@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.
MC cartridge for Clearaudio Concept 1600$
Hello friends! This topic appears once in a few years, the last one similar (but lower budget) was three years ago so it's time! 
I have Sumiko Amethyst MM Cartridge on my Clearaudio Concept (basic) turnable and I want to try MC now and to bring the level & cost of cartridge into line with my stereo system. My budget is up to 1600$. So everybody oddly enough says the best option is Concept MC. Of course. But I would like to explore some other options because there are several interesting models in this price range with very similar tech. specs and that will also suite fine my tonearm with effective mass 9g. Here's the list:
- Concept MC Signature
- Dynavector DV-XX2 MKII
- Hana ML
- Goldring Ethos MC
- Goldring Ethos SE MC
I wonder if anyone has expierence with any of these cartridges to tell something about it's character, sound signature, musicality, accuracy. Will be great if in compareson with Concept MC.
I listen (sometimes with my wife) to music from Billie Ilish to Pantera, from Portishead to Darkthrone, from Cypress Hill to Cannibal Corpse, even from Gabber to Sludge. Sometimes sad and romantic, sometimes evil. But very emotional like me. My phonostage is Hegel V10. Thanks for help
Showing 19 responses by iad
@sls883 so how can you describe Hana's sound signature?
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@zuman Hi! If you are saying that you use this cartridge in a system of such level that means a lot! Thank you! |
@sls883 well, this is also an indicator, ok, thank you |
@knock1 I will be monitoring the market |
@drrsutliff thanks for your opinion friend, I am closer and closer to Hana. If someone could compare it with Clearaudio I'd be happy |
@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. |
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. |
@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 |
@hilroy48 thank you, I will take it in consideration ! |
@jwillox ok, AT definitely is in my list, thanks! |
@mahler123 wow, that's surprisingly |
@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. |
@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 |
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? |
@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. |
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; |
@laginz This is not a unique story, lots of phono preamps have 47kOhm fixed resistance. But it is still on opened question. Maybe you have read some of these discussions: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/mc-at-47k-loading-mm.874044/ https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/hana-ml-jc3-jr-loading-question.1012087/ https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/pass-xp-17-and-hana-ml-loading-question
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