The Benz Ebony S H review

[Wakefield Turntables]

I've been given the oppotunity to purchase one of these :eyebrows: Thing is I own a Sugden Masterclass PA-4 phonostage, it has 2 MC inputs, one at 470ohm loading and the other at 100 ohm loading, I think both of these have an input sensitivity of 0.15mv. I've tracked down a spec sheet for the Benz Ebony S H and it's recommended loading is >1000 ohms and a output voltage of 2.5mv http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/cartr.html. Would my phonostage be able to handle this. Something tells me that it cant handle it and I'd like the opinions of people that have far more knowledge than I on the subject. I intend to use the cartridge with a SME V. Please help!!!!!!!

[drrd]

Not the same cartridge I know but I checked this issue out for my LP-S before I bought it. I read a review that recommended 500ohm loading, the shop I bought it from were saying nothing less than 1K but I asked the shop to email Benz themselves and then got this reply:

"Since sending the email this morning, we communicated with the manufacturer and they confirmed that the recommended loading for both LP and LP-S is "less than 100 Ohms"."

I've tried it at 1K, 500ohm, 200ohm and I really have to agree with Benz that under 100ohm sounds best. It's not really like a tone control, there's just less overhang to notes with lower resistor values, less bloat and better precision to bass, less ringing in the high frequencies.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Sounds like I could use it on my 100 ohm MC input :eyebrows: Still any more information on the subject would be extremely welcome!!

[sq225917]

The short answer is not likely, it depends on the overload margins on the phonostage and your pre-amp.


Curiously I run my Lp into 47K ohms...

Lower resistive loading does nothing to the low frequency roll off, only the HF. It doesn't alter the bass, though you may perceive the balance shift as doing that.

[drrd]

Loading alters damping so it's not a simple top-end EQ though I agree it's more audible in the HF.

[blake]

Notwithstanding the loading issues (The Benz LP and LP-S are low output versions with much lower internal impedances and different loading requirements than the Ebony S-H), an input sensitivity of .15 mV is indicative of about 64 db of gain in the phono stage.

If you run that cartridge into that input chances are extremely high that you will have very, very bad sound.

To put things into perspective, an MC input with .15 mV sensitivity is designed to mate optimally from a gain perspective with a cartridge that has a .2 mV output. With the Ebony S-H you have more than 10X that amount of gain. Plus, it does appear that it should probably be loaded around the 1000 ohm mark when you look at the manufacturer's specification.

The Ebony S-H ideally requires about 42 db of gain providing you get the loading right. The PA-4 has about 37 db of gain on the MM input so not enough gain on the MM input and way too much on the MC.

Conclusion: the PA-4 is not a good match for this cartridge.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Fantasic! Thanks Blake, I now have a better idea of how to match MC's and phonostages.

[blake]

Fantasic! Thanks Blake, I now have a better idea of how to match MC's and phonostages.

Hi Andrew: The KAB phono preamp parameter calculator is particularly useful on this type of stuff. It is at the bottom of the phono preamp page on the KAB website here:

http://kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/phonpre.htm


High output MC's can be a bit troublesome in that they generally fall into a bit of a "no man's land" with phono stages with fixed gain. In many cases the MM input will not have enough gain and the MC input will have too much, notwithstanding the issue of loading.

I think it's critical to get gain and loading right with MC's, but particularly so with low output MC's. Too little gain, as well as too much gain (even if it is not pushing the phono preamp into overload) both result in compromised sound quality. It pays to get them right. While nothing is really etched in stone with this stuff, I have found the KAB calculator to be very good.

[Wakefield Turntables]

So in a nutshell i should be looking for a MC with a similar mv output to the sensitivity of the MC input. This is going to be painful so please dont laugh, lets see if I have got this correct. AN ortofon Rohman cartridge has a output of 250 uV which if my maths is correct is roughly .25mv (being a quater of a full millivolt??? So whilst the Rohman is not a perfect match to the PA4's input sensitivity at 0.15mv its certainly better than the Benz at 2.5mv. So, in theory near matching input sensitivity and cartridge output should give better matching gain. Please correct me if I'm wrong!! :scratch:

[blake]

So in a nutshell i should be looking for a MC with a similar mv output to the sensitivity of the MC input. This is going to be painful so please dont laugh, lets see if I have got this correct. AN ortofon Rohman cartridge has a output of 250 uV which if my maths is correct is roughly .25mv (being a quater of a full millivolt??? So whilst the Rohman is not a perfect match to the PA4's input sensitivity at 0.15mv its certainly better than the Benz at 2.5mv. So, in theory near matching input sensitivity and cartridge output should give better matching gain. Please correct me if I'm wrong!! :scratch:

Yes, that's not a bad way of looking at it and will get you pretty close. Personally, with low output MC's, if you know the output, using the KAB calculator if you can stay within 2-3 db of the gain the calculator shows is required should be ok. Right on would be great. Once you get 4-5 db out on either sider (under or over) my experience is that sound quality is generally going to be severely compromised.

[drrd]

Sorry I didn't even notice where the decimal point was last night, hee hee :). Blake is absolutely right and the Benz output voltage is more than 10x the optimum. 64db of gain is about 1600x, 0.2mV would give you 320mV and would be ideal and I'm sure 0.25mV would be ok too. I notice Benz quote RMS output for 3.54cm/s and not 5cm/s so yet another variable there. I don't think it's going to be completely predictable and more a 'ball park' thing but yeah >10x outside is pushing it :)