10 Phono Cartridge Shootout - Sub $500
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- Опубліковано 31 гру 2021
- In this video, I will discuss 10 phono cartridges and how they rack and stack. What cartridge is best and why. Anyone interested in vinyl records, turntables and hifi sound should watch this video to save you time and money in the long run.
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After months of searching finally got the Hana EL on Audiomart. Paired with the iFi micro2. I was content with my Nagaoka MP 110. I'm now blown away by the sound quality. Thanks for shootout and recs.
I hope you enjoy it. Big step up over the mp-110.
Being a newbie to vinyl, I have a shure V15iii MM, what kind of improvements would I expect moving to the Hana EL?
That’s an MC and elliptical. All it gives is 40kHz which you won’t hear. I would prefer an ML or SH for the same price. Cause an MC for a price of MM must be a garbage.
@@sc0or Though you can pick a legendary London Decca up for £500-near to some MM prices)
I have the Denon DL 110 high output Moving Coil Cartridge which i purchased a few years ago for about $280 AUD. This is a pretty good all round cartridge. I just recently bought the Denon DL - 301MK2 Moving Coil Cartridge for $580 AUD. I am using a Pro-Ject Turntable fitted with a Hadcock GH242 Uni-pivot tonearm and the Eastern Electric MiniMax tube Phono stage.
Where did you buy these from Aussie rob ?
Great shootout!!
Thanks greatly appreciated. I hope it helps
I had a very good experience with Nagoaka 110, and Schitt mani
I have the HANA EH and love it. It seems to do everything well.
Awesome. Thanks for the comment
I just bought the Hana EL, still waiting on delivery. I have the Marantz model 30, fluance RT83, and fluance XL7F speakers, but plan on upgrading to Monitor Audio silvers soon. Can't wait to hear it, based on your reviews. 😎
Bela Pecsek
0 seconds ago
Please note that the Fluance RT83 has a heavy mass tonearm of some 27.5 grams effective mass with a quite heavy headshell, therefore you need to mach it with a lower compliance cartridge to get really good result. The Hana might not be the best mach as far as compliance is concerned for that particular tonearm. But please do try it and share your findings. I am using the Hana EL on a 8 gram effective mass Pro-ject 9CC Evolution and sounds just marvelous.
Thanks for your experienced opinion.
The Shure M97xE WAS a $100 cartridge. They stopped producing them about 4 years ago. That's the only reason they are now selling for $500. A little research goes a long way.
The M97 is the worst cartridge I have ever used, pure garbage
Thanks; I enjoyed this! I actually bought my Shure M97XE for $79. Brand new! For the price, at that time, it was awesome! I have found much better cartridges in the over $200. Range which I believe it now costs to grab one of these. It is really fun to swap cartridges out to experience different sounds for different types of music. I am looking forward to going back to finding your phono preamp blog.
Preamps can make or break a system just like the cartridge. The combinations are almost endless. Thanks for the comment.
Totally agree with your comments on your phono stage. I bought a Hana EH and it just didn't gel with mine, despite it being MM/MC. It doesn't have adjustable gain and it needed around +10db, so I was left wondering what all the fuss is about and had to sell it on. Maybe I'll look again when it comes to upgrading my phono stage
That’s exactly what I experienced other than I didn’t sell it. Make sure to watch my phono preamp videos. Make the most difference when using cartridges.
What tonearm you used it on. I am having the Hana EL it on a Project 9CC Evolution with 8 gram effective mass and it plays beautifully easily beating much more expensive cartridges.
It was on a Rega RB303, which is more than capable of handling the Hana. I had a DJ Pre 2 to hand that had the required gain, but it would have been a step backwards to use over the Pro-ject Tube Box SE2 that I'm currently using
Love your channel. I'm just getting back into vinyl after a 45 year hiatus. Got a Fluance RT82, OM10 and a Mani. I took notice on your general opinion of AT MM cartridges. Saw way too many glowing reviews of them elsewhere blowing away all the other cartridges. I've got lots of room for improvement.
You have a nice rig at the moment. I want to review a fluance table. Plenty of upgrades for you to make improvements. I would start with a good phono preamp
@@ThriftShopReviews I would love watching that review. The Vista phono pre looked a lot better than the iFi unit. Looks count too. How much better was the iFi sound quality? Thx 👍
@@audioaficionado9494 both the Vista Audio and IFI iphono are really good. Although you can only get the iphono3 now and it’s $1,000. For the price the vista audio phono 2 is hard to beat. I’m currently running the Vista Audio phono 21 and contour 21 and really liking the performance
@@ThriftShopReviews Since you run more than one TT that makes a lot of sense.
