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Benz Micro · Ruby Z
$4,800
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 · Ruby Z
A warm, richly textured Benz Micro moving coil with a ruby-plate generator in a zebra wood body.
Low-output (0.34 mV) version of the Ruby Z.
Authorized Benz Micro dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
The Ruby Z is the fourth generation of Benz Micro's Ruby series and sits just below the flagship LP-S. Like the LP-S, it winds its coils on a small square ruby plate rather than an iron core. Ruby is light and non-magnetic, which keeps moving mass low and lets the cartridge pick up very fine detail from the groove. The generator is housed in a vented, machined zebra wood body. A 0.28 mm solid boron cantilever carries a mirror-polished nude line-contact diamond. Each one is hand-built in Switzerland.
Reviewers hear the classic Benz balance: warm and natural, with sweet strings, full-bodied horns and a lot of texture, plus good dynamic snap and a believable sense of air around instruments. The Absolute Sound found it close to far more expensive cartridges at roughly half their price. It works best in a medium- to high-mass tonearm. At 0.34 mV it needs an MC phono stage with plenty of gain (about 60 dB or more) or a step-up transformer. If your phono stage has less gain, the Ruby ZH (0.7 mV) offers the same design at higher output.
The Ruby Z sits one step below the LP-S and shares its generator; the Gullwing is the same generator in an open body. On a trade-in, Sierra Sound takes 10% off the Ruby Z for any working cartridge, 20% for a Benz ACE, Glider, Wood or Ruby, and 30% for a worn Ruby Z.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC), ruby-plate generator |
| Output | 0.34 mV (3.54 cm/s) |
| Internal impedance | 38 Ω |
| Recommended load | 500–47,000 Ω |
| Tracking force | 1.8–2.2 g (1.8–2.0 g optimum) |
| Dynamic compliance | 15 µm/mN |
| Tracking ability | 80 µm at 315 Hz, 2 g |
| Weight | 10.7 g |
| Stylus | Nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished (3 × 60 µm) |
| Cantilever | Solid boron rod, 0.28 mm |
| Body | Vented machined zebra wood |
| Frequency response | 10 Hz – 50 kHz ±1 dB |
| Channel separation / balance | >35 dB at 1 kHz / <0.5 dB |
| Recommended tonearm | Medium to high mass |
| Also available | Ruby ZH (0.7 mV) |
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 any ACE, Glider, Wood or Ruby; 30% off with a Ruby Z. One trade per cartridge purchase; the trade-in must be a working cartridge.
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby ZL | $3,360 after trade-in (credit $1,440) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby ZH | $3,360 after trade-in (credit $1,440) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ruby Z / Ruby 3 | $3,360 after trade-in (credit $1,440) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Ref-S Wood | $3,840 after trade-in (credit $960) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Zebra Wood L | $3,840 after trade-in (credit $960) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Zebra Wood M | $3,840 after trade-in (credit $960) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Zebra Wood H | $3,840 after trade-in (credit $960) |
| Trade in your Benz Micro Wood SL / SM / SH (older Wood) | $3,840 after trade-in (credit $960) |
| 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 any ACE, Glider, Wood or Ruby; 30% off with a Ruby Z. 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%; any ACE, Glider, Wood or Ruby at 20%; a Ruby Z at 30%. 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 Ruby Z 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.
