Yeah I saw that thread and replied to it even as it sounded like the exact same issue. I swapped out the phono stage last night and unfortunately the problem persisted. What I did notice however is that changing gain settings on the phono stage did not increase the amplitude of the static pop, though it did increase the amplitude of the music (obviously). Leads me to believe the issue is somewhere further down the chain.
I recently started demoing a Hana SH MC on a rega rp6. I wasn't planning on trying it out. Wanted to hear a totally different cart but was sent the Hana. At first I wasn't impressed but after research and learning that the distance is 16mm from top of cart to bottom of stylus, I added 3.5 mm of shims under my tone arm and instantly my life has changed. It's the most engaging sounding cart I've ever owned. It is replacing my ortofon 2m black and beat my demo of the clearaudio maestro. I have less static issues than I have with any prior cart I've tried. It takes some time to really set up properly but worth the time and the price tag.
Hana EL arrived 20 minutes before I had to leave for shoulder surgery. All I can do is look at it. now I have 2 kinds of severe pain. Racking my brain to think of who I would trust to mount & align for me.
Well like any fine line diamond stylus, the rake angle is extremely important for it to sound right and track correctly. On my rega rp6, I had to use 3.5mm of shims under my tone arm. This sort of stylus tip and really anything shibata and up is best on a tone arm with vta and SRA adjustment capability
This is common with Japanese cartridges. The lower number can be compared to other Japanese cartridges. For comparison to European cartridges, the Japanese result is typically scaled up 75% higher or as much as double. Different test frequency.
Just to update the thread on my previously mentioned issues. I've been extensively troubleshooting for weeks now and the only thing that fixed the issue was replacing the Hana with another cartridge. With the replacement cartridge (a cheap-ish Ortofon 2M) there wasn't a single pop/bang on my most troublesome LPs. The problem returned within seconds of playing an LP with the Hana re-mounted. Time to investigate warranty replacement I guess. Disappointing as it sounds great otherwise.
Exchanged my Hana SH with the dealer for a new copy under warranty. So far so good. Fingers crossed it stays this way! Really baffled as to what might've been happening with the last one.
This company was touted as being an OEM supplier of cartridges for many years. Has anyone been able to confirm a single cartridge brand that was made by Hana's parent company? Seems dubiuos IMHO.
Due to stylus wear, I've recently replaced my original Hana EH with a new one. I wonder how much Excel charge for a re-tip? Depending on how much of a cost saving is involved, then it might be worth sending the old one off to them for a re-tip. May even be able to afford replacing the worn elliptical with a shibata instead?
iirc theres an offer in the uk, where you send the worn one in and get a new one with a discount. Dont know the value of the discount. Assuming thats correct then it seems likely you could also upgrade at the same time.
Yeah, I've heard about that discount, but don't have any idea who's offering it. It would be interesting to see which would be the best cost saver between that and the Excel re-tip?... the latter I suspect, providing you don't mind sending your cartridge to Japan. Anyway, I've recently forked out on a new table plus other hi-fi niceties so won't be spending any more for a while. If nobody here can say where to the discount is, or know the price of an Excel re-tip, then I'll probably email them to find out. I'm in no rush though as only have about 100 hours on my new Hana EH. Thanks rtrt
I had the Dynavector and the Hana is much better IMO. Way bigger soundstage and lots more detail and ambience retrieval.
I’m wondering - it’s been about a week since you replaced the M2 Black with the Hana - I don’t suppose you’ve switched back to the Ortofon to double check your findings, have you? I’ve had the black and I liked it a ton, except that I found it kind of noisy in the groove. It really digs out the clicks and pops. How does the Hana stack up? Judd
I wonder how Hana SL compares to higher ranked carts like Audio Technica ART7 or higher. It was mentioned above that currently this is the best cartridge out there within 2000 USD range. Can it be so?
Who said it was the best in that $2000 range? Even if someone was able to define what "best" really means, that would be hard to believe, I doubt it's the best in its own much lower price range, but I haven't heard one. You can get into some pretty amazing cartridges going up to $2000.
I have a Koetsu, Benz Micro and Van den Hul all in the 2K range and have had the Dynavector 20X2, the Hana SL holds it's own and may well be as good as any of them.
I have VdH Colibri and Benz LPS and just being curious how Hana SL would stand against these kind of carts. If you say it is as good then I must check it out. Given its price it can be real bargain. I also read it is really quiet and forgiving for less than VG records. It can be the solution for collectible and rare but worn out records.
Interesting, I know the SL has been very favorably reviewed but didn't realize people were going quite that far in their praise. Do you attribute it to a better balance of parameters than some of the higher priced cartridges? The overall design doesn't seem like it should sound quite that good, with the inexpensive plastic body and aluminum tubing cantilever, but I guess it's a futile exercise to judge cartridges by looks, or the exotic materials used, or their cost
