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Benz LP cartridge distortion - any advise?

I recently purchased a BENZ LP cartridge here on Audiogon and I am having a frustrating time dialing it in. The main issue is with an unpleasant amount distortion and sibilance heard on vocals. It can also be heard on some brass instruments. Other instrumentation (guitars, bass, drums, etc) sounds clear.

This is my first cartridge of this caliber and I have read that dialing it in takes some work, but I have reached a point where I need to ask for some help. I wonder if someone who is more experienced with this cartridge might be able to give me some direction.

Here is what I am working with:

Benz LP cartridge (original, not the current “S” class), purchased used with 100 hours, currently tracking at 1.9 grams (alignment was performed with a MINT tractor)
VPI Classic turntable with JMW 10.5i tonearm
Graham Slee Elevator, currently loading at 1000 ohms
EAR 834p phono stage
McIntosh MA6600 amplifier
B&W Nautilus 804 speakers

Adjustments in VTA don’t seem to help eliminate the sibilance or distortion.

I appreciate any advise.
woodvale
audioquest4life
721 posts
 
Hi,
I posted a response at AA. It seems to me that
you have a) an anti-skating problem or b) a needle
going/gone bad. Your symptoms are typical
of a used needle. I have a Benz LP that I retipped
once because it had the same symptoms.
First, you must experiment with anti-skating.
Try it with zero/nothing and move up the dial
to see what happens. If you notice a dramatic
change in sibilance than you have part of the
problem. I say part because if you still have some
sibilance after making drastic adjustments than
perhaps the needle is badly worn. When I
was troubleshooting my Benz LP sibilance issues
I found that the anti-skating worked best at 1
on the SME V anti-skate dial.

The tracking force I settled with is 1.75 as
that seemed to be the clearest sounding
with no sibilance problems. I would experiment
with maximum extremes in either VTF and
antiskate and try to sum the settings. Remember
you are listening to the best settings and not
measuring.

I used 1000ohm when the LP was new and
have tried 47 and 10k ohms. I have settled
with 10k on an aesthetix IO.

If all else fails then I would really be
concerned about the health of the needle.

Good luck
audioquest4life
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>04-07-10: Don_c55
Used cartridges with 100 hrs (????) are usually a rip off<<

Really?

Can you provide any evidence to support this?

Thanks in advance
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
Audiofeil:

This thread is an example of one!

Why do so many used cartridge ads state "used only 100 Hrs"?
mjordanas
47 posts
 
Don C55,

I do not know how many cartridges you have had, but heres how you end up with one having 100 hours. You buy new, and run 40 hours break-in, since all carts sound awfully different, in next 50 hours you realise that it is not your cup of tea (while its obvious form the start that this is not the thing you want, everyone just go through that 40 hours barrier to see how actually cart performs).

Of course that does not mean, that all seller are honest. At least he got a Benz Micro LP! There are many plain simple thieves or scammers on AA outthere selling thin air (have cought one selling Nordost Frey, he wanted to rip me off $500).

>This thread is an example of one!
>Why do so many used cartridge ads state "used only 100 Hrs"?
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Is there anyone close to you that can check it under a microscope for wear? This will eliminate or point to wear.
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