Atmasphere,
Thank you for this information.
I just know I’m deliriously happy at the way it’s sounding now.
What a difference a setting makes.
I recently got a new turntable (Feikert,) Arm (Origin Live,) and cartridge Hana ML.) A whole new analog setup. I talked myself into thinking the sound was good, although I had doubts when I compared the SQ with the sound I was getting from the digital side. It was really great on some records (the equal of digital,) but the majority of discs were mediocre. Finally, I decided that with such good equipment I should be doing better. So, I contacted my salesman/advisor for help. He had initially recommended that I set the preamp with the gain at 58 and the load at 100 (evidently the standard for the Hana cartridge.) I kept it on that setting for several weeks.
When I called him he suggested that I increase the load to 200.
All of a sudden everything opened up! Almost everything I played had a presence it lacked before. The proverbial veil was lifted. Records really did sound wonderful!
I can’t help but think, that if I hadn’t had enough with the old sound I would be blissfully ignorant of what my set was capable.
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- 30 posts total
could your cartridge have also broken in? i have the 20/20 too and it didn't seem to change at all after a few days. i have had cartridges sound too hot and bright when new and 100 ohms sounded best. once they burn in they become less bright and then you can go to the 200 ohm setting. i have also increased the gain on some cartridges after they burn in. and yeah, the 20/20 is excellent. |
@avanti1960 I doubt it. The cartridge was at over 50hrs by time I got the 20/20. If it did break in some more, it would be a smaller change. I had this cartridge with the KC Vibe MkII and the system never sounded as dull, dry, muddy, congested and too busy, struggling with instrument separation and not at all engaging, as it did with 20/20 when I just got it. The 200ohm setting just didn’t sound right at all. So I set it at 100ohms and it kind of relaxed a bit so I left it there. |
RV, good on you! As I've said or implied in other posts, it all matters. 2 things not to overlook are the VTA and how it is affected by record thickness, and the VTF which by the way affects the VTA. I used to have two mats, one for records of a standard thickness and one for records which were thick. The mats made for a standard height to set your VTA for so you didn't have to fiddle with VTA for every record you used. Be nice to have a tonearm which had a scale for VTA or one that you could adjust VTA on the fly. Enjoy your new stuff! |
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