Benz Micro Ruby Z

I was told that this replaces the Ruby 3.........got it instead of the Ruby 3 and it is amazing even with only a few hours on it.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/87343

I love this cartridge so far....a lot of break in left to do............seems to have a very short cantilever so I have to be careful with the first cut when using the VPI ring..a little bass shy, but excellent dynamics.....will experiment more with VTA.....very clean and open in mids and highs..which is critical for my B&W 802's......will let you know more

I have been using this cartridge for a little over three months now and absolutely love it. The Ruby Z is closer to the S-class cartridges than it's Ruby 3 predecessor. The Ruby Z's frequency response is very flat minus a slight dip at about 30 Hz (Benz provides a printout with each cartridge) and the treble, although very detailed, is extremely smooth. The Z is not quite as colored as the 3, however, the mid-range does seem to lean to the slightly warm side. I feel that this cartridges' ability to portray acoustic instruments is unrivaled in it's price range. The Ruby Z tracks perfectly and throws a deep holographic soundstage. I am running mine through a Modwright SWP 9.0 loaded at 1000 Ohms with amazing results.

Hi I just got the Z and while I only have 3 hours on it, it seems to make lots of noise for loading above 500 - 47K ohms. On my Pass XONO (DIY) all loadings from 10 - 470 are fine, I think it actually sounds great at 470, but I wanted to try 870, 1k and 47K, but when I change the loading to these values, I get lots of loud "rustling" noise as I cue to the tonearm over the record. Is that just strange? I noticed you load it at 1000 ohms and everything is fine. Wonder if my has a defect?