Головки звукоснимателя — Benz Micro MC-Silver

The MC Silver is the high-output member of the entry pair from Benz Micro Switzerland, sold alongside the low-output MC Gold. Ernst Benz started the firm in 1970, cartridge production followed in the early 1980s, and the MC Silver design is credited to Albert Lukaschek, who took charge in 1994. Both models were presented as an affordable first step with a later upgrade path to the hand-made Swiss cartridges, and in 2014 the MC Silver listed in Europe at EUR 288. It is now listed as a discontinued product.

Key specs that matter

A 2.0 mV output at 3.54 cm/s is high enough for an ordinary moving-magnet input, and the internal impedance is 120 ohm. The elliptical diamond, supplied by the Swiss stylus maker Fritz Gyger, has a 0.3 x 0.7 mil tip and sits on an aluminium alloy tube cantilever. Frequency response is stated as 20 Hz to 25 kHz, channel separation as better than 30 dB at 1 kHz and channel balance within 1.2 dB. Dynamic compliance is 15 µm/mN, the recommended vertical tracking force is 2 g inside a window of 1.8 to 2.2 g, vertical tracking angle is given as 20 degrees, and the body weighs 5.7 g.

Engineering and use context

The cross-coil armature is wound in Japan for the Series 2 models, which cuts coil mass by between one third and one half compared with the earlier hand-wound Swiss coils. A reshaped rear pole piece raises generator efficiency by up to 20 percent, and the magnet is a hybrid of neodymium, boron and iron. The armature is held by a soft butyl rubber O-ring, an aerospace-grade part custom made in the United States, and a locking mechanism fixes the suspension and azimuth once assembled. Benz Micro specifies a break-in period of 30 hours and covers manufacturing defects for two years.

Pairing

Because the output sits in moving-magnet territory, the MC Silver can run straight into the MM setting of most phono stages, integrated amplifiers and turntables with a built-in preamp, with no step-up transformer or high-gain MC input required. Any load from 200 ohm to 47 kohm is acceptable, so the standard 47 kohm MM input needs no adjustment. Its moderate compliance and low body weight suit arms of medium effective mass, the typical pivoted design fitted to most belt-drive and direct-drive record players.

Alternatives

The Benz Micro Zebra H is another high-output moving-coil option, rated at 2.5 mV from a 95 ohm coil with a solid boron cantilever and a vented zebra wood body.