2. analog
  3. 165269-128706

Cartridge upgrade?

Hi I’m considering either upgrading to the Kelisi Purple Heart or to the Hana Umami. Currently running the Hana SL. I’ve been listening to the SL for a year now. It’s great, I really like it but would like to upgrade soon. I listen to a pretty big range of music. Folk, rock, jazz, electronic, some classical but not much. My question is which one, and am I going overkill with a $3-4k cartridge given my tone arm/tt? I’m pretty happy with the sound I’m getting currently but want to stay away from a cartridge that’s too forward sounding. I love the high end detail I’m getting from the diamond tweeters of my B&W 805d3’s but feel it can get a little bright at times. 
Here’s the rest of my set up:

Cartridge: Hana SL
Turntable: Clearaudio Concept w/ magnetic bering tone arm
Rogue Cronus Magnum II integrated
Herron Audio VTPH-2A phono stage
B&W 805D3 speakers
REL S/510 & T/5i subs 
Kimber speaker cables and interconnects

Thanks! This place is great!

paulgardner
dodgealum
1,398 posts
 
Hi Paul: I have not heard the Hana (looks very interesting) or the Purple Heart (which people I trust tell me is super). If I were in your shoes I'd check with Clearaudio (dealer or manufacturer) to see what they suggest with your arm (magnetic bearing is unique and may limit choices). Also, in that price range and if a good match for your arm I would suggest you also look at the Charisma Signature One. Really very special--very even handed and refined. Super cartridge!
paulgardner OP
183 posts
 
@dodgealum awesome! I will do that. Thanks
big_greg
6,554 posts
 
I haven't seen a lot of people post about owning either of those cartridges, so your chances of hearing someone's impressions of both are probably slim.  

Here are some things to consider.  Your turntable is probably the weak link in your analog chain, not your cartridge (IMHO).  The Hana SL is very nice and you have an excellent phono stage from everything I have heard about it.  I own Herron monoblock amplifiers and they are spectacular. 

The Concept is a decent turntable, but that magnetic tonearm isn't something I'm crazy about and I don't think the table itself is very well isolated.  I owned one briefly, so I'm speaking from personal experience.

I have the Kiseki Blue NS, the cartridge below the Purpleheart.  The Kiseki Blue is better than the SL, a little more airy and detailed, but not by a huge margin.  I have heard of some Purpleheart owners mentioning quality issues.  I suggest doing a search on that.  

Putting an expensive cartridge on an entry level turntable isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I currently have my Kiseki Blue NS on my Technics SL 1200 MK 2 and it sounds really good. 

I have a recently retipped Zu Audio Denon DL-103 (which I think was about $400 new?) on my Acoustic Signature Wow XL and that combination sounds better than the much more expensive Kiseki Blue on the Technics.  The Kiseki Blue didn't significantly outclass the Zu DL-103 when I had it on the Wow XL, but it was definitely more refined and clearly better than the Zu on the Wow XL.

In short, my experience has been that upgrading the turntable provides more improvement than upgrading the cartridge.  They both matter, but my experience has been that putting a really nice cartridge on a less than solid platform (table and tonearm) is going to result in less of a sonic improvement than putting a modest cartridge on a well engineered turntable and tonearm.
More to discover