Hana SL cured my Rega Ania blues.

hmm, that's tempting as well. also could get an S series at no cost. m would be $400 if an authorized dealer sold via Amazon...

 

I bought the P6 with the Ania and never got along with it. Edgy is a good description. I felt it was ok, but a not much finesse. Couldn’t live with it. I liked a basic DL103 on the P6 better. Seems that for the price, there are better options. Using an Apheta now that I got for next to nothing (broken that I had retipped with sapphire and a micro line diamond), obviously a few steps above. Tried a 20x2l on the 6 (old price with a good discount) and a AT150SA as well. All were better to my ear. I was surprised at how good the Denon DL103 sounded on the 6. May give it a run again soon.

I heard the new Hana on the P8 recently and that combo sounded great. Seems the Hanas are a good match.

 

For those of you who didn't like the Ania, did you give it 100 hours of playback to fully break in? I've read accounts of it really shining after 100 hours of playback.

 

My dealer recently picked up the Hana line. He was also raving about the new Hana mono cartridge that just came out and am thinking it may get a great option to try. Relatively inexpensive as well. Great value cartridge.

 

I just ordered the HANA SL from a fellow forumite, will mount it on my RP8 with ARIA phono stage and give you a feedback.
I wonder why people claim 3.5mm is a good height: the cart is 16 (vs 14 for REGA), so normally a 2mm spacer would do just fine !

Regarding loading on the ARIA ==> does anyone have experience with HANA + Aria ?

 

I like the Hana cartridges. Very good for the money.

 

I just received the Hana sl I purchased from a fellow forum member.
I installed it on my RP8.

Tried all 0.5 incrementals between 2 and 3.5 and finally settled for a 2.5 spacer.
VTF is now at 2.02.
I adjusted it precisely with the rega protractor and a mirror with a grid.

Strangely, correct adjustment is with both screws not exactly aligned, but it works.

The Cart is great, I was used to microline until then, the Hana with its Shibata stylus gives a different sound, also very rhythmic and dynamic.

I don't know if I like it better then my at33ptgii, it is very different.

I'll listen to it more and choose which one will be my main cart.
Each has its own strengths...

 

After a few days I am a bit puzzled, the Hana SL is good but I find it a bit less airy than the at33ptg.

Midrange is great but a bit at the detriment of high frequencies.

I have the impression I get more clarity and space with the at33ptgii while the Hana SL gives me more warmth and rhythm.

Now I have to choose.

 

I have same issue with the distortion/edgy highs on the Ania, and this is with 2 of them - the original used one i got and a replacement from rega for the harsh sound.. the new one sounds even worse??!? starting to think my RP3 or tone arm is the problem? although the Shelter 901 i'm currently using sounds pretty amazing... i am Rega fan, so want the ania to sound good but 2 strikes against it as of now, and hearing your complaints makes me feel a little better i'm not alone

 

The Ania is one heck of a PITA it align properly using the Rega protractor. I just spent three hours at it and I am not sure I got it right. By comparison, the exact cart is a snap. The Ania however, is so precise that if it ain't perfect, then it just ain't gonna sound like it should. Get it right however, and all the problems vanish and it sounds really heavenly.

Rega carts are supposed to be soooo easy to mount.

-Paul

 

I just mounted it with the Rega 3 screws system, no sibilance or distortion at all...
My only concern is that I am so used to ML and Shibata stylus that the elliptical seems overly surface-noise relevant to me.

 

Yeah I couldn't get on the Ania in my planar 6. In the beginning sounded pretty good with excellent detail retrieval however the surface noise and etchy sound on some recordings really got to me. I am know contemplating replacing with either an exact or Hana SL.

 

Hana SL and Exact are both very good at dealing with surface noise.
Hana SL : all the advantages of MC: subtle, detail retrieval, ...
Exact: very straightforward to align, very good for rock as it has the Rega MM sound signature

 

Why would the Ania be any different to set up than the exact since they use the same geometry and 3 screw set up?

 

No need to align on a Rega arm, you just screw the 3 screws.
The Ania is faster to mount as the holes are drilled

 

Wondering if anyone running the Hana SL with a Rega phono stage (in my case the Fono MC) has any advice on loading, gain and capacitance settings? I recently made the switch from an Ania to the Hana...daughter bent the cantilever on my Ania and I thought that trying something different would at least make the replacement purchase ‘fun’.

 

Seems like there are only a couple selections, just use what you like best, but I'd set it to 400 ohms/1000 pF input loading, and 63dB gain, and just live with it for awhile. Then maybe try a different input load resistance, but I tend to like the higher resistance with most moving coils.

 

Best setting I could find on the aria for the Hana and improves as the cart breaks in.

 

Excellent! Thank you both for that feedback. Really appreciate it.

 

Another very satisfied convert from the Ania to a Hana SL on my Planar 6. Only a day in but the most immediate improvements I hear are reduced surface noise and razor-sharp tracking, especially as the record nears the end of a side. Crystal clear and displays none...I mean none...of the IGD I couldn’t quite solve with the Ania.

Having great results with a 2.5mm shim and 2mm Herbie’s Way Excellent II mat. VTF at 2.02 and anti-skate around 1.5.

 

Interesting that there are complaints about surface noise with the Ania. I have a bronze in one system that reveals surface noise a lot more than my P6 with the Ania. I think the Ania is excellent in this regard and is one of my favorite characteristics of the cart. And the system I have it in is resolving and detailed in nature. I think it sounds great but I am interested in comparing it to the Hana SL one day. I think a warmer presentation with slightly rolled off highs might be better in the system I currently have.

 

I have a question for those that are reporting disappointment with the Ania. Are you mounting the cartridge via the 3 screw mounting or are your arms forcing you to align with only 2 screws? I ask because my 2016 Rega P3 uses the 3 point mounting which should avoid all the setup issues I am reading about here. I am hopeful the Ania will be a nice upgrade to my worn out Exact. I do not want to add spacers, so the Hana is not an option for me.

I am currently running my spare Grado Blue with 8MZ stylus as an interim cart as my Exact is pretty much shot. The Grado is definitely taller then the Rega carts, but it is playing nice without spacers. Was wondering if anyone can comment on the difference in height between a Grado Prestige Series and Hana HL. If they are the same in height I should be able to run it sans spacers. I wish cartridge heights were included in their specs. It would make it a lot easier to compare options.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry, meant Hana EL.

 

Hello,
I had to add spacers for the HANA SL, the arm was way off without spacers...
However I did not test without them, whether the sound was impacted.
The HANA SL/EL is 18mm (from memory), which is 4mm more than the Rega carts.

However I like the Ania, the Hana is different, not better nor worse.
Ania is more attacking, while Hana Sl is laid-back, HANA deals with surface noise and sibilance better.

 

Thanks so much for that feedback. Any way of finding out the difference in height between the Hana and the Grado Prestige? If the Hana is no higher than the Grado, I’d be able to run it without spacers.