They all do have some special attributes and sound different in different arms, but if you listen to the Hana SL it just seems to have a "grab you feel", very open and dynamic, big image and detailed, nothing seems to be missing. Cartridges are arm and table dependent, synergy in the system may or may not be a achieved with this cartridge, but so far it sounds really nice in mine.
The re-tip/exchange fee is $332.49 US for the EL. Very curious how many hours it took to wear out your EH?
Since my above post I've found out that Hana do an exchange deal, at least here in the UK they do - 25% reduction, which, if my maths is correct, is approx £95 off the current retail price of £384. That's pretty darned good in my books! Thanks anyway for letting me know the re-tipping price as it's anybody's guess how long that exchange deal will go on for.............. I had around 800 hours on it , but it had not worn out. What happened was I started hearing sibilance on a few albums, which I did not notice previously. I already had a brand new Hana EH in the draw, which I bought just to beat the latest price hike of £50. So I replaced the old cart with the new one to see if the sibilance was due to stylus wear. Result was... very little if any change to the sibilance, clarity may have been a touch better though. Anyway, the old cart still sounded good in comparison. So, and though it's difficult to be sure, I reckon it should hit the 1000 hour mark ok. I didn't feel like faffing around changing carts again so the old one's in the draw awaiting a rainy day. As for the sibilance...well, it does not seem as noticeable as it was, which could be due to the new cart breaking in, or, perhaps more likely, getting my brain back in rein and not latching onto some sonic issue and maybe mentally exaggerating it. Should add that I do keep my records pretty clean.
Wondering if anyone can advise on the H vs L versions, and also whether it's worth it to go with the Shibata Hana S. Most of my vinyl is clean re-issues, but I do have a stack of originals also that are in varying condition (from mint to rough). I'm using an EAR 834P phono stage that has the MC option button, but from what I've read it's better in MM unless a step-up transformer is added to the mix, which would probably be out of my budget at the moment. So I was thinking about the EH as the best bet for me. Would appreciate any help.
I listened to several cuts using Hana SL with the Shibata stylus on a Pear Audio turntable at RMAF last weekend, and I thought the sound was fantastic. The rep/importer did mention that you needed the best set up tools with a Shibata, which is well known. I was impressed enough that this will be my next cartridge.
What was I thinking of?...$332 is approx £250. If Excel charge around the same in the UK then it's a better price than the exchange deal with a price tag of £292, albeit for a new cartridge. Either way I'm pretty satisfied.
Not sure I would want to risk the more expensive shibata on some rough records, but never having owned a shibata they may be more robust than I imagine. I'm not familiar with the EL either, but am more than pleased with the EH. It's in a different league to my previous Denon DL110, which it should be considering the price difference. That said, if my phono stage wasn't MM only then I would probably have gone with the EL. You can always add a SUT when funds permit if you still wish to.
The Sumiko Pearl and it's brethren (Garrott Brothers, Adante, Corral 666, Adcom GFC-1E, Mission Solitaire) are believed to have been manufactured by Excel. It closely resembles the Excel cartridges that are still available under their own name in Europe. Thakker carries them.
I would think so, but as mentioned above - I have never owned a shibata to say for sure. I'm sure someone who does/has used one will let you know. I ain't too bothered as I can't afford a shibata tipped Hana anyway. plus I'm quite happy with my EH.
I can't speak to Hana S vs Hana E, but I did read that getting a high output MC cart somewhat defeats the purpose of using an MC cart. No idea how that plays out in the real world, but it's logical. A quick Google search shows that your pre has 70db of gain in MC, which I'd imagine is enough for most MC carts. Others with more experience here and confirm or correct that, but I do lack hands on experience with this.
