Hey ppl, my first post to this forum!

I recently got a good deal on a Benz LP ebony cart to use with my scheu turntable, and unfortunately I think its putting my OL RB250 to shame.. I'm getting sibilants on vocals and distortion on loud passages, which leads me to believe the bearings in the cheap rega can't handle the energy this highend cart is throwing at them.. (I've aligned this cart to the nth degree of precision, done the vta thing, swapped out phono stage, problem always remains). In any case, I'm looking to upgrade the arm to something that will allow the Benz to flex its muscles..

So, as the arm/cart synergy seems to be a critical one, can anyone point me in some directions to look for an arm this cart will love? Ideally, i'd love a schroder, but i don't think either me, or my record grooves could handle 18 months of sibilance while i sit and wait for one.. Any help much appreciated!!

Depending on our budget, you could go SME V or as I did with the SME 309, which I think is a fantastic arm. This especially true at less than half the price of the V.

Thanks for the advice! Yes I've heard the benz and sme are supposed to work really well together, and that's definitely an option I'm considering. Another is the maybe new Graham Phantom. Anyone heard this new graham?

Phantom is a wonderful arm, and a great match!!! PM me if you wish to borrow my personal arm, as it is coming back soon.

Mike
ESC

As much as i dislike Rega arms I would say your problem is most likely elsewhere. Don't get me wrong the first thing i would do is replace that arm. Have you checked you Azimuth ?

I did consider azimuth as a potential cause of my problems. However, as you no doubt know, the rega doesn't really provide for azimuth adjustments. As far as i can tell, the cantilever is pretty much perpendicular to the cartridge. In any case, i tried shimming the cart both ways to not much effect.

I've done my best to eliminate as many other factors as possible.
Tried aligning the cart through 4 different protrators, VTA, VTF, antiskate - none had any noticeable efftct on reducing the distortion
Run headphones straight out of the phono stage to eliminate the downsteam components and room factor.
Swapped phono stage from my Graham Slee Elevator/ Reflex combo to an old MF X-LPS.
My only other cart on hand was an AT440ML, swapped it in, and although there was a reduction in the distortion, it wasn't eliminated (if anything masked, by the less revealing high end).
Tried siting my turntable on different stands and surfaces - no change there either.

The only thing really left to blame is the arm, which needs upgrading anyway. Either that, or my cart is toast! (i sure hope not)..

Is your new cart broken-in yet?
I know my Benz Micro Silver needed at least 30 hours (manufacturer recommended) but it actually is starting to come alive just now, after about 50hrs of play. All the signs of harshness and sibilance are gone and it sounds really good. Actually it sounds AWESOME.

Of course yours is a step (or more) above so you could expect even better results, I suppose.

However I must admit that I bought a boxed Shure M97Ex few months ago and it never souded right. The sibilance never went away and I don't think it ever will. So I guess there is such a thing as a faulty cart out of the box. I suspect screwed-up VTA... the stylus tip is clearly mounted at an excessive angle. I gave up on it for now.
Kris

Cart was bought used from a dealer with around 300 hours on it, so i don't think its a burn-in issue. From what i can see the cart and tip looks in really fine condition, but if my problems persist beyond the arm upgrade, i'll definitely send it in to a professional to get it checked out properly. Apart from the sibilance problems, it does sound really really good, i might add.

I'm still suspecting bearings at this point.. I'm thinking why else would Rega spend so much more time assembling and charge so much more for a rb1000 than a rb300, if not for tighter toleranced and better aligned bearings? And why would they bother if it had no impact on the sound?

Either that, or maybe an unfortunate arm/cart resonance which just happens to hit right in the middle of the vocal range..

Depending on our budget, you could go SME V or as I did with the SME 309, which I think is a fantastic arm. This especially true at less than half the price of the V.Couldn't agree more. Used a Rega RB-900 for a while (on a Rega Model 25), but the SME 309 on the VPI HW-19 Mk IV was a much better combo. And I really preferred the SME 309, which I would hope to own again in the future.

Have you played with the loading of your cartridge? Cartridge loading is an often neglected area, that can make a pretty big difference in the sound of a catridge.

Wow! Thanks everyone for all your help! Really appreciate it!

Yes, cartridge loading is particularly important on the benz especially, as it has such a high internal impedance. I had to switch my phono stage to a Graham Slee Reflex/Elevator EXP combo because it had the loading range i needed.. 8 options from around 23 Ohms to 47K.. I've tried them all. The general consensus seems to be that 470-1K is the ideal range for my model benz, and i would concur..

However the sibilance remains at all settings.. :dammit:

Interconnects. Are you using a good interconnects? The better the IC the better sound. And, different ICs do sound different.

Running a Benz Ebony with a Graham 2.2 and it sounds awesome, No real issues with loading. Running a Blue Circle BC27pi with the stock 47K load. I do notice that is a bit harsh on the first two sides I play. Really smoothes out on the third side, when I have enough time, when it gets to the sixth side its unbelievable.

Don't think you mentioned your tracking weight. I run mine at 2.1 grams. Anything less I get bad sibilance on the HiFi news torture tracks.

X

As I've been able to run headphones straight out of my old mc phono stage, the only cable in question is the tonearm cables themselves, and these are the incognito rega wiring upgrade. They are copper, and probably not the best wires in the world, but i doubt these could be the cause of the problem, from all the good reports they've had from other users..

Actually, listening again to vinyl last night, these also seems to be a distinct lack of bass.. i think this could well be another symptom of the problem I'm experiencing..

Thanks punker X, exactly what I was hoping for - First hand reports!.. I've tried different VTFs, settling on around 2 grams even.. Any more and the sibilance gets worse, if anything, which is more evidence in my book that spurious resonances are the main culprit here.. I know what you mean about the 'warm up period' with vinyl.. I've expeienced this with every vinyl setup i've had since a kid! Same with tubes.. they really come into their own after 2 albums.. must be an analogue thing!

Hey Thanks again for everyone's help! I've hopefully picked up a good deal on a NIB morch dp-6 precision. It should be coming next week. If it all goes through, i'll report back on my findings! Here's hoping all will be solved.. spent far too much on my hifi this year already!

So as a follow up, I got my morch dp-6 in blinging gold last week, and mounted it on my tt. Unfortunately, the armwands supplied were not the ideal ones for my cart, (a green one too light, and blue one too heavy), but have temporaliy mounted my benz upon the heavy arm (blue dot precision) anyway, which should run the resonant frequency a bit low at about 8Hz..

Wow! What an improvement! I've not had the time to dial it in yet, but already it is clear that the tonearm was a big part of my problem. The sound is so much more clean, alive, dynamic, even a lot louder! Deep deep, tight bass too! Now there is a real 'presence' to voices..they just hang in the air.. finally my analogue system is back in its rightful place! (putting my digital front end to shame!) ;)

The best part is I'm able to enjoy my records again. :) Even my small collection of punk, which was just unlistenable with the rega arm.. As far as sibilance goes, there is still the slightest sibilance on the most hairy passages, but it is not exaggerated, and not surprising considering the arm is far from optimised, and the silver tonearm cable not yet burnt in.. Can't wait to see what results can be achived with a bit of time and patience! Thanks everyone for all your help.. one happy camper! :music: