Found this little jewel online. The seller mis-labeled it as a well-used "ACE Low Output" and priced it accordingly. The seller had the box from an Ace, but the cartridge is a much higher quality Ruby 2 Open Air.
It's kind of tough to sort out the Benz Micro hierarchy over time, but I believe this was the second highest cartridge for Benz from the late nineties to early 2000's. The LP was at the top, then the Ruby in three different configurations. Back then the Ruby sold for $3,000. The modern Ruby in a Zebra wood body has a list price of $ 4,800. The asking price for this one was much, much lower - so I bought it!
The "Ruby" in the name refers to the material used for its square plate generator which holds the windings. The cantilever is boron and the original stylus was a line contact profile.
Benz cartridges at this level are hand assembled in Switzerland. My other MC carts are Japanese, so this brings a little European variety to my small collection of carts.
I cleaned it well and listened to it for about 12 hours to see what kind of shape it was in. It's VERY finicky to set up and changes in VTA and loading made profound differences in the sound. Once it's dialed in, though, it is smooth and balanced - very detailed and easy to listen to.
But it's also well worn and I'm hearing distortion in the midrange and sibilance that tells me it's time to get the stylus replaced. So off to Soundsmith it goes for a new "optimized contour" stylus, keeping all the original elements including the cantilever in place.
Wish me luck! In 4 to 14 weeks I hope to be back with an update.
It's kind of tough to sort out the Benz Micro hierarchy over time, but I believe this was the second highest cartridge for Benz from the late nineties to early 2000's. The LP was at the top, then the Ruby in three different configurations. Back then the Ruby sold for $3,000. The modern Ruby in a Zebra wood body has a list price of $ 4,800. The asking price for this one was much, much lower - so I bought it!
The "Ruby" in the name refers to the material used for its square plate generator which holds the windings. The cantilever is boron and the original stylus was a line contact profile.
Benz cartridges at this level are hand assembled in Switzerland. My other MC carts are Japanese, so this brings a little European variety to my small collection of carts.
I cleaned it well and listened to it for about 12 hours to see what kind of shape it was in. It's VERY finicky to set up and changes in VTA and loading made profound differences in the sound. Once it's dialed in, though, it is smooth and balanced - very detailed and easy to listen to.
But it's also well worn and I'm hearing distortion in the midrange and sibilance that tells me it's time to get the stylus replaced. So off to Soundsmith it goes for a new "optimized contour" stylus, keeping all the original elements including the cantilever in place.
Wish me luck! In 4 to 14 weeks I hope to be back with an update.