@@audioaficionado9494 yes, I have 6 at the moment. Some for review some are will never leave my house. They all have good things and bad. Making my own Frankentable at the moment. I constantly switch preamps and cartridges to get a good feel of the differences. I just wish the IFI iphono 3 was $500 then it’s a no brainer.
I have had quite a few styli...MP110(twice), Ortofon DJs/DJE, Denon DL110 High output, Blue Point #2, Sumiko Olympus, and I've finally settled on the Audio Technica AT440mlb. I like the punch, zero inner grove distortion. It might be a trade off in some soundstage. Second best I've owned was the Blue Point #2. The 3D was killer. I remember listening to Louder than Love(Soundgarden), and Rust in Peace(Megadeth) on it, and it just sounded different in a good way. But I did get the occasional IGD which drove me nuts. The DL110 was too crisp and didn't wow me at all. I only paid like $150 for it, so I turned it. I would like to try another moving coil, just been pretty happy with the 440. I do miss the roundness of the conical stylus though, but less definition. I think the nagaokas are slim...and even they recommend changing the stylus at 100 hours. Who can do that? Thats way too short of lifespan for the money. Screw that. It's okay at best. yeah, I'd use it, but it's nothing special.
Sounds like you have experience. The conical carts wear records faster than other types. Most take the denon dl103 and upgrade
@@ThriftShopReviews Rock on. Yeah, never tried the 103. I know you need some more beef on the headshell with it. I have a Technics 1200mk3d, would love to try a Sumiko Bluepoint #3 someday for shits and giggles.
I also have a perfect pair of those HPM100's I bought back in the 80's.
One of my favorite vintage speakers for sure.
Heh, good ol' Hana, I know you love it 😊 I will indeed have to try it someday. IFI Phono 2 - Frigg'n *awesome!* 👍 Thanks to YOU, I have one and am thoroughly enjoying it, thank you! Ah, poor Audio Technica... 😕 But the Ortofon Bronze sounds intriguing. If I ever get around to buying a Fluance 85 that comes with an Ortofon Blue, I'll hafta see if I can just upgrade the stylus to the Bronze. Thanks for the review and all the hard work Bro!
Thanks again for your comments. The ortofon blue and bronze use different generators. While you can technically stick the stylus on, it won’t function the same as the bronze. The ortofon black and bronze use the same headshell. The benefit of the bronze is that you can upgrade to black in the future.
@@ThriftShopReviews Thanks Bro! Actually, quite surprisingly I've heard some negative comments about the black where several people have had issues with it. Perhaps it's just hard to set up. But, yeah, I would love to hear the bronze. Thanks kindly again for all your work!
Awesome! I'm wondering what the result was for best phono preamp?! Thanks for your work and research!!!
Check my videos. I have dedicated and phono preamp shootout video
Like another commenter noted, the Shure M97xe was originally around 100 bucks. I got mine for $87.00. When I heard the news that Shure was discontinuing their cartridge line, I purchased 2 styli for $57.00 each. Greed took over and sellers have jacked the price up beyond reason. For the original price it’s a great performer. For the current asking prices, no way. I have it on my Technics SL-1200MK2. It sounds great on the turntable through my modest but carefully matched system. I have 2 other turntables as well and a total of 6 carts. Looking forward to getting an Ortofon Bronze for my Fluance RT85. Nice review.
I have an LP Gear micro line stylus on my M97xe, it's much better.
2M Bronze, Quintet Bronze or Cadenza Bronze?
@@xuser48Since ortofon jacked up the price of the bronze I’ll be looking at other brands.
Did you notice any IGD with the OC9XEB? It's the only AT moving coil they recommend for my turntable (AT-LP140XP), but I've been burnt by bonded AT styli with the VM95e.
Have you tried the new OC9 yet? I've narrowed my search based on reviews in the sub $300 to these three: OC9XEB, vm540ml or vm95ml
You are undoubtedly a careful listener but I question your use of those antique Pioneer HPMs as your reference. Very ragged upper mids and highs. There are many moderately priced modern speakers that would be better suited to the task.
I agree wrt the speakers. They're sought after collector's items, but they lack sonically.
