Hana SL -- I hate it

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by BigMikeATL, May 28, 2020.

  1. rubber duck

    rubber duck Forum Resident

    Plenty of helpful advice here so far though if I were the OP I would ignore comments from those who have not heard the Hana but are nonetheless happy to speculate and make negative comments. I too have an AT33PTG and my Hana SH is easily the better cartridge through the same current gain input of my Aqvox phono stage. Mounted on my SL1200 or Planar 2/RB250, the AT33PTG sounds "hi-fi" in comparison, lightly thinner, steelier midrange, less organic. The Hana is a touch warm and very musical.

    I think the best advice so far is to listen to the Fremer recording of the Hana vs Ortofon to get an idea what each brand sounds like. I have had the MC10 Super, MC20, Rohmann and Quintet Blue, and there is definitely an Ortofon house sound. If you prefer this then fair enough. But it does sound like your Hana is either faulty or not properly loaded/matched with your phono stage. You could borrow another (more flexible) phono stage or take it to the dealer who set it up to hear.
     
    psulioninks and curbach like this.
  2. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Which wires should be reversed?
     
  3. chipcalzada

    chipcalzada Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Philippines
    Connect the red wire to the white connector pin on the cart, white wire to red pin, green wire to blue pin, blue wire to green pin.
     
  4. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    What sort of sonic changes should I listen for? I've reversed the wires and it sounds worse -- more anemic, very little bass.
     
  5. FalseMetal666

    FalseMetal666 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Sounds like the polarity was correct the other way, then. Very strange indeed, really seems like you got a dud.
     
  6. chipcalzada

    chipcalzada Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Philippines
    I was hoping that it would sort out the issues that you were experiencing. Seems like it is a dud indeed, I hope your dealer can sort out a new cart for you.
     
  7. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Update: They didn't have another SL, so I swapped the SL for an SH today. In the first 10 minutes I could tell it was a drastic improvement over the previous cart. I can't wait to hear the results once it's fully broken in!

    My conclusion is that the SL I had must've been defective. Given the pedigree of this cartridge, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the case.
     
    Alf_1988, Dignan2000, Kyhl and 9 others like this.
  8. Texasjohn

    Texasjohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    This is great news!
     
  9. MusicNBeer

    MusicNBeer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    I'd put bets on a poorly shaped stylus. I had the exact problem with a 2m black that tracked terrible. I have a microscope and saw the diamond was not cut symmetric. Who know, and at this point who cares. Enjoy your SH!
     
  10. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I've been spinning records for nearly 5 hours and this thing keeps getting better and better. Now I see what all the hype is about! :)
     
  11. chipcalzada

    chipcalzada Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Philippines
    Great news! Congrats on your new SH and enjoy :cheers:
     
    Don Parkhurst likes this.
  12. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    They are indeed lovely sounding cartridges- glad it all worked out.:edthumbs:
     
    Don Parkhurst likes this.
  13. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    I had a feeling the high output would be a big improvement. Low output is great, but an SUT (or a phono preamp that includes onboard SUTs) is a must to get the full impact and body that the cartridge is capable of producing. I first experienced this when I switched from a PS Audio GCPH to a Rogue Ares. The Rogue instantly put more meat on the bone. Anyway, I digress...a HOMC really helps if not using an SUT. Congrats on your upgrade!
     
  14. John Brunatti

    John Brunatti Forum Resident

    Location:
    Parry Sound On
    I have the Hana SH as well and did have to get a small step-up to get the most out of the cartridge. Previously, I had to raise my gain too high.
     
  15. jonwoody

    jonwoody Tragically Unhip

    Location:
    Washington DC
    Awesome new glad it worked out! :cheers:
     
    BigMikeATL likes this.
  16. Pythonman

    Pythonman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    My Hana SH continues to amaze after two solid years of use. I bought the SH version because at the time I didn’t have a separate MC capable preamp.
    I was just about to reply to this thread for you to try a different cartridge because either the Hana sound wasn’t your cup of tea or more possibly, you got the rare dud. Sounds like the latter was the case. Glad you stuck in there with the brand and it all worked out!
     
    Don Parkhurst likes this.
  17. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Yup. The SL I had was definitely a dud. I would have swapped it for another SL but all they had in stock was the SH.

    I've got 20 hours on the SH so far and it continues to amaze.
     
    Alf_1988, Tlay, Don Parkhurst and 3 others like this.
  18. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Anyone have any mistracking issues with the SL? It's been very well behaved so far (I've got about 100 hours on mine), but last night it mistracked when I cued back to the beginning of a song on a brand new pressing. I was quite surprised this happened, so I cued it back and it happened again. Are shibatas known for mistracking issues, or is it a defective pressing maybe?

    I have my doubts that it's a defective pressing because the song played through fine the first time, leading in from the previous track. But when I cued back to play it again, the Hana would not properly settle into the grooves. Twice.

    It's the last track on the side, nearest the label, if that makes any difference. I checked the pressing under bright light after this happened, and the spot where it mistracked now has a silver/metallic sheen. The mistracking clearly caused visible damage, although it doesn't seem to be audible damage once I got the Hana to play through properly on the third attempt.
     
  19. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    Stupid question alert - I’ve got the SL and after reading it a few posts back about gain settings of 60ish dB. On my phono preamp, that’s labeled for a MM cart! On a whim I gave it a try and it’s certainly less fatiguing in the high end than it was - but I have to turn the system up quite a bit...is that right? Did I completely misunderstand the earlier comment?

    On a side note, I’m experimenting between the 100, 300 and 1000 ohm settings just for run now. 100 seems a bit duller.
     
  20. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Any loading below 400 ohms sounds off with my SL. I'd go with the 1Kohm loading.

    60 db for an MM cart?! That's very odd. Might double check the preamp owner's manual.
     
  21. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    That’s funny, I ended up at the 1k after a few tracks. I wish I’d tried this out sooner, I’m much happier with the sound (less edgier). And I’m looking at the owners manual now - the MM gain is 60dB!

    But that sounds like a good fit for this cart, no? I had it on 85dB previously which is what is labeled for low MC.
     
  22. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Give the phono pre as much gain as you think you need. You don't want to be turning up your receiver and amplifying low level noise.
     
    bever70 and AppleCorp3 like this.
  23. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    As long as the 60db gain setting doesn't automatically load your cart with 47 kohms, you should be fine. Though I have tried loading the SL at 47 kohm and it sounded decent.
     
    AppleCorp3 likes this.
  24. kidkoffee

    kidkoffee Well-Known Member

    Well...I’ve been running the SL on my heavily modded Rega P5 since late 2016, and it’s absolutely the best cart I’ve heard in my system. I have mine set at 55db and 1K ohms. Perfect to my ears. I highly recommend using the calculator at the bottom of this link when setting up a new cart.
    KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com
    I believe somebody also mentioned the Pete Riggle VTA. I have it. It is awesome. If you own a Rega deck, this thing will blow you away even if you set the VTA and forget it. It truly opens everything up.
    Great (I guess?) to hear that you that you just had a dud originally. For my system and budget, I will never switch to another brand. When this thing wears out, I’ll retip or maybe upgrade to the ML. Cheers.
     
    chipcalzada and Helom like this.
  25. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    They are independent adjustments thankfully, though I agree, it didn't sound bad but not as good as the 1K.

    I appreciate everyone’s input!
     
    Helom likes this.

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