I've got wood.

[02audionoob]

The P5 is now sportin' a Benz, although I'm a Bimmer driver. The Dynavector 10X4 goes in the drawer with the Goldring Eroica. Based on what I'm hearing from the Benz, the others may be 'gon soon.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6221/6855696720_05cd640f1e_b.jpg

[JohnMichael]

My Rega Planar 2 has wood.

[02audionoob]

Your cartridge was at least a little bit of an encouragement for me to get wood.

[GMichael]

You guys are killing me.:eek6:

[Jack in Wilmington]

Nice Noob. Looks very........regal, shall we say. I'm assuming this is your first wood cartridge and from the sounds of it, it won't be your last. Which Benz is it? Don't bring the Bimmer into your audio room and you'll be OK.

[Worf101]

Depending on your age, I was going to offer "congratulations".

Worf

[bobsticks]

As a mod I approach any thread that originates in the P.M. hours and includes pictures and the title "I've Got Wood" with a certain degree of trepidation.

Nice cart though! :p

[frenchmon]

Depending on your age, I was going to offer "congratulations".

Worf

Hahahahaha! Good one Worf!


Which cart is it noob? And can you describe its character?

[02audionoob]

This particular Benz is the LO 0.4 model, which is the predecessor to the current SL Wood model. I had never ventured as low as 0.4 mV before, which is why my eye was starting to wander a little on phono preamps. I was concerned the GCPH wouldn’t have enough gain. I have now found I can call off the chase. The volume level is entirely sufficient. That’s a good thing – I didn’t want to give up the GCPH. I’m sort of relieved I don’t have to make more changes and take more chances on gear I can’t audition.

I bought this cartridge used, with a broken cantilever, and had it rebuilt by Soundsmith rather than Benz. Now it’s a bit of a hybrid, since it has a ruby cantilever and a fine line stylus instead of the boron of a Benz and the Gyger S stylus. I say this because now its character is naturally altered by the non-Benz rebuild. The guy who sold it to me mentioned afterward that he has been happier with his Soundsmith rebuild on a Benz than with his original Benz cartridges. I’m not surprised to hear that – we all have our preferences – and it made me feel like the Soundsmith route was going to be good enough for me, too.

What I’ve heard from this cartridge so far is an extraordinary level of detail, compared to the 10X4 and the Eroica, without leaning toward bright or analytical. It’s like it has a touch of warmth, without muddying anything up on the highs. I think it’s closer in overall presentation to the Goldring, but with more extension of both highs and lows.

One hazard of the greater level of detail has been to remind me I need a better copy of the Rickie Lee Jones debut album. The Benz doesn’t make all the little scratches sound bad, but it does play them quite clearly. I was just now spinning the Norah Jones debut. It’s fun hearing new layers of subtlety in the cymbals and things like that. Now I'm on to Ahmad Jamal's live recording at The Pershing. Nothing on it has astonished me, but again it's fun to hear the occasional new levels of detail on a record I've played many times.

I still need to do some listening and perhaps experimenting to get a good feel. I’ve got it running a little bit tail-down and a little lighter on the tracking force than Soundsmith’s recommendation. I’m going to go heavier for a while and maybe add another shim for while...and maybe shop for another Rickie Lee Jones record...maybe the 180g re-issue.

[frenchmon]

Sounds like you are having fun over there noob! Good for you and congrats. Did you get the cart off of audiogon? I have seen several things there but I chicken out on a purchase....I would hate to get ripped. Well I guess you really have a keeper in the GCPH. I shall have the Simaudio very soon.Right now I have the Grado Phono 1 which surprised me in its performance....its a real foot tapping little phono amp. I added it along with a Wire World Electra 52 power cord to my preamp. Together they are great! I hope the simaudio has the same level of synergy with the Electra 52 as did the Grado. Its always fun to discover your records all over again with new gear.

Cheers...

[02audionoob]

Nice Noob. Looks very........regal, shall we say. I'm assuming this is your first wood cartridge and from the sounds of it, it won't be your last. Which Benz is it? Don't bring the Bimmer into your audio room and you'll be OK.

This is indeed my first wood cartridge, and I too would guess it won't be my last. I had a feeling wood cartridges were a good idea, even though I don't know why I think that. I took a chance on the 0.4 model, and now I'm glad I did.


Sounds like you are having fun over there noob! Good for you and congrats. Did you get the cart off of audiogon? I have seen several things there but I chicken out on a purchase....I would hate to get ripped. Well I guess you really have a keeper in the GCPH. I shall have the Simaudio very soon.Right now I have the Grado Phono 1 which surprised me in its performance....its a real foot tapping little phono amp. I added it along with a Wire World Electra 52 power cord to my preamp. Together they are great! I hope the simaudio has the same level of synergy with the Electra 52 as did the Grado. Its always fun to discover your records all over again with new gear.

Cheers...

I got this from a seller on a forum, rather than from a Audiogon or auction listing. People seem to be jumping ship on Audiogon, lately. I actually haven't bought or sold there in a long time. I finally cancelled my account just last week. In some respects, I prefer eBay because of the recourse they offer the buyer in a bad deal. But I've been trading quite a bit with forum members and have been very happy. I get fair prices when I sell, without too many low offers. I try to treat people the same way when I'm buying.

