Benz Micro MC20E2 Low Output Moving Coil Cartridge

Budget performers that retain more than a little of the famous Benz musicality and accuracy.

Benz Micro Switzerland, an industry leader in record playback equipment for the past 30 years, offers music lovers numerous choices and upgrade plans for building their dream music system. Often that dream begins with the MC Gold, MC Silver and MC20 E2. Look to Benz Micro to meet your needs no matter your budget or audio system requirements.

The Benz MC20E2 Low is an exceptional phono cartridge for the money. For the past 20 years, Benz has made a high output version, a Stereophile recommended Component in the 1990s. This new Low version has an output of .5mV by virtue of reduced coil mass. Compliance is in the low to medium range and cartridge weight including the supplied spacer is 7 grams.


Benz-Micro MC20E2-L MC Phono Cartridge -Art Dudley, September, 2007
All too often, regardless of what the writer intended, reviews of affordable products are remembered more for their complaints than for their praise: It wasn't as good as this. It wasn't as good as that. It did all right, considering.

The alternative may be some variation on the phrase It punched above its class—which, while clever, is fast approaching its sell-by date, forcing some of us to look for variations: It shot below its handicap. It married above its station. It killed beyond its caliber.

But shortcomings are inevitable, even in not-so-cheap products. The real story here is how good the Benz-Micro MC20E2-L is: how smooth, how tuneful, how present-sounding, and, above all, how dramatic and involving. Except to the person who lives on a steady diet of "Squonk" and hard-to-track heldentenors, the MC20E2-L would have to be considered a good phono cartridge at any price.

Phono enthusiasts with limited budgets should put this cartridge squarely at the tops of their lists, as should anyone who sees the wisdom in having a spare for a rainy day. The Benz-Micro MC20E2-L is a wildly good value for the money—as we say in the biz, it nests beyond its habitat—and it's vinyl-friendly in every sense. Very strongly recommended.

10 Audio Review Benz Micro MC20 E2 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge Date: July, 2007 -Paul Basinski
The strongest suit of the Benz is its liveliness. It's not liquid like my Denon, or voluptuous ala the Grado Sonata. Vocals can get a big ragged at times. Nor does it have the extended and effortless upper treble ranges of the nearly four times more costly Benz Glider. But if you don't mind a good roller-coaster ride on a beautiful summer night, I think this cartridge may be for you. Its great strength lies in its ability to add a jump factor to most types of music. And though it sounds tipped up in the upper mids to me - which left me reaching for the volume control on a not so well recorded version of Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra hits from the 1940s - I really didn't mind. It was just too much fun to hear Dorsey knock off those high notes even if they were a touch ragged on top. This is the little deuce coup of modern cartridges, a real thrill ride for your LP collection. Though I might not use this on a megabuck 'table, I bet the MC20 would shine on some of the inexpensive Regas, Music Halls or Pro-jects out there. (This cartridge might be a very good match for a tube phono preamp, one with a warm or rolled off character. - Ed)

In particular, the you are there nature of this little guy is quite endearing. Though there always seems to be some extra etch to the sound, it doesn't interfere with the overall balance of the Benz. It's as if someone turned up the stagelights a notch; you get that level of illumination here. In keeping with my '70s vibe, I put on the eponymous Elton John album and was impressed by "Your Song" and how bold the string section sounded.

Downsides are few, though this isn't one of the best tracking cartridges around. You can definitely hear some breakup on heavily modulated passages on LPs. I felt that 2.5 grams was optimal tracking weight on my Scoutmaster, and the MC20 is quite sensitive to proper azimuth setting, too. If these are issues, you might want to plunk your $200 elsewhere. Still, I liked the results I got.

In sum, the Benz MC20 E2 is a very fine cartridge for the money. It will surely put a smile on your lips and might even lead you to rediscover some old classics or find new, great vinyl as well.