MC cartridge for Clearaudio Concept 1600$

The Hana are the favored child it seems in today's world. Made by Excel, you probably cannot go wrong with it. The Ethos gets a solid report also. I would include an Audio Technica ART9XI into the mix, and if you shop carefully you should get it at budget or less. Dynavector is a solid choice too, the only one I have no experience from the brand is Concept. There are so many variables in analog that its going to be a bit of a challenge to say what you will hear in your system for sure, so describing a cartridge is a bit of challenge. I would say of the 3 the AT is going to be the most neutral and refined, and the Dynavector is a close second. The Excel will have a bit more body and texture, but this is all shadings of a good sound. 

I have a Hana ML on a Marantz TT-15S1 (made by Clearaudio). Sutherland TZ Vibe phono stage.  It sounds great. 

I recently purchased Kacey Musgrave's Deeper Well on vinyl just to see how it sounds. I thought I would prefer streaming over vinyl, but they both sound excellent. 

@neonknight Thank you for advice! Not sure AT will suit my tonearm because it has compliance 25 10-6 cm/dyne (10 Hz), too much. And neutral and refined is good, but I'd prefer emotional and energetic with punchy low end. If Hana has more "meat" it is also good.

@sls883 so how can you describe Hana's sound signature? 

So many praising reviews about Hana ML one might get the impression that this is the perfect cartridge

I wouldn't say that it has a sound signature.  It's not overly warm, bright, etc. 

I switched back and forth between vinyl and streaming and I couldn't find much difference.  I think my dac and streamer are pretty good.

I don't think you'd be disappointed. 

@sls883 well, this is also an indicator, ok, thank you

I have switched from Hanna ML to Umami Blue and while I had been enjoying ML a lot, the Umami did outdone it in every aspect. Details, tighter bass, all made the sound even more "sweet", natural and engaging. One may find deals on Umami once in a while. My deal was an "open box" that couldn't be passed. BTW, my table is Marantz TT15s.

@knock1 What are you using for a phono preamp? 

@knock1 I will be monitoring the market

@sls883 I am using In The Groove by Pathos and integrated is InPol Remix MK II

@iad you will not be disappointed 

@knock1 Nice. I haven't heard those, but it looks like good stuff. 

@knock1 do you stream music?  If so, how would you compare the sound quality to vinyl?

I've often felt that streaming was better in my system. The Kacey Musgraves album surprised me. Other albums have sounded better streamed. Both sound good. 

I agree with @knock1 about the Umamai Blue but starting with the Hana ML would be an excellent introduction to MC and the performance would exceed @iad Sumiko in a positive way.  I have an ML that is in rotation with my SS Hyperion MR and Lyra Kleos and holds its own in presentation enjoyment.  

I agree with @knock1 about the Umamai Blue but starting with the Hana ML would be an excellent introduction to MC and the performance would exceed @iad  Sumiko in a positive way.  I have an ML that is in rotation with my SS Hyperion MR and Lyra Kleos and holds its own in presentation enjoyment.  

@drrsutliff thanks for your opinion friend, I  am closer and closer to Hana. If someone could compare it with Clearaudio I'd be happy

Of all the adjustments/changes/enhancements I’ve done to my system in the past 5 years, putting a Hana cart on my VPI Traveler BY FAR made the biggest difference. I’m always prepared to be disappointed when trying something new in audio, but the Hana’s performance (over the Grado Silver I had on there) was just incredible. 

@sls883 I do stream. The streaming and CDs are great with details and imaging, not that my vinyl is way off these aspects, but the vinyl I find more "organic" and natural. All depends from the material, rock, classical, jazz, etc. 

I had a Goldring Legacy(MC) on a Rega P9/RB 1000 for 5 years. I estimate over 1300 hours on it before the cantilever started to shift. The Ethos/SE is the current replacement for the Legacy. The strength of the Legacy was the Bass and Prat while being very balanced. Treble was slightly dark and not as airy/detailed as my current Phasemation PP 200 which is still in the break in process. In summary the Goldring is less of a finesse cartridge like the Hana which might be better suited for acoustical music not Rock or Hip/Hop which the Goldring excels at.

@knock1

@sls883

So difficult to compare, I use both and had experience streaming was better than vinyl (new pop artists have great hi-res recordings and poor vinyls because they are made just to earn money from nonaudiophiles) or vinyl was better than streaming. It depends on vinyl quality, for example Music on Vinyl presses will beat cd and streaming. And I founded on Tidal some albums that sound awful no matter they are hires.

@iad I am in full agreement

@iad As far as comparisons, the Marantz TT-15S1 comes with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony Wood MM cartridge. It's a well regarded cartridge.  I found the Hana ML to be considerably better.  I've also had a Goldring 1042 MM cartridge.

Some of the improvement is coming from the Sutherland TZ Vibe phono preamp. I was using a Sutherland KC Vibe with the MM cartridges. 

@sls883 cool. First I wanted to take Vertere Dark Sabre MM (1600€), then I thought why should I buy MM again if I can take a good MC for this money? And Hana ML is even cheaper. But I still do not filter out Dynavector and Goldring. If I get lost I can always take Clearaudio Concept MC or Signature MC, but I didn't like reviews of them much. Thats a pity I can't just take them all and compare.

