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.
Hana Umami Red or Lyra Kleos?
I’ve found out about two or three cartridges in my price range of $3000 -$4000 that should work well within the limitations of my Luxman 505uX Mk II’s built in phono stage. The other cartridge is the Soundsmith "The Voice" MI cartridge. Next I’ve had to figure out which are also compatible with my VPI Classic 2’s JMW 10.5i tonearm (with or without the VPI two pivot mod).
I’ve been informed off my short list, the Hana Umani Red and the Lyra Kleos both appear to have the right specs to be appropriate candidates for use with the VPI JMW 10.5i, However the Soundsmith "The Voice" would have weight and/or compliance issues.
Have any of you advice as to which of either the Hana Umami Red or Lyra Kleos MC cartridges you might prefer? I’m pretty sure these are both excellent choices, but may have some differences you might be able to point out, I’m a bit disappointed the Soundsmith "The Voice" might not match up well with the VPI JMW 10.5i tonearm, but so it goes. Thanks for any advice and sharing your experience with either of these cartridges.
Mike
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- 59 posts total
@skyscraper I went with the Kleos because i wanted a more resolving cartridge and felt the Hana was a little veiled in comparison. This could have been due to set up, or upstream/downstream gear, as I did not hear the two cartridges with the same arm/table etc., I used to own a Benz Ruby 2, which was a great cartridge, but again a little warm balanced. At the time, Benz was no longer available as an option to me, otherwise I would have gone into a Benz LPS MR. ( which is a superb cartridge), so the choice was for the Kleos. ( which is also a lot more resolving than the Benz). The Kleos requires a very very precise set-up and loading to get it best; when I hear people naysay the Kleos ( or newer Lyra’s in general), I know they have listened to one that was not set up with enough precision. The Hana most likely is FAR more forgiving in this respect.
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skyscraper- Peter Ledermann himself demoed his carts on VPI's for years. SS cart's do have compliance options. All your choices are solid. More of "Goldilocks" choice and how it interacts with your phono stage. VP arms aren't the last thing in technology compared to others, but It can be setup for a convincing performance. I use an old VPI Classic. |
@tablejockey : That could means only that's what he like but not tell us if is the " adequated " tonearm option.
Good for you that like unipivots that again are the worst tonearm kind of design for any cartridge can shows at its best that must be the target in any cartridge/tonearm combination.
R. |
- 59 posts total