Matching the cartridge to the phono stage

Thanks @pindac . 

I'm thinking of Rega Planar 6 with its standard tonearm with the Hana SL cart. 

That is not a very user-friendly spec sheet. This appears to be a full function integrated amplifier and so I’m assuming these mV numbers are sensitivity -- i.e. the required signal level to elicit full amplifier output with the volume control at MAX.

If we work backwards from the phono sensitivity and the stated line stage sensitivity, we can arrive at the gain levels:

• 0.1mV corresponds to a gain of 65dB at a load of 40 ohms ( @jasonbourne71 was right): 65 = 20 * log(180 / 0.1)
• 0.3mV to 55dB at 100 ohms
• 2.5mV to 37dB at 47K ohms

For a 0.5mV cartridge, 60dB is ideal so typically you could go to either 55dB or 65dB. However, the Hana’s 30 ohm DC coil impedance is not a good match for the 40 ohm load listed at the 0.1mV / 65dB setting. Therefore, I would use 0.3mV / 55dB, however even THAT is not ideal, as 100 ohms load is still low for a 30 ohm coil. It will work, it might even sound very good, but you will be throwing away 2.27dB of signal (meaning your effective gain is only 52.73 dB at this setting). Quite frankly their fixed loading selections for MC present a pretty tough load. The most common "rule of thumb" is that you want a phono stage load impedance which is greater than 10x the cartridge’s coil ohms, but I have gone as low as 6x on occasion. Below that, and you will start to face problems very quickly due to signal losses. 30 ohm coils into 100 ohms load is only 3x :(

This phono stage is probably not optimal for the Hana SL, without internal modification - maybe you can change the load resistor? Most MC cartridges would do fine on this amp. The Hana SL is atypical because its coil impedance of 30 ohms is very high for its output level of 0.5mV. You will typically see 0.5mV cartridges with coils that are 5 - 15 ohms. The Hana ML, at 0.4mV and 7 ohms coils, would be a much better match here.

Hi @mulveling wow...thanks for such a descriptive explanation.

Do you have any suggestions of MC cartridges that sound great kinda like Hana SL ( I actually chose it by recommendation and also google research). I have not opened the cartridge so I can always return and get something else. It just had such great reviews that I thought that I'm definitely getting this one.

But then I had to upgrade my amplification for my Dynaudio speakers and therefore I ended up deciding on the Luxman. So Luxman is what I will be getting but everything else I can adjust.

I don't even have a turntable yet but Rega Planar 6 with its standard tonearm is my thought so far.

Would be interesting to understand what matches exactly to my phono stage at the level and price as the Hana SL possibly.

Thanks!

@ajones82

Some will say to get the cartridge you want and buy the right phono stage for that, even if it means bypassing the phono stage in your new amp. Others will say mod your new amp with the right resistor to load your cartridge optimally. But really, there’s a million ways to skin the cat. in the end your ears & experiences will trump any number of reviews and posts on the internet :)

The good news is I’ve purchased many MC cartridges in 15 years and haven’t encountered one yet that doesn’t sound at least very good. I haven’t heard Hanas but I’m fairly sure they’re quite good as advertised.

Off the top of my head, if I were matching an MC cartridge to this phono stage, I know that the Ortofon Quintet and Cadenza lines all have 5 ohm coils with strong output levels (0.3 - 0.45mV) that would match well here. I particularly like the Cadenza Red and Bronze (they also have slightly higher outputs levels which is nice). Those models have a fun, musical sound that’s hard to stop listening to.

Koetsus have 5 ohm coils and 0.4mV outputs and sound wonderful, but are expensive and on the very warm side of the spectrum!

My Sonic Labs have extremely low coil impedances and high output levels, but are also quite expensive.

Alternatively you could also use the 47K MM input on your amp with a SUT (step-up transformer) OR an MC head-amp (e.g. Hagerman Piccolo - a JFET based head-amp) that would match better to the Hanas. The Hagerman Piccolo is under like 300 bucks and paired with the 47K MM input on your amp it would perfectly match virtually any MC, including the Hanas. Quite frankly that might be a good compromise. I have 2 of the older Piccolos and can verify the sonics are very good and functionality as advertised. Current version looks like a good deal.

Like I said, lots of ways to skin the cat...

My guess is that the high gain inputs feed a SUT with a choice of two levels of voltage gain. That would account for the two different load resistance parameters at the two different levels of gain. You can’t fix that unless you change the 47K ohm resistor that serves as a load for the MM inputs. That certainly can be done but first you’d want to know the turns ratios of the SUT. I’m guessing the 0.3 mV input sees a 1:20 turns ratio. That would give an input resistance of about 100 ohms with the standard 47K ohm load on the secondaries. About a 1:30 turns ratio on the highest gain inputs would yield about a 40 ohm net load into that same 47K resistance. I agree that the maker has done a poor job of explaining the circuit. Change the fixed 47K load resistance to 100K ohms, and you could double the respective loads via the MC inputs Most MM and high output MI cartridges work fine into 100K, but the resulting MC input loads are still not quite optimal for the Hana. Pick an LOMC  cartridge with a much lower internal resistance than the Hana, for better matching to this unit.