Not sure if this helps as my cartridge is not one of those you listed but I do have the Clearaudio Concept turntable.  I moved to a MC cartridge earlier this year and selected the AT - ART9XI cartridge.  This was a definite improvement in my system and paired with my Modwright PH 9.0 phono preamp which is tube based, its a solid combination.  Just a thought.........

@norust thank you for your experience! @neonknight previously mentioned this cartridge too and I had doughts about compatibility with Concept tonearm. But you proved they work fine together 

I have the Goldring Ethos SE MC. It is an amazing cart. Very musical, and bold. I have a Audiomods Series 6 tone arm on a Marantz/ Clear audio Turntable. 

@hilroy48 thank you,  I will take it in consideration !

In that price class, we often skip over Audio Technica.
the ART9 is great. I have the xi version.
there is a great FAQ on the 2 models there.
And you can ask them which works the best with your arm.

@jwillox ok, AT definitely is in my list, thanks!

I used to own the Concept Turntable and paired with with the Concept MC cartridge.  I thought it was deadly dull and sold it off after a few weeks 

@mahler123 wow, that's surprisingly

Not really - the Hana ML is tough to beat in its price range if you have a good PS to support it and set it up properly (which is not trivial) and the lower end CA Carts are not as good value for money IMO. I owned the Hana with a Clear audio Performance DC with a Tracer tonearm and it was very good. If you can get a good deal on an Unami Blue maybe go for it but you might be overdoing it it terms of what the TT is capable of. TT/Arm/Cart/PS all need to be commensurate.

@macg19 I understand. I have good PS I think, Hegel V10, I didn’t try it with MC yet, but I’ve never heared something bad about this PS. In reserve I also have PhaseTech EA-3, just now I can’t use it because it’s in another country, but I’ll bring it someday. PhaseTech do not have any adjustments and do not suit my system’s look but who knows.

I read thet Umami Blue is better than ML in terms of accuracy, detail, etc. But it is less "analog". ML is not a precision cartridge but sounds more like vinyl they say. This is what I need more, because it is rather difficult to get that analog sound from my system. So I have doughts about should I buy more expensive cart if I’ll loose this attribute.

@iad Only so much can be done in making a 100% digital recording sound more analog. The issue/barrier is the preferred music choices not the various phono cartridges.

I have a Clearaudio Performance DC with Tracer tonearm. I use a Hana ML. My phono preamp is a Modwright PH 9.0XT. My amp is a Modwright KWH 225i integrated, with a triode front-end and a solid state output stage.

I find the combination "alive" but forgiving. There's plenty of energy and bass is taut and extended, yet I don't have any fatiguing or shrill highs. I haven't felt the need to pursue anything else in the 15 months I've had the ML.

Setup is important to get right, and I heard a MAJOR difference when I finally got it that way. Arm pivot height was key for me, as was tracking force. I use the 100 ohm setting on the phono stage for resistance load with the ML.

Best wishes!

@zuman Hi! If you are saying that you use this cartridge in a system of such level that means a lot! Thank you!

Sumiko Starling was very impressive.

I just got a Sumiko Starling for my Technics SL 1210-G turntable. The Starling is an MC cart with a price point between the Hana ML and the Unami Blue. I don't hear a lot about this cartridge on this forum, but every review I read from other sources was really positive. Really happy with the Starling so far. Still breaking it in.  

@gkr7007 @mysteriousmrm And both Hana and Sumiko are made by Excel corp., the quality of sound must be same level. And they also make Benz Micro and Shelter

I read the review by Larry Cox on PF on Dynavector XX2 MKII and I was captivated by this description:

The cartridge’s drive and pace are traits other cartridges might covet; though its way with dynamics is its chief accomplishment and possible source of envy. The POP of Mick Fleetwood’s kick drum on "Monday Morning" on Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 release was stunning, and the good luck of choosing that as a first song made me pleased that I was writing about this cartridge. Talk about the first step being important, that was an awesome first song to try out, even though my pressing was immediately laid bare as veiled. Still, even behind the gauze of a poor recording, the pop of Mick’s kick drum foreshadowed the XX2MkII to be a striking performer.

Excellent recordings shone as I’d hoped they would. The recording quality of the title song on Bruce Katz’ Crescent Crawl on 180 gram AudioQuest vinyl is uniformly excellent. The left hand of the piano has weight and speed that make the recording positively raucous and rocking;

From one user:

has effortless dynamics and a very pleasant tonal balance that is both musical and exciting to listen to. Somehow this cartridge seems to flush out even more emotional content from music buried in the grooves

Words like drive, pace, rocking, emotional in these reviews make me feel that's what I need. And still thinking about Hana and AT. And maybe I should add Linn Koil or Krystal to my list?

These are classic and very good sounding for the price.

https://www.denon.com/en-us/category/turntable-cartridges/

I use on on my Clearaudio Turntable,  It is way better than the MM cartridge that came with the table.

Cartridges are probably Denon's best product.

@jmkrajnik I'll check it out, thanks. Heared that Denon's not expensive models sound good for heavy music, but don't know what's the sound of this price range.

It sounds quite a bit better than the standard cartridge.  Fuller, more detailed, and more natural.  Not as good as my other two tables with high end cartridges on them.

You'll need to choose your stepup transformer to match.  Im using an older Musical Fidelity on this setup.  It works really well.