Thinking about switching cartridges.


I have a 2 year old Rega P-10. I'm thinking about switching out the Aphelion 2 for a Hana Red. Is this a waste of money? Your thoughts. Thanks in advance. 

marshinski15

Dear @marshinski15  :  I never listen in any system your Rega cartridge but I listened in at least 4 systems ( inlcuding mine ) the Umami Red and is a excellent performers and no the Ortofon Windfeld is not better but different.

My advise is that you should try and decide about because your system is different for the other audiophiles. Btw, RP-10 and its tonearm are really first rate components.

 

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTION,

R.

Consider the Koetsu Rosewood cartridge. At 8.25 grams weight this could be a better statistical match for the RB3000 tonearm then the 10.5 gram Hana Red. 

Dear @dayglow  : With all respect 2 things: first the KR is inferior in quality level performance that the Umami Red and second there are at least 2 Umami Red revirews using the Lyra Atlas at 11.6 grs.. The OP has not to worry about.

 

R.

@rauliruegas 

The Red is a fine cartridge for the money. The Aphelion Is just as good if not quite the value. The Windfeld Ti is a marvelously neutral cartridge and a great tracker with a beautifully cut and polished stylus. It may not have quite the detail of the MC Diamond or Verismo. The upper series Soundsmiths are the best tracking cartridges I have ever used and the OCL stylus and ruby cantilever are a great combination. The stylus is easily of the quality you would find on any $10,000 cartridge. 

For those that are unaware. Styluses come is a wide variety of quality, The very best cartridges have specifically selected stylus/cantilever assemblies. The poorer examples of any specific combination are handed down to the less expensive cartridges. The number of inclusions in the diamond, the shape, the polish and the precision of the mount are all factors subject to variability. Most people have no idea what their stylus looks like. Humans being what they are are prone to taking advantage of situations like this. They would argue this allows them to get advanced stylus shapes into less expensive cartridges. I would rather a well polished elliptical than a jagged line contact. I did not know this until I started looking at styluses under high power. I am not saying that all companies do this and I did not say which ones do. A microscope will answer that question. If you would like to view some of my recent pictures go here