Warm sounding phono cartridge

I had Clearaudio cartridges (Talisman V2, then Concerto V2). I mostly like acoustic jazz and classical and I always thought those two Clearaudios had great treble extension, but were rather anemic and analytical in the midrange. I really wanted something warmer, more luscious in midrange. Switching to Dynavector (but as an upgrade to XV-1s) was a revelation. Warmer midrange, but without loss of dynamics or ability to resolve inner details. Then I upgraded again, but to Lyra Atlas. Same but even better in every way.

I realize each upgrade was a doubling in cost or more, but the brands have a fairly consistent sound signature/character. There's a house sound one can depend on IMO. If you don't like it, switch brands. FWIW.

I recommend a moving iron cartridge from SoundSmith

bent

'The Nagoaka MP500 is a moving permalloy cart with a nude fine line profile on a boron cantilever.  It's easy on the ears, but retains an inviting lively natural sounding detail with excellent dynamics.  

It sounds like a setup issue to me. Not to play down the OP's skills, knowledge, or experience, but I've tried setting up my Hana ML with a MoFi - Geodisc, and while I got it to sound decent, getting a professional setup guy to do the alignment brought the sound to a whole different level.

Cartridges at the level of the Umami Blue require careful setup and tuning with alignment tools like SMARTracktor or Feickert Alignment Protractor. 

+1 @chipcalzone  you beat me to it.

@rfauto I wouldn’t give up on the Hana just yet. At least not without narrowing down the reason why your albums sound “thin and noisy “.

What was your setup procedure for switching out to Hana Unami Blue? Cartridge alignment, tracking force, VTA? I’m guessing one cartridge is taller than the other. This could this be VTA related.

I believe the Hana output is 0.4mV, what is the Clearaudio cartridge output?

Good luck!