Comparison of some Cartridges in the 4k segment, MKII : Etsuro, Hana, Benz, Allnic, Kiseki, Phasemation

[Shindomaniaco]

Will write about it, but in Europe is summer time and I am for a kind of 3 month journey with my camper around, no turntable installedoh

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Welcome shindomaniaco to wbf.

 

[Shindomaniaco]

Sounds amazing, I can’t imagine being parted from my rig for that length of time. Hope you’re having fun

Will write about it, but in Europe is summer time and I am for a kind of 3 month journey with my camper around, no turntable installed

 

[shakti]

Being back from a long sweet summer journey, now winter is knocking on my door, coming with nice long dark knights, perfect to listen to music. It took some time to reactivate my gear, that it sounds as good as before, but after some days everything is back to normal and I am able to continue and to complete this thread, describing the

Benz LP-S:

physical
Body: vented machined Ebony wood
Cantilever: solid boron rod: 0,28mm diameter
Stylus: nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished
Stylus tip radius: 3 x 60 µm
Vertical tracking angle (VTA): 20 degrees
Coil: square ruby jewel plate
Weight: 16,4 grams

Electrical
Output voltage: 0,34mV at 3,54 cm/s
Internal impedance: 38 ohms
Frequency response: 10 – 50.000 Hz +/- 1dB
Channel balance: better than 0,5dB
Channel separation: better than 35dB at 1 kHz

Dynamic
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at a tracking force of 2 grams: > 80 µm
Dynamic compliance: 15 µm/mN

Setup instructions
Recommended loading: 500 – 47.000 ohms
Recommended tracking force: 1,8 – 2,2 grams
Optimum tracking force: 1,8 – 2,0 grams
Recommended tonearm mass: medium to high
Optimum working temperature: 23° C
Break-in period: 40 hours

Benz has 2 cartridges in that segment on offer, the naked Benz SLR Gullwing and the LP-S. Both do have the same generator, cantilever, diamond assembly in different chassis. As I like ebony wood being used for cartridges, the LP-S was my choice.

It took some time to find a matching headshell / Tonearm combination, as the LP-S is a very heavy cart (16,4g) ,
in comparison : the Kiseki Black Heart has around 10gram less.
The heavy cart comes in combination with a medium compliance of 15, so you can imagine, that I had to try some combinations to find something working fine.

As mostly, the SME 3012r performed well, but the most time I listened to the Benz LP-S fitted to the original Kenwood tonearm of the Kenwood L-07d using a Oyaide Carbon Headshell.

Comparing the Benz to the Etsuro Blue, the Benz plays with more weight in the lower registers, voices, specially male voices seem to have big thorax. Resolution is very fine, the Benz has a very sharp needle, , soundstage is deep and precise. The Benz LP-S would be a perfect match to my a little leaner playing Technics SL-1000 MKII, but I cannot fit the LP-S into the Technics EPA-100 tonearm, the damping would not work.

I previous time I had a Benz LP-S fitted to a SME 30 MKII turntable with SME V tonearm, which has worked nicely together.

For me it looks like, the the LP-S is voiced in a more modern (leaner and analytical sounding) tonearm, so that the weight of the lower registers of the LP-S finds an offset.

Personally I do like the LP-S a lot, as I listen to singer- song writer music and the LP-S gives to this music a very intimate and emotional access. If combined in the right way, one of the better carts in this comparison.

Unfortunatley Mr Lukaschek (the owner of Benz) has currently close to zero output, so very difficult to find one of the becoming rare new Benz LP-S carts.

There are some derivatives from this cart existing, as Lukaschek has worked as OEM Partner to a wide range of companies.
(Scheu, Cardas, Audio Exclusive and more)

 

[tony22]

Thanks for the Benz update! I’ve been very happy with mine. Your description is right in line with my own impressions.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Being back from a long sweet summer journey, now winter is knocking on my door, coming with nice long dark knights, perfect to listen to music. It took some time to reactivate my gear, that it sounds as good as before, but after some days everything is back to normal and I am able to continue and to complete this thread, describing the

Benz LP-S:

physical
Body: vented machined Ebony wood
Cantilever: solid boron rod: 0,28mm diameter
Stylus: nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished
Stylus tip radius: 3 x 60 µm
Vertical tracking angle (VTA): 20 degrees
Coil: square ruby jewel plate
Weight: 16,4 grams

