New Cartridge MC £1k

[maddog_007]

I use a Dyn XX2 MK2.

My previous two were also Dyn but DV17D2 Karats.

John @Pear Audio supplied these carts.

At least you have the trade-in savings with Dynavector...

The XX2 seems to be a good match with my Ekos2 .

 

[Lurch]

Yep it's the SL that likes 400+. The ML is happy at 100 which is what I ran it at initially, finally settling on 123 on my Bardo & 153 when on my 401 (both with 9.5" OL Conqueror) .
I found the ML a tad uncouth for the first 20-30 hrs after which it settled down, getting better and better over the next 50 hrs. From then on it could party with the best of them whilst still providing great levels of richness, detail & bass.
As for the BGL it will work in a medium mass arm Brook (speed racer) ran one in an OL Encounter, whilst wizmax has my old BGL in a Stax UA9.

 

[DomT]

I recently renewed my cartridge from Dynavector xx2 mkII ( £1250.).
I was very fortunate that I was able to try an EMT hsd 006 ( £1470.), which immediately had more impact and kinda "grab you by the balls" signature compared to the xx2.
I played around with this cart for a week or two but found listening was more tiring and I wasn't spinning records for hour after hour, well I was but not as much hours as usual, I was up and down gain and load settings on my Primare R35 phonostage and tamed it a little so was happy to proceed with buying the EMT............................
Then came in the Hana ML (£1039).
At first I was a bit disappointed with the laidback sound (compared to the EMT) but after a couple of days and track after track from a load of records , the Hana ML was staying put , and that was before it was run-in.
Sweet sounding cartridge , as good possibly marginally better than the Dynavector ( I reckon the soundstage is wider and deeper) and a lot tamer sounding than the EMT which is still an amazing cartridge but not the type of sound suited to my listening tastes.
Being £200 cheaper than the xx2 and similar in sound, it's was a no brainer. IMHO.

I was extremely lucky that I could try these carts at home on my TT , trying to find a dealer that would demonstrate cartridges in the shop is almost impossible and for that reason I would recommend the Hana ML as I don't think anyone could find fault with this cart at THAT price.

nb: I generally listen to my music loud so have quite a bit of air moving around with my speakers and I'm crap at HiFi words and explanations.

chz

I was about to recommend Dynavector. They have a richness and dynamism that works well together but are not fatiguing. I haven’t personally heard a Hana but two Dynavector dealers whom ai know who also stock Hana suggested that Hanas by comparison to Dynavector are a bit more laid back. Do you agree?

Another thing about Dynavector is that they don’t seem to increase prices much and they have a trade in deal.

 

[Amber Audio]

FWIW I found the Hana too “safe” sounding compared to the XX2Mk2, for the extra couple hundred it’s what I’d plump for. Very pleased with the Gyro/PU7/XX2 sound, not too bright and a nice solid low end, suits my pop/rock LPs, never been into jazz/classical. The ML certainly gets a lot of praise and a lot of folk seem happy with it. At this sort of level it’s more different tastes than good/bad.

 

[stevied]

Lyra delos if you can stretch your funds it’s excellent.

 

[Colinjg]

I had a Rohmann for a bit. As a reference point, I found it lean, clean, analytical a bit soulless and bass light. ( in my system). I went back to cheaper Ortos for a while with more warmth, which I enjoyed. MC 30 Supreme and a Rondo Blue. As both were no longer made I moved on to Hana SL, now on my second. Perfect for me. Perhaps not the highest of Fi, but never played so much Vinyl.

 

[lostwin]

I had a Rohmann for a bit. As a reference point, I found it lean, clean, analytical a bit soulless and bass light. ( in my system). I went back to cheaper Ortos for a while with more warmth, which I enjoyed. MC 30 Supreme and a Rondo Blue. As both were no longer made I moved on to Hana SL, now on my second. Perfect for me. Perhaps not the highest of Fi, but never played so much Vinyl.

That's useful context on the Rohmann, it could indicate that the cart is certainly influential in my current system balance as that type of description rings true. As I don't have another source than the TT, it's harder to identify how much of it is down to the source and how much from the remainder of the chain.

 

[lostwin]

Really appreciate the contributions on this thread. It is an item that is difficult to demo, so the reasoned feedback has been very insightful- thanks

Starting to lean towards the Dynavector over the Hana, although both seem solid choices. Will take a few more days to ponder, so further contributions welcome and will consider lightly used options- PM me if you think you might have something appropriate.

 

[Minicoupeman]

Really difficult to judge given that if people use a cartridge for the cartridge life span then even the oldest of us will only use a few. And new models are coming all the time. Again and sorry, but a vote for system dependent. I have tried Ortos and didn’t like them. ,My Benz Wood SL suites me fine and I doubt if I would go anywhere else……..unless Koetsu came up!

 

[Colinjg]

Really appreciate the contributions on this thread. It is an item that is difficult to demo, so the reasoned feedback has been very insightful- thanks

Starting to lean towards the Dynavector over the Hana, although both seem solid choices. Will take a few more days to ponder, so further contributions welcome and will consider lightly used options- PM me if you think you might have something appropriate.

