Hana sl = Fantastic

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Tablet Man, Apr 27, 2019.

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  1. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Very possible. It's been a while so I can't recall if it was dull or bright, but I definitely didn't like the sound at anywhere near 100ohms. I settled on ~450. You might try 47k ohms if your preamp allows enough gain at that setting. I did and it sounded better than anything under 300ohms as I recall.
     
  2. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    400 ohms is my favourite, 100 is dull, muffled and not sound bright, l am finding higher the loading the brighter thee sound however
    Favourite loading is at 400 ohms- and it is very, very smooth, this is my older SL, l have a second SL in my lounge system... Will try this tonight, however have a fairly good idea, it will sound smooth and very full sounding. ( This is why l purchased the SL.)
     
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  3. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I borrowed a Moon 110LP from my dealer. Gonna plug it in tonight and see how the Hana comes through at 475 ohms. My Musical Fidelity xlps v3 only plays MC at 100 ohms, so now I'll be able to "tweak" the sound with dipswitches to see if it makes a difference
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2019
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  4. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    Interested in the Moon 110 results. Make sure you get a V2.
     
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  5. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    K this is weird because the Hana is not brighter at 475 ohms as I expected it to be. It is a lot smoother and more involving, and the imaging has snapped into better focus. The harshness is mostly gone. Even the needle first making contact with the record as it slides into the groove sounds different, weightier.

    This Moon has settings for gain and capacitance. What should those be at for the Hana SL? I have capacitance at a setting of 0 and gain at 60.

    How do I know if the Moon is a V2, and is it a better preamp than the X-LPS v3? I guess it is for the Hana, anyway...
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2019
  6. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    The V2 has a curved faceplate and shorter in height. Reviewed with a substantial increase in sound quality from the previous 110LP.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Also, dumb question maybe, but can I set the Moon on top of my Schiit Bifrost DAC or will that cause too much RFI?
     
  8. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Thanks, that's the one I've got on loan. So much smaller than the Musical Fidelity, and almost twice as much money...

    I wish it was silver.
     
  9. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Ok, I went down to 10 ohms and I think I've figured this out. The Hana is dull at a lower resistance value, but it's also harsher at a lower value. That means it's probably brighter at 475 than 100, but I don't perceive it as brighter because it has a smoother sound. This stuff is confusing.

    With a decent pressing and a good recording, this cartridge is awesome. But it is so unforgiving with poor quality recordings (example, Mama Cass is shearing my head off at the moment). I guess that's a testament to Hana quality. It's not adding or subtracting anything, it's just reproducing what's in the groove. I feel like the more I upgrade, the less music I'm able to enjoy in my library.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2019
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  10. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I noticed the Moon preamp is not quiet when the stylus is not in use as the Musical Fidelity is. Is it normal for high end phono stages to impart some background noise when the hi-fi system is idle?
     
  11. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    Can you expand on this? Normal listening volume?
    Mine is dead quiet with an MM 2.7mV cart. Volume 11:00 on the Luxman and mono amp volumes at the 1:00 position.
     
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  12. mdelrossi

    mdelrossi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn nyc
    Running an Sl with a cinemag set to 600 ohms into PH -16 phono , sounds sublime.
     
  13. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I put my ear up to the speakers at normal listening volume and I hear midrange noise. It's not loud, but it bothers me now that I know it's there lol

    Normal listening volume on my Rotel is 9 o'clock
     
  14. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    I replaced the Glider on my Linn LP12 (Origin Live) with the SH about two years ago. I am very happy with the Hana.
     
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  15. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Fadeouts sound amazing on this thing. The Hana is really good at reverb, space, imaging etc. Vocals aren't quite as heavy or emotional as they were with the Ortofon Rondo, but I think I can get used to that.

    Now that I've bought the cartridge, I suppose I should buy the Moon to get the most out of it, unless folks recommend a different phono stage for the Hana.

    The Hana is also really good at counterpoint melodies and it's easy to hear individual instruments in an ensemble as well as individual voices in a chorus.
     
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  16. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    @.crystalised. Been doing more on the fly loading and everything as l reported earlier- even tried the SL at 1200 ohms ( and there was not much difference between 400 and 1200, however at going from 100 down to 10 was a dull, closed in sound- even at 1200 not bright ( taking into consideration my kit .):)
     
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  17. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Thanks for your observations. Good to know there isn't much difference above 400 (I can't go higher than 475 with the Moon except 47k).

    My impressions at 10 were the same. It sounded dull, like a really cheap, vintage turntable. It stings haha
     
  18. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I've been considering Moon components, and have heard them myself.

    Is your Moon sounding better when the vinyl is played vs. the MF?
     
  19. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Yes, the Moon is much better with the Hana than the MF. It might be different with other cartridges.

    I went to buy the Moon today and my dealer sent me home with the Lindemann Limetree to compare to the Moon. The Limetree goes up to 800 ohms but I like the Hana better at 475. The Limetree also expects balanced phono cables and my Rega is equipped with unbalanced, so there is hum. I'm confident that the Moon is the preamp I need.
     
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  20. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    I don’t hear much about the Moon 110LP v2 so I’m glad you have decided on keeping it. I’ve been looking to step into the MC cartridge game and the Hana SL is one I’ve been watching reviews on.

    Is your Moon new with zero or minimal hours?
    Very happy with my mine and over time the sound will change a little bit so hang in there.
    I just turned 302 hours last night and the manual said:
    “The performance of your MOON 110LP v2 will continue to improve during the first 300 hours of listening.”

    Picked up Donald Fagen - Nightfly - WB 23696-1 on Friday and it sounds amazing with my Moon 110lp v2 and an old AT-PRO14S (Shibata, Nude - 341 hours) which is the ancestor of the AT440MLa I have read. I can’t imagine the improvement with the Hana SL and the Moon 110lp v2.

    Keep us posted as you break it in and add cables and loading changes.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
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  21. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    The demo unit has an undisclosed number of hours on it I'm sure. My dealer asked me if I wanted a new one and I haven't decided. 300 hours is a long time! That will be a third of the lifetime of the Hana
     
  22. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    You’re right! I have four other carts that I sacrificed for 250 or so hours. If the price reflects a demo unit and it sounds good than keep it.
     
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  23. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I find it interesting that Lindemann complains about the use of unbalanced cables between table and preamp in the owners manual. "In our view, this is nonsense because of hum and degraded sound quality". I hardly have a choice for my phono cables as they are built into the Rega P3. Funny thing is, I don't have a hum problem with any other phono stage.

    It's as if Lindemann is really trying to say "our product only works properly with balanced phono cables and you will not be able to enjoy the use of our product unless you have unbalanced cables".
     
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  24. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    Engineers can be dumb.
    Sometimes companies employ them as customer service reps and they just get it wrong.
     
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  25. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I opted for a new copy of the Moon phono stage rather than the demo model. My dealer has a device that will allow burn-in (something called a Frybaby), so it'll give me a head start. It'll be running at the shop for 5-6 days until I pick it up, so that'll put nearly 150 hours onto Moon's recommended 300 hours for burn-in time. Whether these Frybaby hours are as good as the real thing is unclear, but the signal is a sweeping tone, so it's a start.
     
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