I concur, the HPM is very colored, the JBL L-100 was much better and natural or even better the L-112, GR-Research sells an upgraded crossover that puts them to sing better
Modern speakers are terrible
You have a good ear. The denon is a classic
Like others have mentioned, instead of all those AT carts, you should have included a Nagaoka in your shootout.
I agree with you about the Hana but the Ortofon should be in 8 place, the Denon sounds better and the Nagaoka 200 also, I can say that even the Goldring 1042 sounds better than the 2M
Agree i had the ortofon and i hated it.
IMO, If one is to invest in an endgame or pricier cartridge when the time comes, I would buy a phono preamp afterwards as to be sure to A: have the proper resistance loading and gain options for the MC and/or B: have proper capacitance and gain for the MM (I'm sure those mm you're reviewing don't all perform their best with the same capacitance setting). One is choosing a cartridge for it's sound signature vs a phono preamp that you buy to properly amplify and load for the widest bandwidth possible and add little very little of it's own sound.
Still prefer a moving coil all day long. Outside of the nagaoka mp-300
Ice nine kills record in the background definitely caught me off guard
I liked the 2mblue but the bronze is stunning it's like someone removed blankets from my speakers! Lol
I agree with you. Glad you like it.
You should do a shoot out between the iFi iPhono2 and the iFi Zen.
I will be doing a video on Chord Huei vs IFI Zen Phono
Sorry maybe I missed it, where did you buy your cartridges from? Thanks for the informative video.
should have done the at120e i think personally it’s the best under 500. i haven’t tried them all but for sure i think it sounds way better than the 2m bronze. Stereo separation is phenomenal great highs and deep lows overall my personal favourite cartridge. (i should note that it’s a discounted cartridge)
Which if any of these cartridges are high compliance, or work well with a low mass tonearm?
Question...where are you getting these 50% off deals? Also, I am recommending everyone to shy away from Ortofon. I have the 2M Bronze, and it I started losing my left channel after about 55-60 hours of playing time. I thought it was my tonearm wiring, so had it rewired. Played for awhile, and then left channel started dropping again. Found out recently it has an intermittent connection issue inside the body...after only 175 hours of playing time. Ortofon won't do squat. I will not buy another Ortofon product. Was the Wellfleet not out at this time?
review starts at 4.15
In my case, upgrading the phono preamp gave me a bigger sonic improvement than upgrading the cartridge. I'm about to compare a Hana EL with a Musikraft modified DL-103. Maybe I should have paid a bit more for a DL-103R after this review.
I like both the Hana and DL-103. Very good performance for the price. I think I like the DL-103 a bit more, but really want to upgrade the cantilever and stylus to something better
Interesting. I only have the AT-95E at the moment but my speakers are quite vintage and lacking in treble so as stated here, it adds a much appreciated boost in that area. Would like to upgrade to something with better separation though.
Yes the benefits of an older warm system when using audio technica mm carts. Move up to an audio technica moving coil. One of the lower end ones for more detail and separation. Seriously a better upgrade than trying mm stylus improvements.
@@ThriftShopReviews Much thanks. What are some of your recommendations for a good AT moving coil to start with? I think I listen to similar music heavy rock music etc..
Hung on for 10 minutes. Meh.
Ive had carts that cost over $600 and the best sounding one i have found is the nagaoka mp 110 no more wasting money for me im sold on it.
Goldring E4 is a great cart at $299, well balanced with tight bass
Denon 103R is a MC and requires a much different arm from the other carts, interesting to hear how you were able to compare to the other carts ..
Regards
I don't understand you mixing apples and oranges. Not just MM or MC but trying to compare conical, elliptical, line contact and Shibata. Way different characteristics. I can tell you using a Shibata as my daily driver for the last 40 years, attempting to play vinyl that was raked under a conical with a Shibata will sound like crap. I did glean some information from your video. I am considering the Ortofon MM series and am leaning that way. Seems they have come a long way since the over priced B&O days. Thanks.
Thanks for all your shootouts! A couple of years ago, after watching your review of the Vista Audio Phono 2 preamp, I bought one. I have been running an Ortofon 2m Blue with good results. My Ortofon Blue probably has close to 1000 hours on it so will make another purchase this year. My turntable is a Technics 1710 with a tonearm effective mass of 16g (without a cart). Do you think the HANA EH would be a good match for the 1710's tonearm? I was also considering the Ortofon Bronze but the cost jump to the HANA isn't too much more than the Bronze. Thanks!