Hana and Dyna are solid choices. Lyra and ATs have a reputation for being brighter/leaner, but loved in the right systems.

 

[mikeyb]

Yes, that was my thinking on the AT, might not be a good match for an already lively sounding system.

I think the Hana increased loading applies more to the SL model, whereas 100ohm is ideal for the ML. Is that what others have found with the ML?

ML is 100 ohm and the SL is 400 as per the Hana spec sheets

 

[mac72]

Good chance that's slawekt from PFM, might be cheaper away from eBay if you contact him there.

That’s correct , price on eBay is quite high to scare potential buyers as I wanted to send cartridge for inspection beforehand , listed I wanted to take advantage of 80% off selling fees before deciding if I keep it or not .

 

[lostwin]

That’s correct , price on eBay is quite high to scare potential buyers as I wanted to send cartridge for inspection beforehand , listed I wanted to take advantage of 80% off selling fees before deciding if I keep it or not .

So I take it you are the seller. If you are still thinking of moving it on can you PM me.

 

[mac72]

So I take it you are the seller. If you are still thinking of moving it on can you PM me.

No probs but most likely later this evening or tomorrow

 

[wizmax]

I brought a second hand Rohmann in 2010 and very happily used it until last year when I found that it would not consistantly track my 45RPM MoFi discs so time for a change. I did contact Ortofon but they had ceased refurbishment of that model but they do do a operate trade in scheme against a new model, up to £360 depending on the cost of the new cartridge.

So what to buy.

At the time @Lurch was fannying about with cartridges and offered me first refusal on his ML and very good it sounded in his system which was very similar to mine. However @Speedracer had just fitted a Koetsu Black Redlne in his system and John (Lurch) was so impressed that he brought the same cartridge and we all got together at John's to compare the ML to the Koetsu. Literally within 20 seconds I decided that I preferred the Black over the ML, it had better bass and a sweeter top end with greater detail over the ML so I told John that I didn't want the Hana and would have the Koetsu when he moved up the range as he had already said he would.

I know that I would have been very happy with the ML but I thought the Black would be better in my system and so it has been, compared to the Rhomann it it slightly less refined but has a better bottom end and is more fun to listen to IMHO.

 

[lostwin]

I brought a second hand Rohmann in 2010 and very happily used it until last year when I found that it would not consistantly track my 45RPM MoFi discs so time for a change. I did contact Ortofon but they had ceased refurbishment of that model but they do do a operate trade in scheme against a new model, up to £360 depending on the cost of the new cartridge.

So what to buy.

At the time @Lurch was fannying about with cartridges and offered me first refusal on his ML and very good it sounded in his system which was very similar to mine. However @Speedracer had just fitted a Koetsu Black Redlne in his system and John (Lurch) was so impressed that he brought the same cartridge and we all got together at John's to compare the ML to the Koetsu. Literally within 20 seconds I decided that I preferred the Black over the ML, it had better bass and a sweeter top end with greater detail over the ML so I told John that I didn't want the Hana and would have the Koetsu when he moved up the range as he had already said he would.

I know that I would have been very happy with the ML but I thought the Black would be better in my system and so it has been, compared to the Rhomann it it slightly less refined but has a better bottom end and is more fun to listen to IMHO.

More great feedback, thanks. I know that you were a Rohmann user, so this gives me a good idea of what to expect when I change. The Koetsu's new price is about double that of the Hana of course, so you would hope that there would be some difference. I think the Rohmann was around £1k at the time, so in today's prices that would be putting it nearer the Koetsu if buying now.

The compliance figure I have found for the Koetsu is 5 10-6cm/dyn @100hz. Using a couple of online calculators that would seem to be fairly medium compliance and with a bit of extra weight added at the headshell end, seems to look OK for my set up.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[TIU]

Always tricky buying a new cart. So many choices and all have merit. If you buy new and then not sure about it, it becomes second hand and buying used, can you be sure of its hours and careful usage?

 

[lazycat]

Always tricky buying a new cart. So many choices and all have merit. If you buy new and then not sure about it, it becomes second hand and buying used, can you be sure of its hours and careful usage?

Indeed. But sometimes, maybe most of the time, you just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best.

I've been fortunate enough to really like the 2M series of carts.

But I did try an AT33EV for a few months. It was boring and lacking serious detail in comparison.

Best buy something and cross fingers TBH.

 

[TIU]

Indeed. But sometimes, maybe most of the time, you just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best.

I've been fortunate enough to really like the 2M series of carts.

But I did try an AT33EV for a few months. It was boring and lacking serious detail in comparison.

Best buy something and cross fingers TBH.

I researched carts for a quite a while and ended it with a brand I didn't expect - a Soundsmith (a Carmen II - moving iron). It was a trade-in price at a dealers so after all that careful research it was a quick and impulsive buy. I'm still not sure it's any better than the Ortofon Rondo Red it replaced.

 

[Tarzan]

Hana ML owner here and think for the wonga it is superb VFM on a modified Gyro/ Audionote Arm 3v2, sings like a little bird it does.