Nice to watch a channel that actually focuses on true high end analog. I can honestly never take anything digital seriously after hearing a Hana on a Kuzma arm.
Greg, I’m genuinely thrilled to have stumbled upon your channel. As fate may have it, I very recently (within the last week) came into possession of a Denon DP-59L that came with a Denon DL-103 cartridge; my first ever MC cartridge. I must say, listening to Miles Davis horn on “Summertime” from his Porgy and Bess album had me absolutely floored. I was in utter disbelief at how palpable, how powerful his trumpet was rendered through this cartridge. I now understand why many serious audiophiles have made the leap into the MC camp. I am now a firm believer in the moving coil and don’t think I can ever go back to MM. I feel as though a veil was lifted from the music; a veil that had robbed the music of one of detail, depth, luster and dynamics. I want to thank you for making these videos. I have found them to be not only educational but also quite intriguing. Looking forward to watching more. Cheers good sir.
Thank you very much for your kind words on my efforts, and - welcome to the MC camp... I have to say, I'm living with the new DS Audio Grand Master Optical Cartridge (ds-audio-w.biz/products/222/ ), with its dedicated Power Supply and Optical "Equalizer," as it does not require the standard RIAA equalization curve. The experience has me thinking that "Aki," the nickname used by Tetsuaki Aoyagi , DS Audio's President and the force behind this optical movement, just may have created the next advance of the LP stylus playback transducer.
There are warm but highly detailed. Like music. I have a Denon 103 on an old pioneer that is really fun but the Hana is magic. I have the red in my sights next. I've had them measured personally and I can tell you that they are ruler flat in response
Excellent review with a lot of supporting information vs just opinions. Well done. I have been considering this vs a Dynavector TKR, Cadenza Black and a few other. My gut says to go the Hana route.
I’ve decided to purchase the Hana Red. I’ve owned an Acoustic Signature NEO Hurricane with their TA5000 arm for a couple years. I also have their MCX4 cart and overall it has been very satisfying but as usual I want to see if there is something I’m missing. Having both is not a bad option.
@@skipgordon5382 This seems like a solid decision. And you may find this implausible, but my time in front of a NEO Hurrican fitted with the TA5000 Arm, which came during High End Munich 2023 in the VAC/Von Schweikert Audio room, saw that very combo fitted with - drum roll please - the Hana Umami Red! The performance was remarkable, as you may have expected. We'll be anxious to hear about your experience with the Umami Red. Happy listening.
I’m very happy with my table and arm and anxious to find out how the Hana Red sounds. It was between the Hana Red and the Dynavector TKR. The 0.26 output pushed me away. I have a solid 65 db of gain. Like used the ModWright PH 9.0 XT. In the process of adding some Amprex 6922 tubes. I hope the synergy comes together.
I upgraded from an ML to the Blue and the difference to me was huge. It was warmer and clearer. If the difference from Blue to Red is as large it must be glorious.
Hey, Don. While there are a great many really great choices out there today, this little overachiever really sets a hard act to follow for the dough. You can spend more on other carts, but get less... It is a real winner.
Hi Greg, I bought the Umami Red because of your excellent review and am very happy with it‘s sound, right now connected to an active phono preamp.. Now I need a step-up transformer (1:15), with a perfectly matching input impedance, because I would like to hook it on to a tube MM phono amp instead. Do you have any recommendation which SUTs match perfectly? Thanks in advance, Robert
Sadly, I have very little recent experience with individual SUTs. Why? Well, every phono stage I've used over the past two decades has offered MC inputs with enough, or more than enough, gain for the moving coil cartridge in my stable of carts. I've no idea what you plan to spend, but I've seen SUTs for under $150 and over $3,500. Audio-Tecnica and Ortofon used to make some very well-regarded models but...I've no idea if that is still the case. Best of luck.
Hi Greg! Thanks for the interesting review! I own the Soundsmith Sussurro Mk2 (yes, a moving iron cart). I wonder how it compares to Hana Umami Red. Hana is on sale now. It is almost half the price of my cartridge. Thanks!
There is no question that Peter leads the successful charge of the untraditional cartridge, championing both the Moving Iron and Strain Gauge designs. And as much as I love what he is doing, I still, at least to this point in time, lean more comfortably and fully into the MC camp. Don’t get me wrong, his work in these two areas is exceptional. He essentially started making Moving Iron carts to fill the gap left when B&O stopped making turntables - and replacement cartridges for those existing ‘tables. He essentially reverse-engineered their design and soon established a successful worldwide business supplying B&O customers with replacement “plug in” “moving iron” cartridges. But he didn’t stop there. When that market was saturated, he began building standard mount versions such as your Sussurro, now in its Mk2. That said, I personally find the Hana Umami Red to represent one of the best performance to price ratios in the market today. If you are enchanted with your Sussurro, there is no need to look beyond its capabilities. Maybe, just maybe when you are ready for a replacement, you might give the Hana a test drive… 😉 Thanks for taking the time to write.
I presume you are talking about my main 'table, no? That would be the Kronos Pro Limited Edition... It is one of the most resolving and nuanced 'tables I've heard over five decades in and around this industry. I have done a number of videos here on the channel about Kronos, and "E65: The KRONOS Pro Limited Edition turntable" (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DyaT7kcgYCI.html) specifically on it. Also, you may learn more about their contra-rotational and other technologies from my review of the Kronos Sparta Turntable for the Absolute Sound from January 2016 at www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/kronos-sparta-turntable/
To the best of my knowledge, they were made by the Mitachi Co., Ltd. of Japan. They engage in the manufacture and sale of electronic devices, electronic parts, motors and electronic equipment assemblies. My research reveals that they also sold their cartridges under the Glanz brand in Europe.
I was perfectly happy with my Technics turntable at college in 1980. The quartz speed mechanism was visually cool to look at. This video is scary as to all the technology involved to transfer the vinyl Signal along its path. Maybe looking under the hood as to how these things work should be greeted with caution. I'm not sure human kind can ever be completely satisfied. Ignorance can be bliss at times.
LOL... Though I totally understand the sense of comfort one may assume from not having to think about certain aspects of a situation - or in this instance, a mechanical transducer - I am a firm believer that the more information you have, the better a decision you are able to make. And in this case, knowing just how VERY much thought, energy, and technology, as well as the choices of materials and processes - the Duralumin 7075 alloy body, a Boron cantilever, its Polyether Ether Ketone [PEEK] terminal mounting plate, a Microline™ stylus, using Urushi lacquer, cryogenic treatment, and fabrication by hand - they’ve chosen to apply in its execution, come together to make choosing the Red as close to a no brainer as I’ve seen of late! Once you learn the provenance and pedigree of the Hana Umami Red, you understand just how much performance you may expect for such a realistic price. It establishes the paradigm of value in MC cartridges today.
@@theaudioanalyst amazing reply thank you. Although I am still fearful. But very impressed with your recitation of facts here no doubt all of which came without reference to any notes. Alas, most of us are just mortals.
