Hana SH - blowing my mind, OMG, unbelievable

I wasn't going to do a review so soon, I'm only about 20 hours in, but this cart is something special and is having the biggest impact on sound reproduction that I can recall in recent memory. It's soundstage both in depth and width is phenomenal and it truly does make the speakers disappear on most LPs. Sound comes from behind, to the side and above on many LPs and it is as if I have a wall of speakers.

Listening to Black Sabbath s/t at a 'decent' volume made it seem as if my front wall turned into one giant speaker system. DSOTM brought back memories of seeing PF performing it in concert at Radio City Music Hall. Listening to Tony Bennett and Linda Ronstadt you can hear all the echo and reverb. Ambience retrieval is the best I have ever heard in any system I owned or heard because of this cart. Maybe Mikey Fremer's carts do something similar but at $750 this cart is shooting way above it weight.

To make sure it wasn't me hallucinating I put the Dynavector 10x5 back in my system (I have an interchangeable head S arm on my Kenwood 750) and everything just collapsed and was as is it was before. Putting the Hana back in brought back the magic. Putting the Shure 97 in also collapsed the sound field as did my NOS Stanton 881S. How the Hana does what it does is beyond me but it DOES!

A slightly more mellow sound with a little less sparkle than the Dynavector but still it does sound great and is pleasing and non fatiguing to listen to. As Black Sabbath, DSOTM and numerous other LPs have demonstrated, it does have dynamics.

I never get worked up by a piece of audio equipment but this cart brings my analog frontend into new territory, at least for me. It's like 3D for the ears.

I also changed out my speakers from Magnepan 1.6s (w/Martin Logan Depth sub) to Revel Ultima Studios and the magic didn't disappear.

Equipment was Kenwood 750 TT, Nova II pre, Rogue Audio Pharaoh, Blue Jean interconnects and K&B rumble filter.

For $750 this blew away the Dynavector 20X and 10x5 and probably almost all carts in its price category.

The only caveat is the cart is very light and I had to order another heavier shell and despite its looks the body is not threaded.

Be forewarned I'm not a critic and I don't have the 'ears' that other reviewers do but I do think a few forum members can agree with what I wrote.

 

I too moved from a Dynavector (20xH) to the Hana SH and couldn't be happier. Imaging was one of the first things I noticed, like yourself. I did not find it any darker than the 20xH though. I think you'll find the cart becomes much more natural sounding at about 40hrs in.

Enjoy!

 

Very interesting and exciting to hear. I'm wanting to eventually make the move grom a 10X5 to a Hana SL.

 

Great to read. I just bought one, based on the reviews, to replace my worn Benz Glider. Can't wait to hear it!

 

This sounds like something I would like!

 

Just curious, those of you saying it blows away a Dynavector 20x2, is this the high or low output version? Because my experience with the 10x5 showed me that most MM phono preamps really do not have quite enough gain for the Dynavector high output MC cartridges. Once I achieved the proper gain, everything snapped into place wonderfully. I suspect the high output version of the 20x2 is also being used under less than ideal conditions.

 

I don't think it "blows away" the 20x; there's more similarities than differences between the two in my opinion. I noticed improved imaging, more inner details, and overall better balanced frequency response as compared to my copy of the 20xH, but the differences are not night and day. Of course this is just based on (notoriously inaccurate) memory and not an A-B comparison. And to clarify further it seems most people in the thread are speaking to the 10x5, not the 20x or 20x2.

I only have experience with the 20xH -- not the 20x2 and yes, the high output. My preamp has 48dB of gain which should be more than enough.

 

Hana's a lot of LOMC for the money. Scary good for sensible outlay!

 

I love hearing this- as I have the EH. Actually I have it on a table I am not using(my 1210-M5G), but am thinking of moving it to my Scout. The EH does need a bit of gain I think- as I really gotta crank on the volume.
I love the imaging on this!!!

Chris

 

I've got plenty of gain with my Jolida JD9 and the 10X5 sounds great. It's a very nice cartridge.

I spoke to the distributor a while back and he felt like the move from the 10X5 to an EH or SL would be lateral for me, but considering the Hana E series is considerably cheaper it comes out ahead imo. He felt like the S series would be a major step up.

 

How much gain are you using? Can't say I feel the need for more than the modest 42db of my phono stage with my EH. Volume turned to 10 or 11 o clock is fine, and that's with a pair of small stand mounts. You hear lots of good things said about the SH, which is no doubt justified, but the EH is certainly no slouch. I've recently replaced my first EH with a second, so goes without saying how happy I am with it.

 

I used 48 or 50 db w/the 10x5 and 60 db w/ 20x lo, so gain was never the problem. I'm using 48 db with the SH.

My issue wasn't with the sound/voice of the Dynavectors - I've been using them for more than a decade, but in comparison to the SH they paled in imaging - they do sound alike so sound/voicing isn't the issue.

You really need to hear the differences for yourself and be able to switch from one cart to the other quickly to remember the differences.

Hey, like I said i usually never get blown away by a change but this was pretty dramatic to my ears.

 

AnalogPlanet visits excel sound. Little tour of where the Hana's are assembled. Not sure if it was posted but here yo go:

 

I just pulled the trigger on a Hana SH.

First upgrade for the rig in awhile - we'll see where this takes me.

 

I recently purchased a Rega P6 that had a Hana SH cartridge installed when new. The dealer said that the first P6s came without cartridges and the buyer opted for the Hana. It is a great cartridge on a great table.

 

So, you've presumably had this unit for a while now. Do you agree with the praise which is being heaped upon it?

 

Yes.

I've stated elsewhere, that while for my rig and my ears it doesn't hide or mask surface noise, the reward is fantastic tonality, balance and inner detail. I say that as coming from a Denon DL-160.