styler
Super Member
well i spent a couple hours testing the benz vs. the dyna and thought i'd post my thoughts. first off the cartridges are not priced equally, the Dyna retails for 550 and the Benz for 750.. price alone suggest a difference, and in my opinion/experience 200 can make a big diffference in mid-fi cartridges.
TT: VPI Scout with JMW 9 arm
Pre: JuicyMusicAudio BlueBerry with both a low output and high output phone stages
Amp: MC2100
Speakers: Reynaud Twin MkIII
set up: benz is easier to set up, i really prefer the threaded holes. its a bit lighter than the Dyna so it did require further adjustment to the tonearm weight. alignment was basically the same, one drawback on the Dyna is since the body is so tall getting the nuts on and making adjustments is more difficult (not that big a deal).
sound: i've been living with the Dyna for about 2 mos and made many comparisons in sound to that of my MH Maverick SACD. The Scout Dyna combo beats the SACD player in all instances. in blind tests with GF she picked the TT 10/10 times for better sound. we queued up Leonard Cohen on CD and vinyl and switched between the two sources at the same time. we did this over and over in a dark room where she could not see what source i was switching to. vinyl won, period.
over the last 2 mos i have played a wide range of music and really enjoyed the Dyna, very good highs, no fatigue, light and airy. even without comparison, always felt bass was a little lacking, but never to dissapointment. without a doubt, the Dyna performed best with Chamber music, light jazz, and traditional/folk music. when breaking out the hard stuff itperformed well, but not superb.
tonite we A/B'd the Dyna with my new Benz Micro, again the GF (untrained ear) performed in the listening tests and immediately stated that the Benz sounded "way different, but i dont know the word." we used Dire Straits Brothers in Arms side 2 as the primary reference. i have to say that side 2 of that album is an excellent test LP, its very dynamic and ranges from slight insect buzzing to thunder... i believe that in all aspects the Benz Micro excelled over the Dyna. fuller, richer, better bass, but still equally as good with delicate passages and highs. seemed a little more urgent with more "boogie." if anything negative could be said, it might be that it tends to be a little darker than the Dyna, but i happen to find that quality more suited to my tastes. switching to reggae, benz won again. going to bill evans trio, waltz for debbie was a draw. that particular album has incredible cymbals and i felt the Dyna did a slighly better job revealing those highs. we then switched to SRV Live Alive. Dyna won hands down, but this may be due to personal bias. in my opinion SRV, though super talented, has always lacked a relaxed and smooth tone. on certain systems i have been unable to bear the timbre of his guitar, the highs were painful. have a tube preamp takes the edge off, but with the Dyna i found it hard to listen comfortably. though not bad, it just wasnt comfortable listening. with the Benz the sound mellowed just enough for me to enjoy and not wince as his fingers made their way to the base of the guitar neck. perhaps not the best album for me to demo with... but again the Benz won, just a richer sound, better bass, and not such "in your face" highs.
possible drawbacks to my review:
the synergy in my system is not quite right. i'm not using my preferred amp and was mixing a tube pre with a solid state amp. also, i ran both carts through the low ouput stage of my pre. the Dyna has an output of roughly 2.5mV and the Benz is .4. thus, the gain from the low output stage may have played a role. lastly the reynaud Twin MKIII are not known for bass reproduction.
conclusion: The Benz was superior in majority of tests and never worse than the Dyna. i think they are both excellent carts and having used grado, shure, and AT in the past, i think they both handily beat any of those brands in their price range or below (but the grado reference series are close). if i were more into jazz, chamber, or light orchestra i may prefer the Dyna. then again, with speakers with better bass, I may have preferred the Dyna overall. however, in this system, the Benz wins. as a side note, both cartridges are stereophile recommended components with the Dyna rated higher than the Benz. welcome any specific questions, and feedback. thanks for reading, tyler
TT: VPI Scout with JMW 9 arm
Pre: JuicyMusicAudio BlueBerry with both a low output and high output phone stages
Amp: MC2100
Speakers: Reynaud Twin MkIII
set up: benz is easier to set up, i really prefer the threaded holes. its a bit lighter than the Dyna so it did require further adjustment to the tonearm weight. alignment was basically the same, one drawback on the Dyna is since the body is so tall getting the nuts on and making adjustments is more difficult (not that big a deal).
sound: i've been living with the Dyna for about 2 mos and made many comparisons in sound to that of my MH Maverick SACD. The Scout Dyna combo beats the SACD player in all instances. in blind tests with GF she picked the TT 10/10 times for better sound. we queued up Leonard Cohen on CD and vinyl and switched between the two sources at the same time. we did this over and over in a dark room where she could not see what source i was switching to. vinyl won, period.
over the last 2 mos i have played a wide range of music and really enjoyed the Dyna, very good highs, no fatigue, light and airy. even without comparison, always felt bass was a little lacking, but never to dissapointment. without a doubt, the Dyna performed best with Chamber music, light jazz, and traditional/folk music. when breaking out the hard stuff itperformed well, but not superb.
tonite we A/B'd the Dyna with my new Benz Micro, again the GF (untrained ear) performed in the listening tests and immediately stated that the Benz sounded "way different, but i dont know the word." we used Dire Straits Brothers in Arms side 2 as the primary reference. i have to say that side 2 of that album is an excellent test LP, its very dynamic and ranges from slight insect buzzing to thunder... i believe that in all aspects the Benz Micro excelled over the Dyna. fuller, richer, better bass, but still equally as good with delicate passages and highs. seemed a little more urgent with more "boogie." if anything negative could be said, it might be that it tends to be a little darker than the Dyna, but i happen to find that quality more suited to my tastes. switching to reggae, benz won again. going to bill evans trio, waltz for debbie was a draw. that particular album has incredible cymbals and i felt the Dyna did a slighly better job revealing those highs. we then switched to SRV Live Alive. Dyna won hands down, but this may be due to personal bias. in my opinion SRV, though super talented, has always lacked a relaxed and smooth tone. on certain systems i have been unable to bear the timbre of his guitar, the highs were painful. have a tube preamp takes the edge off, but with the Dyna i found it hard to listen comfortably. though not bad, it just wasnt comfortable listening. with the Benz the sound mellowed just enough for me to enjoy and not wince as his fingers made their way to the base of the guitar neck. perhaps not the best album for me to demo with... but again the Benz won, just a richer sound, better bass, and not such "in your face" highs.
possible drawbacks to my review:
the synergy in my system is not quite right. i'm not using my preferred amp and was mixing a tube pre with a solid state amp. also, i ran both carts through the low ouput stage of my pre. the Dyna has an output of roughly 2.5mV and the Benz is .4. thus, the gain from the low output stage may have played a role. lastly the reynaud Twin MKIII are not known for bass reproduction.
conclusion: The Benz was superior in majority of tests and never worse than the Dyna. i think they are both excellent carts and having used grado, shure, and AT in the past, i think they both handily beat any of those brands in their price range or below (but the grado reference series are close). if i were more into jazz, chamber, or light orchestra i may prefer the Dyna. then again, with speakers with better bass, I may have preferred the Dyna overall. however, in this system, the Benz wins. as a side note, both cartridges are stereophile recommended components with the Dyna rated higher than the Benz. welcome any specific questions, and feedback. thanks for reading, tyler
