Just added full LP playback


We’ll

I've just added a new LP playback to my system.   It sounds very nice, but...........

re: Pro-ject Classic, Hana SL , Musical Surroundings Phonomona II+
My digital is Chord Qutest with Roon as comparison 

so,  I’m finding the playback being somewhat sibilant and bass shy , as compared to digital 
yes, I’m only about 25-30 hrs of break-in and working on adding albums to add 

what would be the suggested steps for remediation of the SQ 

Jeff
frozentundra
Frozentundra, this should be an easy fix. The Hana's have certain characteristics that you need to understand to get them to operate at their best. First is that they are not the best trackers. Rated at 70um, this is not terrible but not great. Tracking will improve as the cartridge loosens up a bit. I would run this cartridge at 2.1 or 2.2 grams. Next is these are very stiff cartridges. Compliance is rated at 10 X 10 (-6) cm/dyne. Your arm is too light for this cartridge which is killing your bass and adding to your tracking problems. Fortunately the fix is easy. Soundsmith sells a set of cartridge screws of various masses. https://sound-smith.com/accessories/ez-mount-cartridge-screws
Start with the lightest ones and work your way up. The best way to do this is to get at test record with a resonance track on it. You want to get down as close to 8 Hz as you can without going under. The more weight you add the lower the resonance frequency will go. Don't forget to watch your VTF. I would shoot for 2.1 gms. If the sibilance stops stay there. At 100 hours the tracking will be as good as it is going to get and it should be good enough to cruise through all but the silliest groove velocities. 
Changing VTA will effect your high frequency performance more so with fine line styli like the shibata you have. If you raise or lower the tonearm too far in either direction you will roll off the high end as the stylus will no longer fit into the highest frequency modulations. It will just ride over the top of them and this is in either direction but going up too far can get very dangerous with the really sharp profiles like the Gyger S and Replicant 100. These can dig right into the vinyl like a chisel if you raise the back of the arm too far. For someone without a USB microscope (you can see and measure the SRA) best is always to keep the arm perfectly parallel to the record. By all means add a record and see if you can hear a difference. In the old days with changers we use to stack 10 records!
I always set mine with a USB microscope to 92 degrees and forget about it. 

Mike 
First fix VTA, as DeKay is probably right. As you lower it down the sound will become more and more balanced. You will know you have gone too far when you start to lose top end detail and the bass and overall sound becomes too warm and round.

Then fine tune VTF. For this you need to stay within the manufacturers range but anything within that range is fair game. So go with what sounds best. This will not be as big a difference as VTA but every little bit....

Finally, experiment with loading. High values are called low load, low values are high load. The more you load a cartridge the more you lower the top end compared to the bass. The difference can be huge. But do VTA and VTF first.
Bass on LPs is often compromised to accommodate the physical medium. CDs and other digital media don't have this problem. 
  • @mijostyn

Hey guys I don’t mean to hijack the OP here but I have the same cartridge and wonder if my tonearm is too light? My table is the Clearaudio Concept with the stock Concept magnetic bering tonearm. I originally purchased them from Needle Doctor here in Minneapolis (sadly they went belly up prior to the pandemic) and was told this should be a good pairing. Should I be looking at adding some weight via heavier head shell screws? Thanks!!
The tonearm on the pro-ject the classic has an effective mass of 13.5 grams, so medium mass. It is not too light for the hana cartridge. I run the EL version on the classic and it sounds great. I do agree, the hardware that comes with the hana’s (aluminum bolts) should be replaced for stainless steel allen head bolts, a bit heavier. The hana only weighs 5 grams. Also, if you read the manual or look at pro-ject’s website for the classic...they do recommend a different counterweight for very light cartridges. However, the counterweight that comes with the table is marginally within acceptable limits for the cartridge. The arm can easily be balanced as is. Also, the hana’s seemingly prefer to be run ass down, from my experience. The cartridge just sounds sweeter this way. Lastly, I would not load the cartridge below 400 ohms. Follow the recommendation for 400 or higher. I load mine anywhere from 400 to 500 ohms which it seems to like. Sometimes sibilance is in the recording itself, dependent on the pressing. I’ve proved this, as I own 5 turntables and the recordings effected with sibilance can be heard on all 5 turntables and cartridge combos. Not to say that both VTF/VTA as well as proper alignment can’t reduce it. It will take experimentation to find out. By the way, the pro-jec the classic is an outstanding turntable for the money. I also own the SB version with the built in speed box. Fremer likes it too.

This is from the Galen Carol audio website:

A tonearm whose effective mass is rated at 10 grams or below is considered low mass (e.g. early SME’s, Grace 747 etc.). A tonearm whose effective mass is rated between 11 and 25 grams is considered moderate mass (e.g. SME 309, IV, IV-Vi, V, Triplanar, Graham). Arms above 25 grams of mass are high mass in nature (Eminent Technology, Dynavector).