Warm sounding phono cartridge

Either that or they’d rather not argue with a customer. It’s easier to just replace the cartridge than to dispute the claim, and it turns a disgruntled customer into a grateful one.

@ericba I initially had the cartridge loaded at 100 Ohms at 60 db of gain, then dropped it to 80 as I thought it sounded a little bright on my gear. I don’t think that there’s a problem with the cartridge. It just seems like a good cart for critical listening. I’m rather new to the hobby and I found cartridge shopping a little frustrating. There’s seemingly endless options based on my budget. I live in New Hampshire. Boston, MA is not far. There’s about 6 or so decent home audio shops within 1.5 hours. However, cartridge shopping is a real pain. I basically did some online research and settled on the Hana Umami Blue or a Soundsmith The Voice and went with the Hana mainly because it was highly regarded by my local dealer and I saved some money trading in my Clearaudio cartridge. I guess Hana and Clearaudio have the same US distributor.  

There’s practically no difference between 80 and 100 ohms load for an LOMC with an 8 ohm internal resistance. The difference certainly ought not to affect tonal balance in any significant (audible) way. But we convince ourselves anyway.

@rfauto A properly set up Umami Blue should not leave you not wanting for a "lesser cartridge"—your description of a thin sound points towards a sub-optimal setup. Either that or something else in the analog chain is causing it.

I would first ask the dealer how it was set up, which alignment system was used, and if VTA and VTF were properly tuned. You mentioned that you traded in your Clearaudio Cart, the Umami Blue should sound warmer compared to that.

I can't stress enough how important professional setup is. I have the ML, before that, I had the SL, and the thin sound is not what comes to mind when describing Hana house sound.   

First principles.  Define the root cause of the problem.  Are you hearing clicks and pops on all you records or only some?  If only some, examine them carefully under bright light (I like sunlight).  Are the noisy records damaged?  If so, then +1 for a Sugar Cube.  If they show no signs of damage, you might try cleaning them again. You mentioned that you have a Degritter.  You might try using a different method of cleaning because ultrasonic cleaning is not effective against some contaminants. That is why many professional use a two or more step process such as a vacuum machine followed by an ultrasonic. Or at least you might try using a detergent solution first followed by a distilled water rinse.  Next, are the noisy records all made by the same record label?  That label may just be inherently noisy.  If so, again model depenant +1 for Sugar Cube.  Finally, I didn't look it up, but is your new stylus a Shibata?  If so, you should be aware that these are very difficult to set up and are prone to pick up noise.  Professional setup assistance may be your best solution.