[frenchmon]

I saw a Grado Reference Sonata on Audiogon listed at $150. Guy said it needed a retip which can be had at another $150 from Soundsmith. Sounded like a good deal and the guy has a good feed back, but I just cant, and yeah.....theres a lot of negative talk about the Gon now.....especially on Audio Asylum which is trying to build up its classifieds.

[Jack in Wilmington]

I just bought a cable upgrade for my headphones on Audiogon and the seller said that they were having problems too. I just sold a set of speakers wires and an A/B switching box on Ebay for the same reason that Noob said. You do have more recourse on Ebay if the deal goes south.

[Enochrome]

This is indeed my first wood cartridge, and I too would guess it won't be my last. I had a feeling wood cartridges were a good idea, even though I don't know why I think that. I took a chance on the 0.4 model, and now I'm glad I did.



I got this from a seller on a forum, rather than from a Audiogon or auction listing. People seem to be jumping ship on Audiogon, lately. I actually haven't bought or sold there in a long time. I finally cancelled my account just last week. In some respects, I prefer eBay because of the recourse they offer the buyer in a bad deal. But I've been trading quite a bit with forum members and have been very happy. I get fair prices when I sell, without too many low offers. I try to treat people the same way when I'm buying.

Great score noob! That looks like a killer cart and from your description it sounds like one too. That was a smart and courageous move getting the cart and then the retip. I was about to ask you on the phono preamp thread why you were replacing the ps audio for the jasmine; good to hear that it has enough gain.
How does the cart mate with your new counterweight on the rega tonearm?

I personally am one of those jumping ship from Audiogon, because: the site is run really poorly, the fees are getting ridiculous, and more often all the reasonable sellers and buyers are gone. The site is filled with extreme low ballers, who try to get around all the fees, and dealers who are over priced. I now use Audio Asylum and Canuck Audio Mart because their are no fees. Shoot even Ebay is looking better! Audio Aslum just redid their classified section and works better than Audiogon and it's still free. Everyone should gravitate over their that way their will be more offerings.

Did the compliance change on the Benz with the retip?

[JohnMichael]

Noob glad to hear Soundsmith did a good job with the rebuild. I was thinking about sending my Benz Gold to Soundsmith but now I am thinking about taking your route. I could buy a damaged Swiss made Benz and ship it off to Soundsmith. Of course I love my Grado Sonata so it would be some time before I got around to doing anything.

[02audionoob]

Depending on your age, I was going to offer "congratulations".

Worf
I actually didn’t mean to brag…or did I?:arf:


Great score noob! That looks like a killer cart and from your description it sounds like one too. That was a smart and courageous move getting the cart and then the retip. I was about to ask you on the phono preamp thread why you were replacing the ps audio for the jasmine; good to hear that it has enough gain.
How does the cart mate with your new counterweight on the rega tonearm?

I personally am one of those jumping ship from Audiogon, because: the site is run really poorly, the fees are getting ridiculous, and more often all the reasonable sellers and buyers are gone. The site is filled with extreme low ballers, who try to get around all the fees, and dealers who are over priced. I now use Audio Asylum and Canuck Audio Mart because their are no fees. Shoot even Ebay is looking better! Audio Aslum just redid their classified section and works better than Audiogon and it's still free. Everyone should gravitate over their that way their will be more offerings.

Did the compliance change on the Benz with the retip?

I’ve been experimenting with tracking force and I think it isn’t as low as Soundsmith’s tracking-force recommendation of 2.2 to 2.3 grams would imply. At that force, the sound begins to lose a little punch and I get a skating force that the P5’s tonearm doesn’t seem to be able to overcome. Near the end of the record, I think I can even see the cantilever start to lean a tiny bit. Very strange. I’ve tried the tracking force as low as 1.8 grams and it sounds great. I’m back up to 2.0 grams and I think I’ve hit the sweet spot. So the short answer is – I think compliance probably is in the same neighborhood as original, given that the middle of the original Benz-recommended tracking-force range seems to work the best. It is clearly the most-forgiving of surface noise at this force. It seems to be able to track absolutely anything I give it. Detail level and soundstage seem best there, too. There’s even a more three-dimensional quality about the soundstage at this force than at more or less force.

I’ll also add that this is with the Rega’s tracking-force dial set at 3 grams and then using the counterweight and a Shure gauge to get the 2.0 grams. If I move the dial in to 2 grams I can move the counterweight in, which changes the sound a little. I’ll try it that way before I settle on something for the long term.


Noob glad to hear Soundsmith did a good job with the rebuild. I was thinking about sending my Benz Gold to Soundsmith but now I am thinking about taking your route. I could buy a damaged Swiss made Benz and ship it off to Soundsmith. Of course I love my Grado Sonata so it would be some time before I got around to doing anything.

One thing about Soundsmith I would add…on my two cartridges the turnaround time was 6 weeks, not the 10 to 12 weeks the website will tell you when you submit the repair order. Maybe they prefer to under-promise and over-deliver.

[JohnMichael]

One thing about Soundsmith I would add…on my two cartridges the turnaround time was 6 weeks, not the 10 to 12 weeks the website will tell you when you submit the repair order. Maybe they prefer to under-promise and over-deliver.



As do I.