The Hana design makes the "penalty'' for MM very slight, since the windings are so light. All 4 cartridges are just 5 g. I think you'll find the following review interesting; but remember: it's just one man's opinion. http://wallofsound.ca/audioreviews/analog/the-hana-eh-redefining-the-budget-phono-cartridge/
When I moved my Technics 1210-M5G from the Denon DL-110 to the Hana EH- I was completely blown away by what I was now hearing. I heard nice full separation, I heard detail, but I did not hear a lot of vinyl noises! I put this combination aside when I bought Fishmans Scout 1.1 with 2M Black, and now that I have that singing- I still want to play with the Hana some more. Yes- I enjoyed it THAT much!!! Chris
I recently went with the Hana EL. I have an AT14Sa Shibata that is too bright even for me, and I like my music brighter than most, so that accounts for my choice of the elliptical, besides the price. My favorite cartridge was a Denon DL-301 mk II. I also have a Dynavector 10x3. Nice, but the DL-301 is much smoother and that's why I went with the L rather than the H. I'm glad I got the Hana. It's only been about 10 - 15 hours; but the EL is throwing a deeper, more defined soundstage. A few times the sense that a sound was coming from over my shoulder was so real that I turned around. Even though the 301 is very detailed, the EL is hyper-detailed yet rarely cloying. It's really hard to explain some of the other differences. The Hana sounds so 'real' that sometimes I ask myself if it's so real that it's unreal, if that makes sense. Am I getting spoiled by a sense of clarity that cannot be achieved in a live performance? Why worry. I like it. I am still experimenting with ICs and damping, and soon various platter mats and loading; because what sounded best with the 301 may not be best with the EL. However, I think I'm done lusting after carts for a while. A few weeks ago I posted a thread asking which upgrade would provide the biggest return for the $$; cartridge or phonostage. The consensus was that my Emotive XPS-1 was not doing justice to even the 301 and would not be able to resolve the benefits of a better cartridge. Thankfully, the consensus was WRONG! ;^)
Honestly Judd, I won't go back. The Hana changed everything in a positive way and a lot less noise and static to boot. One thing about the Hana though is that it's so sensitive I had to upgrade my isolation to clean up some low mid build up. Once I did, the lows got deeper and the low mids got cleaner.
A good high output moving coil is still less mass than most moving magnets. So it doesn't defeat the purpose, but it definitely does have more mass than a low output moving coil. I can say for sure that on my system, the high output Hana delivers transients with much more detail than the 2m black and tracks some of my more demanding records with much more ease.
To quote myself: "The consensus was that my Emotive XPS-1 was not doing justice to even the 301 and would not be able to resolve the benefits of a better cartridge. Thankfully, the consensus was WRONG! ;^)" I saw a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II on eBay and bid less than $300. Surprisingly I won and the Hanna EL has benefited quite a bit. More depth and height of sundstage, amazing dynamics and realism. Acoustic guitars sound like they are in the room. Female vocals to die for. I am at the end of my upgrade trail for quite a while, I think. The Phonomena II has so many loading options that I'm driving my family nuts playing the same tracks over and over and over. Any advice would be appreciated by all!
I called their US distributor and I was told 12. This is what I'm running with. I had been told a few 10's and even a 20.
@Mike from NYC The Dynavector 10x5 and Hana SH carts aren't fair to compare. They are both HOMC but the D is eliptical and the H is shibata. I think the 20x2 is more comparable to the SH.
The Dynavector and Hana cost almost the same which is more relevant than the shape of the stylus. The 20x2L which I also had was also outclassed by the Hana. The 20x is 250 more than the Hana and 350 more than the 10x5. The Hana can be had for about 675 w/ a trade in at Elusive Disc.
Thanks for the reply and your insight! I have been narrowing my search and am considering the 20x2L and the SL. I need to get to a shop and demo them. It seems that many people prefer the Hana. I want to finally upgrade my system to a MC stereo cart and use my MM input exclusively for my MM mono cart. It's been great switching carts with detachable headshells but I want to have dedicated decks. It's a big decission to decide on which MC cart and then I need to match it to an MC phono pre.
I see that a Dynavector 10x5 exchange deal has very recently been introduced in the UK. With the exchange deal you can get a new 10x5 for £399, which is a £100 reduction on the usual retail price. The Hana EH & EL costs £384. Competition playing its part perhaps? I've heard it said on more than one occasion that the 10x5 has been over priced for quite some time.