Hana Umami Red or Lyra Kleos?

@skyscraper 

The Hana is indeed warmer than the Lyra was, but the difference is far from night and day. Both cartridges were/are quite balanced in my admittedly forgiving system -- Moon phono stage, Primaluna integrated, NOLA Boxer speakers.

Jim, that would be helpful. I haven’t heard back from Soundsmith yet, but I only emailed them Friday and Saturday.

Mike

@retipper might weigh in on The Voice / VPI arm compatibility issues, if any… He is the inventor after all and a fine man.

???

Jim

Thanks edcyn. The Hana line of cartridges does get a lot of praise. Do you find your Hana ML a bit warmer than the Lyra Delos in your system or are they about the same in that regard?

Mike

I'm telegraphing this in from the slums, but I recently replaced my worn-out Lyra Delos with a Hana ML, and I have to say I'm liking my Hana a heck of a lot. The Hana was a bit tizzy during the first week, but it has mellowed out and is now warm, happy and beautiful-sounding., Now broken in, tracking is now at least equal to the always fine-tracking Lyra. .Orchestral string tone is unmatched. Vocalists and instruments are as "there" as I've ever experienced on my system. Dynamics and slam are about equal. Alphason Arm.

Thanks Jim. availability might end up being a factor too with the current supply chain issues. I’m probably going to have to take a trip up to Washington DC if I can find a dealer up that way who can demo them both on the same table. I haven’t located a Lyra dealer any closer yet though, other than the mail order chains.

I’m curious about what Soundsmth might say too about the tonearm matching issue with their "The Voice" .HOMI cartridge. The dealer I spoke with thought it was a significant enough issue to warrant going with the lower Soundsmith Zephyr model.

Daveyf, thanks for your description, having heard both. If you don’t mind my asking, why did you decide to go with the Kleos over the Umami?

Raul, maybe some day I can upgrade the tonearm too, but with my Euro stock holdings in my IRA tanking lately, that may be later rather than sooner. 

Mike

I have heard both cartridges, not on the same arm. The Hana is a little warmer sounding to my ears than the Kleos. For what it's worth, I went with the Kleos.

I have heard both ( Lyra and Hana ) at some length but not on same table. Lyra on a Unipivot VPI , Hana on an AMG. A major toss up….. both frankly are excellent and both will reward..your…eventual…arm upgrade to pivot…..

Lets put it this way, as a long term Lyra owner, if i couldn’t find a Lyra, the Umami would be on my short list of cartridges…

Best

Jim

Achipo, thanks for the recommend on your Lyra Kl;eos. It seems to get excellent reviews all around. Hopefully someone will be able to chime in who has also heard the Hana Umami Red. It’s a much newer cartridge, so probably not as many have had the opportunity to demo or own one. I’m curious in what ways the Soundsmith Hyperion was an improvement over the Kleos if you don’t mind sharing..

Tablejockey, "incompatible" might be too strong a word. If I understood this person correctly the weight of the the cartridge, and perhaps the compliance of the Soundsmith "The Voice" do not match up with the VPI JMW 10.5i" cartridge like their much less expensive ($1499) Zephyr HOMI cartridge does. The Zephyr was designed specifically for VPI’s tonearms in consultation with VPI’s.Harry Weisfeld,.

The Kleos and Umami Red both have specs that match the JMW 10.5i well. .At the much higher price point than the Zephyr HOMI. I’m guessing they would perform better, although my advisor still recommends the Zephyr as well as the Kleos or Umami. I’ve emailed Soundsmith to get their input on the cartridge/tonearm matching issue,and the performance quality of the Zephyr HOMI versus the Soundsmith "The Voice" HOMI.

Mike

@skyscraper  : Your today unipivot VPI tonearm is the wrong tonearm for that cartridges quality level. It can work but it never will helps for any of those cartridges can shows at its best. Sooner or latter you need to let goes that terrible unipivot tonearm.

 

R.

Who "informed" you the SS Voice isn't compatible?

All 3 choices will "work" on your arm.

SS carts have been  used on VPI's since their inception.

 

I can't comment on the Hana Umami Red, but the Lyra Kleos is an outstanding cartridge.  I had it mounted on a Well Tempered Reference tone arm and turntable and it was great.  I then moved it to my DIY Lenco with a TransFi Terminator air bearing linear arm, and it was even better.  Only upgrading to Sound Smith's top of the line Hyperion (2x more expensive) displaced the Kleos.