Benz Ebony vs Wood


Is the ebony much better or just slightly. I have a Graham 2.2 tonearm and should get the most out of them. Im trading in a L2. I listen to mostly rock music
128x128blueranger
Can't precisely answer your question but I can get close. I have a low-output Ebony (S version) and high out-put mono Wood (pre-S-version), which I use on a Phantom II. The Ebony is clearly more refined and balanced through the frequency range, with better bass and micro-detail and dimensionality. It has a slight lift in the HF but it's a very good cartridge. Sometimes, on some LPs, I prefer it to my A90. The HO Wood mono is relatively thinner in sound, less nuanced, and more tilted upward. It's an okay cartridge but not in the same league.

Of course, for a variety of reasons, these two cartridges are not directly comparable. Nonetheless, one may extrapolate. Based on my experience of the HO mono Wood, I probably wouldn't buy a LO stereo Wood, even the newer S-version, especially after listening to the Ebony.
I replaced a LO output Wood with the Ruby Z on my modified Well Tempered deck into a Reflection Audio phono stage. This was a substantial improvement across the board.

The current Ebony series is extremely low output. At those levels the actual synergy between phono stage and the Ebony is more than just the numbers. The best place to get these answers is Musical Surroundings.
A few years ago I replaced a low-output Wood L2 with a Benz LP (pre-S version). The LP was a major improvement across the spectrum---more solid bass, more detail, smoother and better tracking. The L2 is certainly a decent cartridge but the bass always sounded a bit hollow to me. Both were used on a Triplanar VII.2