Hana EL Cartridge Impressions

[brubacca]

I can't say enough good about this cartridge. I fitted one on My Rega P2 a week ago.

This cartridge sounds good on new "audiophile" vinyl. It also does great on old original vinyl (late 70s/80s). It definitely is kind on surface noise

The Hana carts get a lot of hype and from my perspective its well earned.

Listening to Mercy Street from the Peter Gabriel So box set us amazing. The song has this amazing haunting character. I never noticed this on my digital copies.

Sinking Soon from Norah Jones is another favorite test track of mine. The muted trumpet sounds amazing with the Hana. Like an actual muted trumpet was in the room. (I also say the same thing about my Gumby DAC).

I've got my original copy of The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks on. Paint it Black is coming on as I type this. Again its rocks through the Hana.

This cartridge is not even broken in.

Dave Matthews Band Crash album just flows from song to song. Its a great album to have on Vinyl.

I really stressed over spending almost $500 on a cartridge. Its been YEARS that I have debated this here and on other forums. Let me just say it was money We'll spent.

System:
Rege P2 w/ Hana EL --> Schiit Sys --> Naim UnitiQute --> Monitor Audio RS8.

[dsonyay]

Great to hear... Post your thoughts after the break-in period as well.

[405x5]

Ha Ha!
You CAN break a record but you can’t break IN a cartridge. Actually you need to be older to remember broken records.
Don’t believe me about the cartridge break in falsehood..? ..Just get one of those exotica cartridge companies live on the phone. They’ll tell you anything you want to hear.

Bill

[KeithL]

In this case I suspect you may be wrong.

Like a speaker, most cartridges do have flexible parts, specifically the suspension that holds the cantilever in place but allows it to move.

These parts are made out of rubber, or some similar flexible material, and probably will in fact change after the first few hours of use...

(They can also eventually weaken due to fatigue or harden due to age and environmental exposure.)

And, when the characteristics of the suspension change, the resonance and compliance of the cartridge, which are partly determined by the suspension, will also change.

Therefore, it's not at all unreasonable to expect a cartridge to both "break in" and "wear out"..... to some degree.

(I would expect some cartridges to be more subject to this effect than others - depending on the exact materials they use.)

With speakers, and speaker drivers, measurements and specifications are assumed to apply "after a reasonable break in period".

Note that, with speaker drivers, playing music somewhat loudly for 12 or 24 hours is usually considered to be sufficient for this.

(Also note that very few electronic components experience any sort of break-in... and most circuitry is relatively immune to change when and if they do.)

It's worth noting, however, that we humans are also subject to "break-in"

(There is a technical name for this effect - which applies to all sorts of things - including our perceptions of color, loudness, and temperature.)

When we first hear something new, that has a specific sonic signature, different from what we currently have, it tends to sound "odd or different".

Then, as we listen to it for a while, we eventually stop noticing its specific sonic signature (unless it is specifically objectionable).

Once that happens, and we no longer notice it, we have fully adopted the new device as "our new normal".

At that point, our new device "just sounds normal", and anything that sounds different sounds "odd or unusual".

This effect can be very powerful... and undoubtedly accounts for many claims of "equipment breaking in".

Jan 28, 2020 9:22:48 GMT -5 405x5 said:

Ha Ha!
You CAN break a record but you can’t break IN a cartridge. Actually you need to be older to remember broken records.
Don’t believe me about the cartridge break in falsehood..? ..Just get one of those exotica cartridge companies live on the phone. They’ll tell you anything you want to hear.

Bill

[405x5]

Jan 28, 2020 10:13:04 GMT -5 KeithL said:

In this case I suspect you may be wrong.

Like a speaker, most cartridges do have flexible parts, specifically the suspension that holds the cantilever in place but allows it to move.

These parts are made out of rubber, or some similar flexible material, and probably will in fact change after the first few hours of use...

(They can also eventually weaken due to fatigue or harden due to age and environmental exposure.)

And, when the characteristics of the suspension change, the resonance and compliance of the cartridge, which are partly determined by the suspension, will also change.

Therefore, it's not at all unreasonable to expect a cartridge to both "break in" and "wear out"..... to some degree.

(I would expect some cartridges to be more subject to this effect than others - depending on the exact materials they use.)

With speakers, and speaker drivers, measurements and specifications are assumed to apply "after a reasonable break in period".

Note that, with speaker drivers, playing music somewhat loudly for 12 or 24 hours is usually considered to be sufficient for this.

(Also note that very few electronic components experience any sort of break-in... and most circuitry is relatively immune to change when and if they do.)

It's worth noting, however, that we humans are also subject to "break-in"

(There is a technical name for this effect - which applies to all sorts of things - including our perceptions of color, loudness, and temperature.)

When we first hear something new, that has a specific sonic signature, different from what we currently have, it tends to sound "odd or different".

Then, as we listen to it for a while, we eventually stop noticing its specific sonic signature (unless it is specifically objectionable).

Once that happens, and we no longer notice it, we have fully adopted the new device as "our new normal".

At that point, our new device "just sounds normal", and anything that sounds different sounds "odd or unusual".

This effect can be very powerful... and undoubtedly accounts for many claims of "equipment breaking in".

Jan 28, 2020 9:22:48 GMT -5 405x5 said:

Ha Ha!
You CAN break a record but you can’t break IN a cartridge. Actually you need to be older to remember broken records.
Don’t believe me about the cartridge break in falsehood..? ..Just get one of those exotica cartridge companies live on the phone. They’ll tell you anything you want to hear.

Bill

Loudspeaker break in is plausible in the short term, with all of those driver components working in unison for the first extended period of time.
The excursions at live or near live listening levels are significant and are visible to the eye (except for the tweets).

However, I’m not a fan of comparing the mechanics of a cantilever to a driver, particularly when the movement of the cartridge remains constant regardless of the volume level. And on top of that, the stylus movement is so relatively small, compared to a driver? Can’t be seen with the naked eye even in the loudest passages. How much break in could be a factor on those levels?

Bill

[lehighvalleyjeff]

Just to chime in on cartridge break in I have experienced this phenomenon first hand several times. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to find that after about 20 to 40 hours that the cantilever has either broken in or loosened up. Louis at Ortofon was very specific about this on both my Cadenza Red and Cadenza Black cartridges.

Needless to say over the next few weeks of play they opened up and sounded better to my ears. Not being an engineer I try to get advice from the manufacturer and in good faith take their suggestions. First few songs on new cartridge and I was immediately disappointed. Took a good week or two and then I just noticed things sounded “better”. Not scientific or measurable but seemed to make sense and was consistent with what Ortofon suggested.