How much cartridge weight can a Rega Planar 6 RB330 arm hold?

Hi, looking at upgrading my Planar 6 cart and was recommended the Benz Micro Glider S MC Medium output (.8mv) which weighs 6.8 grams (cart only) and the Hana SH (2mv) which weighs in at 5 grams (cart only).

Anyone know the max weight of a cartridge that can be mounted on the RB330 arm?

Background:
Im running a Ania cart now but purchased a tube pre stage that requires a mid to high MC or MM. I want to stay with MC so these two carts seem to be in good standing. I think I will need spacers for the arm but that will come later once I decide on the cart.

Specs on pre stage Unison Simply Phono:
Gain is 52 db
Input independance is selectable :47 Kohm – 100 – 50 – 22 ohm / 100 pF

Was informed I needed a cart that output above .8mv and the Ania is .35. I do not want to use a step up so am looking at these two carts above.

Any help would be apprecaited. Any opinions based on experience on which may be better or different? I know sound is subjective. ty
Posted same message on Vinyl Engine message board

 

This calculator:

KAB PHONO PREAMP PARAMETER COMPUTER

Is generally a good idea to start with a rough approximation of the gain needed for your cartridge(s). The recommendation usually errs on the side of caution rather than higher gain recommendations that result from other types of calculations.

Recommendations for some of what you listed above:

0.8mV 52dB gain

0.35mV 59dB gain

2mV 44dB gain

Looks like the Benz would be the closest match for your phono stage.

 

All the Rega arms accept 4-11g carts. Get that Benz and enjoy it!
Cheers, Doug

 

Thanks gents, much appreciated! More info the better. Looks like the Benz is going to be the one and as the first poster mentioned specs look good for the stage! Much appreciated awesome!
thanks, Greg

 

The Benz-Micro Glider will work fine. There hasn't been any changes to the weight balancing of any Rega arms since the RB300 and RB250 were introduced in 1983. This is likely because it would mess up the compatibility of Rega cartridges between model changes. I have Glider on my P5 with the RB700 arm. It works well. I don't have a Hana, but it should be fine.

 

I have a Benz Ace on an RB808 arm, and it requires the optional heavy counterweight to balance.

 

They max out around accepting a 10 gram cartridge with the stock counterweight. Rega offer a Heavyweight counterweight which allows heavier MC carts to be mounted and also lowers the effective mass and moment of inertia of the arm as it will rest closer to the pivot point.
-Bill

 

I have an Ortofon Cadenza Red on mine (10.7 grams) with the " upgraded" heavier tungsten Rega counterweight.
It sounds great. The effective tonearm armwand mass on this version is about 11.5 grams so the resonant frequency falls about where it needs to be.

 

Thanks again for the advice on the weight. Called the business to grab the cart and they don’t have any in stock or any at the supplier! (He did say that he would have to check stock on the Micro) My luck... so going to have to shop around or go for my second choice which was the Hana. Store did say he had a Benz Micro Ace medium in stock.
Will have to investigate as I don’t want a down grade to my Ania. I think the Micro glider and Hana SH are possible upgrades or maybe lateral upgrade.

 

The Benz Ace would be on par with the Ania sonically. It'll suit the gain of your preamp better also. Another one to look at is the Dynavector 10x5 mkII. Best to buy which ever you can get locally. The arm will need a 2mm or 3mm worth of shims (washers work) to raise it a touch for VTA optimization. That's an easy job for the dealer and they should do that just before mounting and aligning the cartridge.
DV-10X5 MKII | MC Phono Cartridge | Dynavector International Site
-Bill

 

Get the Benz Greg and be happy for a long time!

 

...and allows the dust cover to close if yo have to use a spacer under the arm.