Looking past compliance I generally like moving coils over moving magnet designs. You might want to try the denon dl-103 to see if that works with your arm. The 2M bronze is a huge step up over the blue with great soundstage but analytical. Hana is a great cartridge that is not offensive at all.
@@ThriftShopReviews Thanks. The only thing that I would be concerned about the dl-103 is the spherical tip design especially since I'm playing on very expensive record collections. I might jump to the Hana which is a moving coil.
Where would you place the Denon DL-110?
Superglue the removable stylus to the body of the AT 95e cartridge and it will really improve greatly (jaw droppingly better than stock - if that's a word). There are more tweeks that make it better, but at a greater risk of damage. You risk damage, and will not be able to replace the stylus assembly, but for $70? It won't match the a Zu (a modified Denon), Denon, or lower priced Hana, but what do you expect for $70.
Give it a try (at your own risk) As noted in the video, get a good / great phono stage, and I'll add - A really nice tonearm and turntable 1st.
Interesting
THX for your review and explanations of MC vs MM cartridges. IMO, I beleive for money, you may be remiss for not including the Nagoaka MP110 cartridge. On my System : Denon DRA-800H Receiver, using a separate Schiit Mani Phono Preamap on a Audio-Technica AT - LP120XBT-USB TT, the MP was a signifcant improvement over the AT95EN [the OEM] and ATMVNHL {upgrade} playing 2 Music Sources: Nightwatch LP (Kenny Loggins) & Men At Work LP. Better clarity and More Umph! This cartridge should have been in your Top 10.
Not surprised with your choice ! Except I use the EL model which suits my ear a little better ! This is my work horse cartridge for a long time ; it is just a very musical cartridge with no glaring faults ( there are better MC which will give you more of everything but at a much higher$$$)
I would have purchased the EL but the the EH was the only one I found for sale at a discount. I like lower output Mc carts for some reason.
@@ThriftShopReviews The EL and the EH are both outstanding ; it’s just a matter of taste and the quality of your MC phono stage . That said I prefer it to their SL series ( Shibata stylus is not my favourite ; I even prefer the Ortofon Bronze to the Black!)
@@nigelgauntlett582 thanks for the comments
@@nigelgauntlett582 own both the 2m Bronze and the hana el, two of the best cartridges available at the price. Tubed phono preamp gives the Bronze a touch of warmth that it is lacking, but maintains all the detail. The Hans loves being loaded at about 400 to 470 ohms. I use it with a Jensen SUT that has a built in impedance of 430 ohms. It sounds terrific, my all time favorite. Both the Bronze and the hana el are keepers in my system. I also own the Shure m97xe, it too is terrific.
Why didn’t you try any Nagaoka’s? Even the MP110 might be a good choice for a good comparison. Cheers!
I’ve had the mp-110 in the past. I have an upcoming review of the mp-300
Not so long ago I did a blind test between a Hana EH and an AT-vm95ml.
I preferred the AT-VM95ML.
However I'm also confident that maybe 90% of the people wouldn't hear the difference, they were that close.
(most people couldn't hear the difference on that forum)
What preamp were you using?
@@ThriftShopReviews I think an Ifi phono zen was used on a MS DD-35.
Only 2 persons could identify the Hana from the AT. And I think we both never even heard both carts before, so mainly on the stylus profile I guess. The At-vm95ml had slightly more detail in the highest notes (cymbals), but it was very close. The general character was very similar. I think a Hana MH might sound even more alike.
But take the huge price difference in consideration.
Too bad youtube doesn't allow links to be posted otherwise I could post the samplefiles.
@@mrpetit2 The most difficult feature to distinguish in an A/B test is for obvious reasons the long-term effect. Unfortunately, it is also the most important feature. Note that the Audio Technica Micro Line cartridges have a lot of "showroom effect", but after a while you might well find that they can be "over detailed", i.e. they make certain instruments and features of the performance jump out in the mix to an unwanted extent. Instead of a coherent soundscape, you get something akin to a Christmas calender, with each instrument living on its own behind separate flaps if I may be so picturesque.
@@jimmyolsenschannel6263 I've been listening to microline stylii for over 10 years now (amongst others, I switch sometimes, I have multiple carts), but I still prefer them.
