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Benz Micro · Glider
$2,100
Not currently in our rooms. For a serious buyer we will often bring a piece in from the manufacturer for a private session — tell us about your system and what you are weighing it against, and we will advise.
Benz Micro · Glider
A classic Swiss open-body moving coil with a warm, honest voice and a solid boron cantilever.
Low-output (0.4 mV) version of the Glider.
Authorized Benz Micro dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
The Glider SL is the low-output version of Benz Micro's long-running Glider S. It is one of the brand's classic open-body designs and is still made in limited numbers in Switzerland. Benz leaves off the housing and mounts its iron-cross generator directly in a slim aluminum chassis. That keeps moving mass and stored resonance to a minimum. A 0.28 mm solid boron cantilever carries a mirror-polished nude line-contact diamond. This is the kind of hardware usually found on cartridges costing far more.
Reviewers keep coming back to the same word for it: honest. The Glider adds a touch of warmth in the lower midrange and bass and keeps the treble airy, never dry or etched. It also brings out a surprising amount of low-level detail and texture. It works best in a medium-mass tonearm, and it needs an MC phono stage with plenty of gain (about 60–65 dB) or a step-up transformer. If your phono stage gain is more modest, the Glider SM (0.8 mV) and Glider SH (2.5 mV, MM-input compatible) offer the same design.
The Glider is the entry to the Benz range Pearl Audio stocks, and the Zebra Wood above it adds a wooden body to the same generator. Sierra Sound's trade-in program takes 10% off a Glider for any working cartridge and 20% for a Benz ACE, Glider or higher model.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC), open body |
| Output | 0.4 mV (3.54 cm/s) |
| Internal impedance | 12 Ω |
| Recommended load | 100 Ω or higher (100–47,000 Ω) |
| Tracking force | 1.7–2.0 g (1.7–1.8 g optimum) |
| Dynamic compliance | 15 µm/mN |
| Tracking ability | 80 µm at 315 Hz, 2 g |
| Weight | 6.8 g |
| Stylus | Nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished |
| Cantilever | Solid boron rod, 0.28 mm |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz – 20 kHz ±1 dB |
| Channel separation / balance | >35 dB at 1 kHz / <0.5 dB |
| Recommended tonearm | Medium mass |
| Break-in | About 40 hours |
Benz Micro trade-in (Sierra Sound). Sierra Sound, Benz Micro's US distributor, takes a trade-in on every new Benz: 10% off with any working cartridge of any brand; 20% off with a Benz ACE, Glider or higher; no 30% tier is listed for the Glider. One trade per cartridge purchase; the trade-in must be a working cartridge.
| Trade in your Benz Micro LP-S | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro LP | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby ZL | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby ZH | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby Z / Ruby 3 | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Gullwing SLR | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Gullwing SHR | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ref-S Wood | $1,680 after trade-in (credit $420) |
| Other Benz Micro cartridges | 11 more models qualify; use the trade-in selector on this page or ask us |
Benz Micro does not retip customer cartridges; trade-ins go back to Switzerland for factory refurbishment, and Sierra Sound sometimes has factory-refurbished units to exchange against a worn cartridge for about the cost of a repair (availability varies). The 10% tier also applies to working cartridges of other brands. Verified 2026-10-28. Source: Benz Micro official US dealer price list, August 2026 (Sierra Sound) and sierrasound.net.
The Benz Micro cartridges Pearl Audio stocks, from least to most expensive:
Plan your Benz Micro system with Pearl Audio
Pearl Audio is an authorized Benz Micro dealer. Arrange an audition in our Portland showroom, and bring your current cartridge into the trade-in conversation. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com.
Ownership
Sierra Sound, Benz Micro's US distributor, takes a trade-in on every new Benz: 10% off with any working cartridge of any brand; 20% off with a Benz ACE, Glider or higher; no 30% tier is listed for the Glider. One trade per cartridge purchase; the trade-in must be a working cartridge.
Credit is 20% of the new cartridge’s price for any working cartridge of any brand at 10%; a Benz ACE, Glider or higher at 20%. Benz Micro does not retip customer cartridges; trade-ins go back to Switzerland for factory refurbishment, and Sierra Sound sometimes has factory-refurbished units to exchange against a worn cartridge for about the cost of a repair (availability varies). The 10% tier also applies to working cartridges of other brands. Verified 2026-10-28.
Ask us about this trade-inPricing per Benz Micro - 2026-08 - Dealer Price Sheet (Sierra Sound, August 1, 2026) and sierrasound.net/benzfaq. Programs are set by the manufacturer and may change.
The Pearl Audio experience
A system at this level should be heard, thoughtfully matched, and properly set up. From the first audition to long-term ownership, you work with the same people, in person.
The Glider SL Moving Coil Cartridge is not in our rooms at present. When it is the right piece for a client we arrange a demonstration unit from the manufacturer and set it up for a private session.
We deliver and install throughout the Portland area, taking care of placement, connections, ventilation and system configuration ourselves.
We support everything we sell for as long as you own it, whether the answer comes by phone, in your home, or through factory service.
Trade-in assistance and qualifying 100% Trade-Up options give you flexibility when your listening priorities or your system change.