Electrical
Output voltage: 0,34mV at 3,54 cm/s
Internal impedance: 38 ohms
Frequency response: 10 – 50.000 Hz +/- 1dB
Channel balance: better than 0,5dB
Channel separation: better than 35dB at 1 kHz

Dynamic
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at a tracking force of 2 grams: > 80 µm
Dynamic compliance: 15 µm/mN

Setup instructions
Recommended loading: 500 – 47.000 ohms
Recommended tracking force: 1,8 – 2,2 grams
Optimum tracking force: 1,8 – 2,0 grams
Recommended tonearm mass: medium to high
Optimum working temperature: 23° C
Break-in period: 40 hours

Benz has 2 cartridges in that segment on offer, the naked Benz SLR Gullwing and the LP-S. Both do have the same generator, cantilever, diamond assembly in different chassis. As I like ebony wood being used for cartridges, the LP-S was my choice.

It took some time to find a matching headshell / Tonearm combination, as the LP-S is a very heavy cart (16,4g) ,
in comparison : the Kiseki Black Heart has around 10gram less.
The heavy cart comes in combination with a medium compliance of 15, so you can imagine, that I had to try some combinations to find something working fine.

As mostly, the SME 3012r performed well, but the most time I listened to the Benz LP-S fitted to the original Kenwood tonearm of the Kenwood L-07d using a Oyaide Carbon Headshell.

Comparing the Benz to the Etsuro Blue, the Benz plays with more weight in the lower registers, voices, specially male voices seem to have big thorax. Resolution is very fine, the Benz has a very sharp needle, , soundstage is deep and precise. The Benz LP-S would be a perfect match to my a little leaner playing Technics SL-1000 MKII, but I cannot fit the LP-S into the Technics EPA-100 tonearm, the damping would not work.

I previous time I had a Benz LP-S fitted to a SME 30 MKII turntable with SME V tonearm, which has worked nicely together.

For me it looks like, the the LP-S is voiced in a more modern (leaner and analytical sounding) tonearm, so that the weight of the lower registers of the LP-S finds an offset.

Personally I do like the LP-S a lot, as I listen to singer- song writer music and the LP-S gives to this music a very intimate and emotional access. If combined in the right way, one of the better carts in this comparison.

Unfortunatley Mr Lukaschek (the owner of Benz) has currently close to zero output, so very difficult to find one of the becoming rare new Benz LP-S carts.

There are some derivatives from this cart existing, as Lukaschek has worked as OEM Partner to a wide range of companies.
(Scheu, Cardas, Audio Exclusive and more)

Thank you very much, Shakti!

 

[audioquest4life]

Comparing the Benz to the Etsuro Blue, the Benz plays with more weight in the lower registers, voices, specially male voices seem to have big thorax. Resolution is very fine, the Benz has a very sharp needle, , soundstage is deep and precise. The Benz LP-S would be a perfect match to my a little leaner playing Technics SL-1000 MKII, but I cannot fit the LP-S into the Technics EPA-100 tonearm, the damping would not work.

I previous time I had a Benz LP-S fitted to a SME 30 MKII turntable with SME V tonearm, which has worked nicely together.

For me it looks like, the the LP-S is voiced in a more modern (leaner and analytical sounding) tonearm, so that the weight of the lower registers of the LP-S finds an offset.

Personally I do like the LP-S a lot, as I listen to singer- song writer music and the LP-S gives to this music a very intimate and emotional access. If combined in the right w

Unfortunatley Mr Lukaschek (the owner of Benz) has currently close to zero output, so very difficult to find one of the becoming rare new Benz LP-S carts.

There are some derivatives from this cart existing, as Lukaschek has worked as OEM Partner to a wide range of companies.
(Scheu, Cardas, Audio Exclusive and more)

Thanks for the write up about the Benz LPS. It had been my benchmark cartridge since the mid 2000s when it started out as the just the Benz LP.

Your findings mirror mind regarding the LPS, except, that on my system, I felt the mids a little polite, but not grossly under exaggerated. This was compared to Soundsmith Sussaro MKII, MSL Gold, Soundsmith Hyperion OCL, and Van Den Hul Colibri.