Biggest advantage of microline is that they keep a fairly consistent sound image while they wear. Other stylusshape change over time as their wear patches grow in size.
@@mrpetit2 MLs make music sound like nothing was recorded in the same room or at the same time. Which of course it wasn't in many cases, but it's still not the way it was supposed to sound. Unwanted realism, to coin a phrase. Personally, I'm currently enjoying an old Shure M55 with a conical mono stylus. Makes original mono recordings sound as big and smooth and honest and real as anything I've ever heard on a HiFi system.
Did you play these MC and MM cartridges on the same system every time?or on a few different ones ?
It may have been better to exclude cartridges that are no longer manufactured and comparing RRP rather than the lower than the prices you obtained
Be interested in your opinion on Nagaoka MP110 or JT-80Lb MM carts ? You seem to call a spade a spade
I had the mp-110 a long time ago and without doing an a to b comparison it would be tough to provide details. I do recall throwing it away and installing a Grado Prestige Black. Not that the Grado black is better either.
@@ThriftShopReviewsyou threw it away?
@@54tristin admittedly I did in frustration. I will get one again and do a review.
You're incorrect. Conical stylus tips have the lowest wear of any stylus shape.The trade off is lack of detail and resolution in inner grooves of a record due to the conical shape being unable to accurately trace grooves at high velocities.
Yup
They guy is a fake look at his pioneer speakers.
I've seen a lot of good reviews for the Audio Technica cartridges, particularly the 95E. It was interesting to see someone with a different opinion. I have a phone pre-amp that isn't so bright in the top end, so maybe the AT cartridge would be okay for that, but I may look elsewhere for other systems now.
Brendon, the purpose of going through 10 phono cartridges is to find out how they all sound and compare. I honestly wanted the 95e to win being that a lot of people say it’s good. The results are much different. So it’s always good to try something else and get an idea for yourself. Nothing wrong with liking the 95e but know other carts can do much better.
Hi,
What do people mean when they say ‘bright’ when talking about audio?
@@Budd1234 lot of highs. the eq is predominant on high frequencies
I buy, refurb, and resell dozens of tables and carts at my store. There isn’t a better cart available for under $100 than the VM95E.
Hi there,
I currently have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with an Audio Technical AT100E cartridge. I'd like to upgrade the cartridge as I feel it is a bit rough around the edges, and the bass is really sloppy for my taste. I'd like tighter bass, better detail retrieval and an overall more balanced and musical presentation. Can you recommend some no-fuss carts I can install on my Debut Carbon?
Debut Carbon is feeding a Sansui AU-555A which is powering a pair of Celestion Ditton 551. I'm looking to spend around $600 AUD.
Tough question for sure. I assume you're using the built in phono preamp. Likely best to upgrade to external phono preamp. Might be tough to increase bass tightness with that amp though. It has a damping factor of 50 giving a little boom to the lower end. Certainly a warm lush sound. You might be best to upgrade the amplifier to get cleaner sound, but all about choices.
@@ThriftShopReviews I left some information out for the sake of clarity: the Sansui is acting as a preamp into an XTZ Edge A2-300 so damping factor is not an issue. When listening to digital my Celestions are held in place very well. At the moment it seems to me that when it comes to cart compliance, the Debut Carbon tonearm is not compatible with a lot of carts out there. I reached out to Pro-Ject and was not surprised when they came back recommending Ortofon, even going so far as to say they design their tables to work with Ortofon carts specifically, so in the interest of "if I can't beat them then join them" I'll probably end up buying a Bronze.
@@danab7472 absolutely with a class d you have control. I still say a good phono preamp might help more. Worth a try for Schiit mani 2 or something that you can return off of Amazon. I would have to go look at the arm specs to find a cart. The bronze is good and very analytical.
Gee, what a surprise. The Hana EH ($500) beats the Audio-Technica VM95E ($70). At the price point of that AT, you're likely going to be pairing it with speakers and electronics that are soft on the high end, so the cartridge's excess energy there may not be the problem that it is in your system.
A shootout of $100 and under cartridges might be interesting. Candidates that are available new include the VM95E, the Sumiko Oyster and Black Pearl, the Ortofon 2M Red and Super OM 5E, and the Grado Prestige 3 Black.
The aspiring DJs out there will want to have a look at Stanton cartridges. They don't match the sound quality of other cartridges at the same price point, but they will withstand scratching and other cartridge abuse. In this price class you'd be looking at the DJ-DS4.
