Still looking for a new Moving Coil Cartridge

"MC carts have fundamental problem of coil wire' affecting moving part resonance etc. that’s why MC carts typically require higher tracking pressure, which is no good for diamond needle etc."  I am not a big fan of low cost MC cartridges, either, but the hypothesis expressed here requires some evidential support.  Otherwise, it strikes me as yet another case of connecting a cause with an effect, without any real basis for the connection.  This is an all too common practice in our hobby. Not to mention the fact that "higher tracking pressure" is not necessarily a correlate of increased stylus (or LP) wear; you want the VTF to be high enough to prevent mistracking, but not higher, for a given stylus shape.

Thank you for your vigilance, dogberry. 

I hope my comment about using a spherical stylus because it’s safest for LPs was taken as facetious. That was the intent.

Neither you nor I nor most of the rest of us, regardless of experience, have the capacity to account for a zenith error; there are no readily available tools to use for that purpose. I have a feeling there soon will be, from either Wally Tools or elsewhere. And yes, no zenith error with a spherical stylus. At the CAF, the person at the Wally Tools kiosk (not JR, who was taking a break at that moment) told me they will take your cartridge, measure for zenith error (and every other possible parameter), and sell you a shim to correct for the zenith error. He showed me an example of a shim, but it didn’t make sense to me how the shim he had on hand would do the job. In any case, Wally do understand the problem it seems. Unfortunately, there current solution costs $500, which pays for a thorough assessment of the cartridge, not just the zenith shim.

Why would a spherical stylus be safer for LPs? Maybe in part because zenith error is not an issue. Safer yet is to leave your valuable LPs on the shelf. Don’t play them at all! This is getting ridiculous.

Stereo5, Nagaoka, Goldring, Grace, AT, etc, will make your rock records sing, in part depending upon your tonearm, phono stage, amplifiers, and speakers. The world is full of good cartridges. Hana can do it too, but MC cartridges in your budget tend to a thin, bleached sound IMO.

There are far too many variables from one cartridge to another to enable one to say that a stiffer cantilever, per se, makes for better bass.  One way to get relevant data would be to buy two samples of the same cartridge, both bearing what you deem to be a "flexible" cantilever.  Then send one sample off to one of the re-tippers and have him install a cantilever that you deem to be stiffer, but with the same stylus if possible or at least the same stylus shape.  Then listen and take measurements.

If you want to buy the Hana and are just looking for affirmation here, just buy the Hana. Divergent opinions from strangers whose audio systems and tastes you don’t know will likely continue to appear here for a few weeks. 

Nagaoka MP500 or MP300. Delicacy of sound is not a monopoly for MC cartridges. I agree with Grado too.

Must you have an MC? In my opinion, there’s more bang for your amount of bucks and your taste if you would consider an MM or MI type.