Cartridge upgrade?

Hi Paul: I have not heard the Hana (looks very interesting) or the Purple Heart (which people I trust tell me is super). If I were in your shoes I'd check with Clearaudio (dealer or manufacturer) to see what they suggest with your arm (magnetic bearing is unique and may limit choices). Also, in that price range and if a good match for your arm I would suggest you also look at the Charisma Signature One. Really very special--very even handed and refined. Super cartridge!

@dodgealum awesome! I will do that. Thanks

I haven't seen a lot of people post about owning either of those cartridges, so your chances of hearing someone's impressions of both are probably slim.  

Here are some things to consider.  Your turntable is probably the weak link in your analog chain, not your cartridge (IMHO).  The Hana SL is very nice and you have an excellent phono stage from everything I have heard about it.  I own Herron monoblock amplifiers and they are spectacular. 

The Concept is a decent turntable, but that magnetic tonearm isn't something I'm crazy about and I don't think the table itself is very well isolated.  I owned one briefly, so I'm speaking from personal experience.

I have the Kiseki Blue NS, the cartridge below the Purpleheart.  The Kiseki Blue is better than the SL, a little more airy and detailed, but not by a huge margin.  I have heard of some Purpleheart owners mentioning quality issues.  I suggest doing a search on that.  

Putting an expensive cartridge on an entry level turntable isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I currently have my Kiseki Blue NS on my Technics SL 1200 MK 2 and it sounds really good. 

I have a recently retipped Zu Audio Denon DL-103 (which I think was about $400 new?) on my Acoustic Signature Wow XL and that combination sounds better than the much more expensive Kiseki Blue on the Technics.  The Kiseki Blue didn't significantly outclass the Zu DL-103 when I had it on the Wow XL, but it was definitely more refined and clearly better than the Zu on the Wow XL.

In short, my experience has been that upgrading the turntable provides more improvement than upgrading the cartridge.  They both matter, but my experience has been that putting a really nice cartridge on a less than solid platform (table and tonearm) is going to result in less of a sonic improvement than putting a modest cartridge on a well engineered turntable and tonearm.

am I going overkill with a $3-4k cartridge given my tone arm/tt?

Possibly

I’m pretty happy with the sound I’m getting currently but want to stay away from a cartridge that’s too forward sounding. I love the high end detail I’m getting from the diamond tweeters of my B&W 805d3’s but feel it can get a little bright at times.

The Kiseki is much smoother than the Hana cartridges, but from my personal experience they are not particularly resolving given the price.

I would have a look at the Soundsmith range - the Soundsmith MI cartridges are incredibly smooth and resolving - they should be a good match for the B&W's with the Diamond tweeters. You can select output and compliance to suit your arm and phono stage. Anything from US$2k should be an upgrade over the Hana.

@big_greg Yeah I’ve been considering upgrading my turntable too. I really like the Concept but it is very difficult to isolate with the magnetic bearing arm. I like the aesthetic of Clearaudio tt’s. I have my eye on the Wood w/ Satisfy arm. Or maybe the Dr. Feickert Woodpecker. Damn that’s a good looking tt!

You have a solid setup.

Consider putting the Audio Technica ART9 on your radar.
There are enough archived threads to give you an impression it has characteristics of the uber cart$.

Like big_greg, I have used the Kiseki Blue and it’s a wonderful cart, but it’s $2k+ and I used the ART9 before that. The ART9 is on level playing ground with the Blue for half the price-subjectively, of course.

Your phonostage will handle the lower output .2mv ART9,which may have a smidge more refinement over the .5mv model.

@dover Thanks. Yeah I’ll look into Soundsmith too

@tablejockey cool. Thanks, I’ll look at the blue and the ART9

Paul,
i would suggest with your budget to stretch your search for a better TT. That would give you much more in sound quality than upgrading the cartridge.
It will cost you less in the long run.

G

@paulgardner I really wanted to like the Concept.  It is a nice looking table and really easy to operate, but it didn't last long in my system.  I had a Clearaudio Emotion and liked that more, but it was kind of fussy.

There is a seller here on Audiogon (kron) that has the Kiseki Blue N.S. at a much reduced price, however it is "grey market", so no warranty.  That's where I bought mine.  He has over 2,000 transactions and 100% feedback.

@petg60 Yeah I’m kinda leaning toward just upgrading the turntable. Thanks for the thought. 

@big_greg thanks. I’m now thinking I’ll put the money toward upgrading the turntable before pulling the trigger on a different cartridge. 

"I’m now thinking I’ll put the money toward upgrading the turntable before pulling the trigger on a different cartridge."

IMO, a smarter move, than dropping over $1K for a different cart. For the long haul a new table makes sense. 

 "I’ll look at the blue and the ART9" 
I don't go 1/3-1/2 value of table, which is why the ART9 was suggested. Kiseki Blue@ $2K+ is too much cart comparing performance against the ART9 for half the cost. The Purple Heart or Umami Red will be underserved.

Dear @paulgardner : With your today set up or a new TT I'm with the gentleman that posted as an option the AT, it's really an " eyes/ears open " cartridge . You will be regarded with:

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/at-art9xa


Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.