Does the Hana EL have the same detail as the AT Microline? Looking on moving to one from my 740ML which I don’t really like much (thin/harsh and two dimensional to me). I miss my old Stanton 681EEE and the warmer/fatter tone it had:( That being said, th PTG33ii looks amazing with detail but I might run into similar issues.
I hated my at -740ml. Want to buy it? Lol. Way to much glare that led to listening fatigue. Hana eh is amazing in comparison. Smooth and detailed. You will learn how moving coils are much better.
@@ThriftShopReviews Do you think its because of the Microline stylus vs elliptical? Will be missing definition if I go with the Hana elliptical (EL)?
@@epg2501 it’s not about the stylus and more important about the magnet or coil generator. I like to say the tone generator. You will be blown away with the Hana compared to the audio technica. Three dimensional sound and you will like. Phono preamp needs to also good. Try the iphono by ifi if possible
@@ThriftShopReviews Have you compared the Hana ML to the EL? Thank you for all the info! Just upgraded from my old Schiit Mani to the Hagerman Trumpet MC but haven’t hooked it up yet lol:)
@@epg2501 I would like to try the Hana ml but think I would would go another direction. Again selling stylus over moving coil system. At that point it’s koestu or others in that ballpark. Really enjoy my sumiko songbird at the moment.
Well, oc9 has 25dB +-1.5dB of a channel separation, and 95ml - 28dB +-0.5dB, and you are talking about a better sound stage? From which place it appears? From a worse tracking because of elliptical stylus, or from a worse channel separation? I think you have to either make something with your setup, or to not judge cartridges and simply enjoy music. You prefer cheap MCs to expensive MMs. That’s fine.
None of the Shure cartridges are being made anymore...but you should have tested a Shure V15 II as to me it is one of the best out there...I also have an Ortofon 2m blue which is great
I believe Jico starting making some of the shure models. I haven’t followed it though
I have a Shure V15VxMR with the Jico neoSAS cavalier. I’m using it on a Technics SL-1210M5G and a Schiit Mani pre-amp. My question is would a Hana EH with a Mani 2 be a good upgrade? I’m thinking about the Mani 2 regardless but I’m thinking about the Hana higher output so the ohm load matches the Schiit Mani 2. Love the shirt also!
What about Ortofon 2M Silver?
I have had vinyl records for over 50 years and it’s my preferred way of listening to music, how are you going to save me or anyone else time or money? in my opinion your results are not the be all or end all, it’s down to the individual and the type of music and sound they like, cleaning records is still highly important, as are the components of your system, it’s not just the cartridge that produces what you hear coming from the speakers. Your statement of saving us time and money in the long run comes across as rather pompous in my opinion.
Awesome review. I've got the Project Classic Evo turntable, ifi zen phono preamp, audiolab 6000a amp and the wharfedale linton heritage speakers. The evo has the MC Quintet Red. Okay but not impressed. Wanna tap my foot. Recommendations?
I was not a huge fan of the project carbon eco turntable, but the tonearm was really good for the price. I think you have a great amp and speakers. I think the best improvement you can make is with the phono preamp and turntable. I didn’t like the zen compared to the iphono. Stay tuned to my upcoming videos on the rega planar 1 hacks to improve sound as it also relates to the project tables. If you want to simply improve the cartridge then you have many options. Since you have a moving coil then try the denon dl-103r on eBay. Good deals can be had and see if your sound improves.
@@ThriftShopReviews thanks so much! The Classic Evo is a big step up from the carbon evo. Do you think the Ortofon Bronze would be a better match than the quintet red? I know you like MC but I'm really considering going back to MM.
@@shackinup sorry I missed the classic part of the name. I don’t have experience with the quintet red to provide an A vs B comparison. That is a very good question. If you’re looking at a move from the quintet red then you have options to consider. If going to moving magnet then you might want to audition the nagaoka mp 300. While not on my shootout I will be reviewing it soon. It’s extremely good to say the least and you can usually find it on sale. Just one of many options. I really think you need to consider Mc vs MM, cantilever material and stylus. Given the weight Of the quintet you could even try a cheap denon Mc cartridge for real value. The best way to know is to try different cartridges to understand the differences.
Would the usage, handling of the cartridge by the previous owner colour your review? 3 months into Vinyl, so not even sure if this is a correct question.
