Phono stage for Benz Wood H2

What about a Benz Micro PP-1 phono stage? It's beautiful and very small and around $1k new. I think i've seen them from around $600 used. Works perfectly with Benz carts.

I was wondering if someone could educate me on the importance of gain in the pre-amp. What would be an optimal level of gain to look for?

I use a Benz Micro PP-1 with an L2. The PP-1 is a fixed device and might have too much gain for the high-output version of the cartridge, but maybe not.

Drubin may be right, I'm not sure. I misread your cart as a low output benz which i was using with my PP-1

The amp used to be sold at musical surroundings but i don't see it on their site anymore and don't have my amp for the stats.

The phono stage you're refering to is the Benz-Micro Series 2 Lukaschek PP-1 and is still on the site under Benz. At 62 dB of gain it is way to high for that cart. Optimum would be about 40 dB. The issue with the Cary is the combination of relatively low gain, the noise inherent in tube designs and the output of the cart being a little on the low side for a MM. If you don't mind a bit of tube hiss it might be just fine.