Hesitant to upgrade my phono cartridge

I’ve used a Cadenza Bronze on an Ovation and with a VTPH-2A (though not at the same time) and it’s a great match in both cases. The Clearaudio decks & arms definitely benefit from a cartridge with some natural warmth, or they can come off as slightly sterile. In fact the Bronze might well be the perfect match for Ovation - both its sonic demeanor and price/performance. 

And if your system still has brightness issues with a Bronze installed - it’s not the cartridge’s fault. It’s definitely the Ortofon MC model to choose when that’s a concern.

If you happen to run across a NOS, near-mint, or refurbished Kontrapunkt "c", that was the Cadenza Bronze’s predecessor. Perhaps it’s the rose-tint of nostalgia, but I remember that model as being even slightly sweeter than the Bronze! Or maybe I just prefer its silver coil wire and FG80 stylus (gold-plated copper wire and Replicant / Micro-Ridge on the Bronze).

I share pindac's high regard for the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze.  I use a Cadenza Bronze on my Clearaudio Performance DC Wood with the Tracer tonearm, and I find the combination to be very realistic, warm, immediate and engrossing.

@paulgardner The SL calls for >400ohm, the ML calls for >100ohm. Based on that phono stage design and how you run it, there’s no way to predict how it would work with a particular cartridge unless you reach out to Herron with specs to get his thoughts on it and to determine whether or not it will need to be loaded.

Sounds like either your cartridge suspension is getting a little worn (time to adjust your VTA) or you've become more sensitive to your system characteristics. 

You can't get a better phono pre than the Herron VTPH-2A.  

But if you feel the urge to get a different cartridge, call Keith Herron and ask what he recommends.  

Paul G....if you raise the arm, be sure to adjust all the other parameters as well.   The Fozgometer is a very useful tool

@audphile1 the Herron VTPH-2A uses loading plugs which I do not use. Keith Herron encouraged me to not use the loading plugs if possible. I believe he called it “infinite loading” when using this phono stage without the loading plugs. 

@paulgardner what settings on the phono stage are you using right now? Gain and loading.

I upgraded from EL to ML. I noticed improvements in noise, resolution, soundstage and imaging. The overall sound did not become brighter at all. Just more open and more detailed. I wouldn’t worry about brightness unless your system is already leaning that way. If that’s the case you probably need to look at room acoustics, tube rolling and cables. 

had ortofon x5-mc for a while  

switched to ortofon concorde nightclub II for taming down the highs, and the Arkiv, which boosts highs for recording to hard drive then burn to cds.

have a drawer full of ADC shoes, for the head shell, still rocks!

The Hana SL is a Cart' that turned up with a bit of a euphoria attached to the model and it was finding recommendation from many corners. The euphoria was short lived, and my recollections are that many were abandoned with plenty of usage life remaining, to be replaced with the ML Model when it arrived on the Market, and others with plenty of usage life were swapped out for other Models from Brands once the betterment of the ML was being made known.

I am a SL owner, I stopped using it when the Cart' was thought to be run in, and prior to the ML becoming available.

The SL to me was a sensible route to getting LOMC replay for approx' £00.70p per Album Replay.

After a period of time, I thought of it as a Second Cartridge Only and removed it from regular use with approx' 200 hours of usage on it.

My experience is showing there are much better Cartridges out there that can deliver a very attractive presentation for reasonable monies.

I don't think the expense of an Umami Red is required.

If you could learn a little more about the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, it shares the Trickle-Down Technology from the TOTR Ortofon Model the Windfeld.

This Bronze certainly is one that is reported to have a little detectable richness and might have the attributes that will give confidence there will be a compatibility with the Tweeter of your speaker. 

I know somebody who has the Bronze in use, as their choIce over the Blue and Black Cadenza Models on a DD TT, they claim it has detectable richness that is an antithesis to the sharpness of the DD TT. A Harmony has been discovered and this alone has served to be a real improvement to their previous listening experiences. 

@paulgardner The SL stands for Shibata low output and you should have some life left to enjoy for a bit after you adjust 

@tooblue the SL stands for Shibata Low output. I have checked the tracking force. It’s at 2g, which it where the manufacture recommends. I can definitely raise the arm a tiny amount. I just might try that. Thanks. 

@paulgardner Your cart is signified by the SL and that seems to indicate Line Contact, if that be true you are at or nearing that carts usefulness, if it is an elliptical stylus it is way over it's intended use. WTS, if still useful I would take this as an opportunity to acquaint yourself with adjusting it out, and there are plenty here that will chime in on that who have the same cart and arm. as a quick check if you are comfortable raising the back of the arm in very small degrees to get the position of the styles/rake closer to spec to compensat for a relaxed suspension it might get you to a happy place for now.

@paulgardner the 1st thing I'd check is the tracking force. Is it still correct? A good tracking force guage can be found on Amazon for around $35. The next is verifing VTA. Again the suspension can change over time and you might have to increase the arm, maybe not but again worth checking this out as well. Those 2 things should be fairly easy to do but remeber when you cahnge VTA you chnage VTF as well. Good luck

Maybe a nice Grado.

@tooblue the cart has roughly 1500 hours maybe a touch more. I had the cart mounted by a local shop when I had the arm replaced due to ignorance on my part when I broke the azimuth adjustment tension wire. I have not adjusted anything since then. I’m not opposed to doing some adjustments myself but I’ll need to figure out how to adjust the two dials on the Magnify tonearm (if that’s even what I should do to troubleshoot) 

Give us an idea of estimated hours on your cart and if you are comfortable with doing fine adjustments yourself. If you are hands on and the cart is within the realm of it's useful range the sibilance might be due to the cart being a bit out of range, such as the suspension lowering enough for the sibilance. Enjoy the music