If you’re buying a used cartridge then you should invest into a microscope to evaluate once you get it. Most people claim low use and the rule of thumb is to double the hours but unless the stylus is really worn prior use should be very acceptable. You need to know the cartridge you want. 3 months in and you have a lot of small things you can do to improve sound quality. What hardware do you use?
@@ThriftShopReviews I have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo with the Sumiko Rainier cartridge, a Yamaha Rx-V6A, Qacoustics 3030i, Rogers LS66. I believe a good phono stage would make the most significant improvement. Later on I would like a vintage TT & hence the inquiry about used cartridges.
@@enricolisk1357 yes, phono preamp should be on your list. I have videos on that to help and have more coming up. Start there and then buy a good cartridge. I look at used and vintage turntables with cartridges as disposable cartridges. Some uss the 33% rule of thumb. 33% on each the turntable, cartridge and phono preamp. So if you have the carbon then around $500 on each item as a very general rule. Of course, you can find deals and not pay the entire amount and what my channel is about.
@@ThriftShopReviews thanks for the pointers. I live in Sri Lanka & not the easiest to get my hands on good brands, or second hand stuff. Let's see how it goes. Wishing you a glorious 2022!!!
I see you own a HPM-100 speakers, they sound acceptable as original but GR Research made a modification on the crossover that fix their sound, go to his youtube to se that work, if I had an HPM-100 I would make this upgrade
Is the Allnic H7000V phono preamp good enough for the Hana?
Might be overkill for a lower end cartridge. Would love to try the h-7000
Wonder how the Nagaoka or a Grado would have done compared to the Hanna in the same price field. Hmmm.....
Nagaoka is really good, really really good. Grado is on my list but can’t decide what model.
@@ThriftShopReviews Stay away from the Grado Gold. I bought one and it was so bad I gave it away. I am a Grado fan, but this was one of the worst carts from them I ever owned. The Grado Red is the best bang for the buck I think. The downside of the Grado is it is not pretty to look at. The Prestige series, have not tried the wood bodied ones
@@ThriftShopReviews The Grado has one of the best stereo separation of 30 db of any lower end carts, also quick bass and lack of sibilance in the high end. Moving iron design of Grado is going to have less moving mass than a moving magnet. I believe the Nagaoka MP-500 is a moving iron design also. Like in between moving magnet and moving coil as far as mass.
@@zulumax1 I should have clarified. I have one of the entry level prestige carts. Black or silver, heck who knows. It’s on a vintage unit my daughter uses. Not my favorite cart. I was referring to the wood ones and my fault. Cannot decide on the cheaper ones or the reference 3. I really like boron cantilevers but Grado insist on elliptical stylus. I simple like line contact for less vinyl wear
@@ThriftShopReviews black is only a $65 cart the silver might be good, haven’t heard it. My favorite was my G2+ which was $300 in 1989. May depend on what phono preamp you use too. I did a comparison of the Shure M97XE, the Audio Technica 120E, and Grado Gold. The Grado gold was the most expensive and it plain sucked.
So you're saying My favorite is in the top 10!
So how does one go about getting a Hana cartridge at 50% off retail? Ebay? Audiogon? Buyee? Thanks
I mainly watch eBay and audiogone. I’ve purchased from both. I’ve also seen a few good deals on Facebook marketplace but not as much.
@@ThriftShopReviews Thanks. I'll keep looking. One more question - what settings did you dial in on the iFi phono that you liked best with the Hana EH. My quest for the New Year :-)
@@brew4380 since it’s a high output the iphono is set to MM and increase the gain +12db. You should try the various RIAA settings on the dip switches to see what sounds best for you.
I really like the Dynavector 10x…………
I really like the Dynavector 10x…………
Did you burn in all cartridges? You can't really judge a cartridge unless it has done a minimum of 50 hours.
Thanks for your review. I have nothing against Audio Technica cartridges but it is good to see a contrary review in light of some reviewers' tendency to overrate them. The best AT product I ever heard was a product they made many years ago called Signet. They were more refined than the standard AT line. Still, AT makes some decent cartridges. I would just be more selective than with other brands, such as Ortofon.
Thanks for the comments. Yes, with audio technical you need to be very selective. I would like to try the Art series moving coils.
The Ortofon 2M Red had a few poor reviews. So I made sure to import my Pro-Ject TT from US.
@@enricolisk1357 I didn’t like the ortofon 2M red or blue. Very harsh.