I guess I need to hang on and cherish my 2 Benz LPS cartridges and 1 Ruby Z due to their scarcity. I have one LPS mounted on an SME V arm and the Hyperion on another SME V arm. I installed the Sussaro MKII on the Transrotor Dark Star which seems to mate well with the Transrotor/Jelco derived tonearm.

Looking forward to further listening impressions of this and other cartridges.

 

[shakti]

As this thread has still many readers, I like to continue my story with carts in this segment.

One of my current focus is comparing tonearms!, Very important is the use of carts of the same type.

Trying some different carts, I had the chance to get in total 3 nearly brand new

Accuphase AC-5

MC Cartridges.

A good start to compare tonearms

This cart was built between 2010 and 2017, the components are from ZYX and MSL,
to my knowledge the cart was manufactured by MSL.

The date read very universal:

(Sorry, in German, but the data as such will be easily understood)

Technische Daten

• Prinzip: Dynamisch, Moving Coil (MC)
• Frequenzgang: 20 - 20.000 Hz, ± 1 dB
• Kanaltrennung: 30 dB (1 kHz)
• Kanalbalance: 0,5 dB (1 kHz)
• Übersprechdämpfung: 30 dB (1 kHz)
• Ausgangsspannung: 0,24 V (1 kHz)
• Abschlußwiderstand: 4,5 Ohm (1 kHz)
• Induktion:
• Nadeltyp: Microridge Diamant
• Empfohlene Auflagekraft: 2 g, ± 0,25 g
• Nadelnachgiebigkeit:
  • Lateral: 15x 10^-6 cm/dyn
  • Vertikal: 12x 10^-6 cm/dyn
    
    

The cart was around 4k in Germany, but sometime you can get this cart for a fair price in the used market,
even some dealer might carry old stock.

To my ears this AC-5 cart is a perfect blend between the sweetness of Zyx and the details and dynamics of a My Sonic Lab cart.
For some phono stages the MSL carts are difficult, because of their low impedance and high output.
With the AC-5 you get a blend of MSL, but with standard data, means a kind of universal 1:20 step up is just perfect .

Unfortunately my customers convinced me to sell them my 3 examples too fast,
but may be I find another opportunity to find gain some nearly NOS.

 

[mtemur]

As this thread has still many readers, I like to continue my story with carts in this segment.

One of my current focus is comparing tonearms!, Very important is the use of carts of the same type.

Trying some different carts, I had the chance to get in total 3 nearly brand new

Accuphase AC-5

MC Cartridges.

A good start to compare tonearms

This cart was built between 2010 and 2017, the components are from ZYX and MSL,
to my knowledge the cart was manufactured by MSL.

The date read very universal:

(Sorry, in German, but the data as such will be easily understood)

Technische Daten

• Prinzip: Dynamisch, Moving Coil (MC)
• Frequenzgang: 20 - 20.000 Hz, ± 1 dB
• Kanaltrennung: 30 dB (1 kHz)
• Kanalbalance: 0,5 dB (1 kHz)
• Übersprechdämpfung: 30 dB (1 kHz)
• Ausgangsspannung: 0,24 V (1 kHz)
• Abschlußwiderstand: 4,5 Ohm (1 kHz)
• Induktion:
• Nadeltyp: Microridge Diamant
• Empfohlene Auflagekraft: 2 g, ± 0,25 g
• Nadelnachgiebigkeit:
  • Lateral: 15x 10^-6 cm/dyn
  • Vertikal: 12x 10^-6 cm/dyn

The cart was around 4k in Germany, but sometime you can get this cart for a fair price in the used market,
even some dealer might carry old stock.

To my ears this AC-5 cart is a perfect blend between the sweetness of Zyx and the details and dynamics of a My Sonic Lab cart.
For some phono stages the MSL carts are difficult, because of their low impedance and high output.
With the AC-5 you get a blend of MSL, but with standard data, means a kind of universal 1:20 step up is just perfect .

Unfortunately my customers convinced me to sell them my 3 examples too fast,
but may be I find another opportunity to find gain some nearly NOS.

View attachment 129484

I can see from the picture that it employs a carbon cantilever which I’m not very fond of. It may sound great though. I haven’t heard new Accuphase cartridges yet.