Matching the cartridge to the phono stage

Hi @mulveling wow...thanks for such a descriptive explanation.

Do you have any suggestions of MC cartridges that sound great kinda like Hana SL ( I actually chose it by recommendation and also google research). I have not opened the cartridge so I can always return and get something else. It just had such great reviews that I thought that I'm definitely getting this one.

But then I had to upgrade my amplification for my Dynaudio speakers and therefore I ended up deciding on the Luxman. So Luxman is what I will be getting but everything else I can adjust.

I don't even have a turntable yet but Rega Planar 6 with its standard tonearm is my thought so far.

Would be interesting to understand what matches exactly to my phono stage at the level and price as the Hana SL possibly.

Thanks!

@ajones82

Some will say to get the cartridge you want and buy the right phono stage for that, even if it means bypassing the phono stage in your new amp. Others will say mod your new amp with the right resistor to load your cartridge optimally. But really, there’s a million ways to skin the cat. in the end your ears & experiences will trump any number of reviews and posts on the internet :)

The good news is I’ve purchased many MC cartridges in 15 years and haven’t encountered one yet that doesn’t sound at least very good. I haven’t heard Hanas but I’m fairly sure they’re quite good as advertised.

Off the top of my head, if I were matching an MC cartridge to this phono stage, I know that the Ortofon Quintet and Cadenza lines all have 5 ohm coils with strong output levels (0.3 - 0.45mV) that would match well here. I particularly like the Cadenza Red and Bronze (they also have slightly higher outputs levels which is nice). Those models have a fun, musical sound that’s hard to stop listening to.

Koetsus have 5 ohm coils and 0.4mV outputs and sound wonderful, but are expensive and on the very warm side of the spectrum!

My Sonic Labs have extremely low coil impedances and high output levels, but are also quite expensive.

Alternatively you could also use the 47K MM input on your amp with a SUT (step-up transformer) OR an MC head-amp (e.g. Hagerman Piccolo - a JFET based head-amp) that would match better to the Hanas. The Hagerman Piccolo is under like 300 bucks and paired with the 47K MM input on your amp it would perfectly match virtually any MC, including the Hanas. Quite frankly that might be a good compromise. I have 2 of the older Piccolos and can verify the sonics are very good and functionality as advertised. Current version looks like a good deal.

Like I said, lots of ways to skin the cat...

My guess is that the high gain inputs feed a SUT with a choice of two levels of voltage gain. That would account for the two different load resistance parameters at the two different levels of gain. You can’t fix that unless you change the 47K ohm resistor that serves as a load for the MM inputs. That certainly can be done but first you’d want to know the turns ratios of the SUT. I’m guessing the 0.3 mV input sees a 1:20 turns ratio. That would give an input resistance of about 100 ohms with the standard 47K ohm load on the secondaries. About a 1:30 turns ratio on the highest gain inputs would yield about a 40 ohm net load into that same 47K resistance. I agree that the maker has done a poor job of explaining the circuit. Change the fixed 47K load resistance to 100K ohms, and you could double the respective loads via the MC inputs Most MM and high output MI cartridges work fine into 100K, but the resulting MC input loads are still not quite optimal for the Hana. Pick an LOMC  cartridge with a much lower internal resistance than the Hana, for better matching to this unit.

The Hana SL is a great cart — especially for the cost - I use the mono version as my daily driver. I’ve used it in a few configurations. When the resistance is pinched, it tends to smooth out more than it already is. I think if you’re starting out, just understand you don’t need to get too hung up on the numbers. They are a guideline and most systems have too much gain anyway. Regarding loading, once you get about 3x the internal resistance away from the input, which you at with 100ohms, the changes are subtle, more about preference and less about right or wrong. In my option, when this cart is pinched, it will sound more like the reviews say it sounds. So if you like the reviews, I’d go for it. The ML is a different animal - need to go by the book with that one  

A quick google search - Analog Planet said this about the SL, which I’d agree with:

The measured response differences between 100 ohms and 400 ohms was not significant but what was consistent throughout was a slight recess in frequency response in the upper midrange over a wide expanse of frequencies. And that is clearly audible. It’s what gives the SL such a pleasingly relaxed yet detailed sonic signature.

Like I said - more of the same. 

Define "pinched".