@@ThriftShopReviews Have been using an Art9 for some years now and find it to be a neutral, transparent, high resolution but smooth cart. High end without the price tag. Amplification is all tube from the phono power supply onwards, which may help with the smoothness, warmth and body.
But, I believe that the higher you go within a manufacturer's range of carts the less the house sound will be dominant. The lower the price point the greater the compromise to make. Compromise equals deviation from neutral. The direction of the deviation is the house sound.
@@gaborozorai3714 great comments. I agree
One simple rule, that may work for most: The phono-preamp should cost roughly as much as the cartridge.
What you say at 8.20 is incompatible with your disclaimer.
You are comparing low and high compliance cartridges on the same tonearm? Do you really know what you are doing?
Yes I know what I’m doing. You first need to understand the the equation of compliance. A general rule of thumb for non technical people. As an engineer I can tell you it missed the point on many material related characteristics. I want to do a video on exactly this topic so thanks for bringing it up. If your tonearm is fixed then you have point. If you change your headshell weight then you can explain how to do this. I have more headshells than most to match compliance. Plus tonearms weights to make it work. You have a good point but really doesn’t matter.
@@ThriftShopReviews You are indeed correct and perfectly fine if you can use headshells that bring the effective mass of the tonearm to the middle of the optimum range to try to also minimize unavoidable sample variation. Drawing conclusion with date using single sample might not give you statistically defendable thus acceptable result. (I am an engineer too by the way and not light experience in this area).
You can encounter problems though when you have a tonearm on the heavy side of the effective mass that can not be lightened up by the lightest available headshell and want to test a highish compliance cartridge.
My gut feeling is still there that using a cartridge with compliance 10 and another one with compliance say 22-24 might not give you a valid enough results as far as cartridge capability is concerned.
You have indeed strange results with the highish compliance AT cartridges giving unsatisfactory result in contrast with most of the tests available on the net and experienced by other users yet you are getting splendid result with a theoretically inferior lower compliance cartridges.
My experience , as an engineer, dictates that when we see result like this contradicting the majority of other findings than we better dig deeper and understand the results and repeat the test on a more solid ground and/or create test buckets to give statistically more valid result.
You mentioned that the conical stylus on the Denon DL-103 "may wear your records faster". Studies into record wear seem to suggest the opposite, i.e. that conical styli cause less record wear than elliptical styli as long as they are tracked at around 3 grams or less.
Someone else messaged me the same thing. Like to see the study as it goes it’s science and physics. Smaller contact point yields higher stress resulting in higher wear. This is why they developed types of diamond tips to increase surface contact as record stations would wear out records really fast. Link to the study?
@@ThriftShopReviewsThe study talks about the principle of "micro-hardness" which is not at all intuitive to lay people (i.e. non-physicists). I'm a chemist by education and I still found the concept somewhat difficult but very interesting.
For some reason the link Ive posted twice now keeps getting deleted. Not sure why
@@johnbuie3306 please email me the link. You can find my email on my home page. I can try to post the link. Thanks
I have ALWAYS found AT too bright!
I watch half way I gave up. Sorry.
I don't understand why while listening to the info about a phono cartridge I cannot get a nice product video but get a talking head instead. 😢
You need chapters for this review.
Turn the treble knob down on the ones you think had to much high end energy. Is that so hard? If you don't have a treble knob-get one.
Seriously? You are skewing the total sound and all you are doing by turning the treble down is masking the deficient cart......which is exactly what 90 % of folks do.
@Jeff Foster Sure. Whatever suits your boat. I guess you could turn the tweeter output down. You're probably one of them guys who buys the 500 cables. Lol.
why would you purposely buy an inferior cartridge for your system that requires you to EQ? and i say for your system because it has a recommended max capacitance of 200pf so a lot of people having the treble glare problem is because of that.
@@MrWizardjr9 Probably 90 percent of speakers could benefit with some eq. I'm not worrying about eq because of cartridge because I got rid of all my LPs and will concentrate only on cds. Life is good.
This is some kind of joke right. You talking audio with this setup? Joker get some decent equipment and you might be able to make a decent assessment
It's not the AT MM cartridge, it's your vintage system, l suggest you upgrade your system, cartridges change and get upgraded your system is not.
So in short your reviews are only suited for you and no one else
How can you review a mix of New and Old used and abused Cartridges? You are not making sence.
Why can't we have visual examples of your cartridge picks?