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Benz Ace Hana ES or Dynavector 20XL

C

Conster

pfm Member
Upgrading my Dynavector 10x5 on my Systemdek 11X RB300

Considering the following

Benz Micro Ace
Dynavector 20XL
Hana EL or SL

Will use phono stage from exposure 14/9 17 or Musical Surroundings Nova 1.

Planning on upgrading table shortly. Either a RP8 or new Planar 6
 
The Hana needs a fairly high load (500 ohms or more) and does work well into the Exposure's loading which is 470. My EL sounds fine into the stage of my Super XV - better than it does into a Dynavector P75 in fact.

Out of your list though, having owned one I'd take the Benz.

The new Rega Ania does look very interesting though. :)
 
I agree with Gromit, the Benz Ace would be my choice of those three. Both the Benz and the Hana work perfectly with a 470 ohm loading (I've used both with Exposure phono stages). IIRC the Dynavector requires a much lower loading and is not an ideal combination.
 
I have Benz Ace SL, it is a very nice cartridge. However with such advanced stylus profiles, the lack of azimuth adjustment on Rega could be an issue. I had slight distortion in the right channel on some records. When I adjusted azimuth slightly, the distortion disappeared, unfortunately along with musicality. I used a washer between the cartridge and headshell on Rega RB303, apparently it is best not to place anything between the cart and headshell because the cartridge works best when it has proper contact with the headshell.
I moved Benz to my Sony TT where the headshell offers proper azimuth adjustment.
I like RP6 though and would really like to try the Ania.
 
Conster said:
Upgrading my Dynavector 10x5 on my Systemdek 11X RB300

Considering the following

Benz Micro Ace
Dynavector 20XL
Hana EL or SL

Will use phono stage from exposure 14/9 17 or Musical Surroundings Nova 1.

Planning on upgrading table shortly. Either a RP8 or new Planar 6
Click to expand...


Good question, l two was weighing up another M/C and had the Benz and Hana on me list- what makes the Benz so popular may l enquire?

Sorry to butt in on the thread.:(:)
 
Tarzan said:
Good question, l two was weighing up another M/C and had the Benz and Hana on me list- what makes the Benz so popular may l enquire?

Sorry to butt in on the thread.:(:)
Click to expand...

It's a very good mixture of virtues. The down side is that ultimately it's less transparent than many £1-2k carts. The upside is that it hides that extremely well and sounds very refined compared to most at its price point. It also has a little bit of sweetness and warmth that complements mid-priced decks very well. My instinct is that it would work really well on an RB300, VTA notwithstanding (and you can shim it anyway)

I'm getting my SME back with a Koetsu Rosewood Sig (on dem), but I will definitely be hanging on to my Ace SL no matter what.
 
I've never heard the Hana. But I very much prefer a DV 20X to a Benz Ace. I never quite got along with Benz cart's....I found them all, "fine" I guess but not something I wanted to own.
 
yuckyamson said:
I've never heard the Hana. But I very much prefer a DV 20X to a Benz Ace. I never quite got along with Benz cart's....I found them all, "fine" I guess but not something I wanted to own.
Click to expand...

Apart from the 17Ds, I always found DVs too 'hi fi' and not enough 'music'. Our mileages must vary :)
 
They do. To me it was the opposite. Nothing particularly fantastic about an XX-1L's hi-fi qualities, but man could that thing boogie and slam.
 
RossB said:
I agree with Gromit, the Benz Ace would be my choice of those three. Both the Benz and the Hana work perfectly with a 470 ohm loading (I've used both with Exposure phono stages). IIRC the Dynavector requires a much lower loading and is not an ideal combination.
Click to expand...


I thought the low Ace needs to be loaded lower than the exposure 470ohms?
Something like 120 ohms not sure if that is a bit difference.
 
I think in between for Benz loading; around 200-250 ohms. I think the view that Benz are overly polite is caused by people hearing them at 100 ohms. At 470 I think they would be too bright.

I did try all the possible settings when I borrowed a Benz Wood SL and had a Trilogy 907 at the time, ending up with somewhere around 230, IIRC. A very nice cartridge which I especially liked in Banjoman's system with his slated 401 and 12" PU7. However I still ultimately preferred a Grado Statement Ref in mine, even though it was not as smooth and refined in the high frequencies.
 
Tim Jones said:
It's a very good mixture of virtues. The down side is that ultimately it's less transparent than many £1-2k carts. The upside is that it hides that extremely well and sounds very refined compared to most at its price point. It also has a little bit of sweetness and warmth that complements mid-priced decks very well. My instinct is that it would work really well on an RB300, VTA notwithstanding (and you can shim it anyway)

I'm getting my SME back with a Koetsu Rosewood Sig (on dem), but I will definitely be hanging on to my Ace SL no matter what.
Click to expand...

How many mm do you need to shim a benz ace or hana sl on a rega arm? I am thinking 4mm???
 
Conster said:
How many mm do you need to shim a benz ace or hana sl on a rega arm? I am thinking 4mm???
Click to expand...

I found around 3mm to work best on my RP6, using Michell VTA adjuster. With the tonearm shimmed, the lid will rest on the counterweight. So either fit a different counterweight or shim the lid :)
 
Tim Jones said:
you're using a Rega with the lid on? Sacrilege!
Click to expand...

Not while playing the record :)

What I meant is that the lid will rest on the counterweight while the deck is not in use and I think it may not be the best idea to place anything heavy on the tonearm.
 
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