,
Me, I'm just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk....
-Ray
The lower end Grado woodies just have too many compromises and end up sounding fatiguing. You really need to get to the Reference Master or Reference Statement level to get a correct balance.My tribulations with my Grado were quite demanding on me. I think I tried about 6 different tonearms. It was Mosin's Magnepan Unitrac that finally locked in the sound for the Grado.
It needs a very light mass tonearm with resonance decoupling (carbon graphite) to get rid of the midrange bloom.
That said, the best thing about our hobby is that there are some really outstanding cartridges out in the marketplace for under a thousand that will work with nearly any tonearm on the market. It is simply a matter of getting the tonearm and cartridge optimized as a system.
I have more questions than answers because I think cartridge selection has a high degree of subjectivity and personal preference involved. Are you still using the Oracle with the Grado TLZ? What do you like about it? What are you looking for? Do you like the Grado sound? I'm actually a fan of Grado cartridges and have used a Sonata for the past 3 years. Recently upgraded to a Statement. No regrets with either. There are plenty of Benz fans out there as well.
I don't know what made you use Benz as an example but I would say that the Micro Ace L shares some attributes with the Grado Sonata (while definitely having a "moving coil sound") and would be a good place to start.
I would recommend low-output moving coils; otherwise, why bother?
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