Benz Micro Ace SL set up.

First please excuse the newbie questions this is only the 2nd cart I have ever fitted I have always, always paid a pro to do it before.

I have just acquired a Micro Ace SL and have managed to fit it to my Ittok but am wondering if I have it at it's optimum with my deck and phono stage. When I first tried to fit it the screws it came with where too long so as I tightened them the plastic body came away well it looked so nice nude I decided to fit it that way first. I tested it with a new LP I have never heard before and it sounded fantastic better than any cart I have ever had to say it put a smile on my face is an understatement.

I had forgot to change the weight from the 2.2 that my old 10x5 used to have and I later discovered that my test LP was 45rpm I had been playing it at 33rpm but it sounded so good by the way my Trichord Dino was set to 100 ohms.

Anyway I decided to give it a try with the body on with shorter screws and it just does not sound as good I have correct weight now at 1.8 the cart is sat slightly forward in the Ittoks head with about the first 1/4 showing and is still set at 100 ohms in the Dino.

I have read that this cart likes the arm's vta to be slightly tail up so should I try this? Also the cartridge tags are a bit loose on the pins would this make a difference? Lastly should I set the cart further back in the ittoks head so it is flush?

Would having the cart nude and that extra weight really have made a difference I have read not? Don't get me wrong this is a lovely cart as it is but it just does not sound as good as it did when I set it up nude.

ps. I played my Mrs one of her favourite LP's and she said it sounded far away it was an old well loved and well played flimsy 80's press in need of a good clean but she said it didn't sound that way before.

Benz plastic body certainly will add some unwanted resonance , run it nude if sounds better ,
In my case 100ohm loading works which is within advisable x8-10 cartridge impedance , some swear it sounds amazingly better at different loading , I tried , measured and the difference is unmeasurable and tbh I couldn't hear any difference .
I tend to set tracking force bit higher(safe side) and run Ace Sl ~1.85g , cartridge bottom parallel to the record , azimuth - this makes big difference , mine is tilted 0.2 clockwise (looking from the front) I use dr. Feickert Adjust plus and oscilloscope for this .
What geometry do you use , Baerwald? Benz needs very accurate setup.
I would send it for microscope inspection to check the wear on the tip of the stylus , but it's me .

I didn't know it could be nuded, so thats a new one on me, I worried about not having a cover let alone a body to protect it!

I think a lot carts can be nuded, plastic bodies removed the idea being reduced resonance from the plastic body.

Obviously you have to know what your doing, go carefully or potentially it's a ruined cart and tears.

Also, everything exposed can impart a sense of dread and vulnerability that some might struggle to overcome and therefore wont go there (me for instance :eek: :lol:)

Must be something in it in terms of improvement though - The Sumiko Blue Point I believe it is comes manufactured that way / nuded and then you have the high end Ortofon A90 / A95 that have a bit of an 'exposed' design about them too.

The body of the Ace comes of very easily as it isn't fixed at all and is a snug fit but as RobbieGong says not for the faint hearted cue up after one too many and you could be crying. Although the Ace body comes of easily enough it is not easy to take on and off on and off it's either on or off.

Last night I took the body off for listening and put it back on when I'd finished there is a knack to this with a steady hand and it is a bit of a pain but worth it IMO.

I sat in my listening room last night nude , Didnt sound any different to me :scratch:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Audio Al

I sat in my listening room last night nude , Didnt sound any different to me :scratch:

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so you stripped the wallpaper off eh?;)

As an update after a week or more swapping around I have found I prefer the Ace with it's body on because nude it is more open to interference and the slight improvement in sound became less noticeable as I got used to the over all sound signature.