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Peter Perrett

Thanks Ricky, I just gave it another spin to check - varying degrees of sibilance on all tracks on side 2 except for C Voyeurger. Side 1 is ok except for the title track, which is probably the worst offender of the lot. Bloody good album though!
 
Sibilance is a pet hate of mine and I can't say I've noticed any whereas on the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions, which is a hi-fi show fave, the sibilance spoils it for me.
(Amadeus GTA/ Ortofon Cadenza Blue)
 
Thanks for that MVV, will be interesting to see what Ricky has to say but can't see him noticing anything excessive either. I was hoping to get a bit more life out of the Hana, but it looks like I need to start screwing my cartridge installing head on.
 
Just played this through. No sibilance here (RB300 with AT440mlb). Are you getting it on some of the high-in-the-mix lead guitar parts? I would suggest rechecking cart set up (I.e. take it off and put it on again to ensure tracking and alignment all ok); can you try a digital version of the album (e.g. Spotify) to see if it is just the vinyl that's giving you the sibilance?
 
Thought as much. The Hana EH has an eliptical stylus so not as good a tracker as the AT440mlb, which is highly regarded in that respect with its microline stylus. That said, the Hana has been a capable tracker and I hadn't noticed any issues up until this last couple of weeks. No problem at all with high pitched guitar notes, they sound crisp and clear. It's just with some vocals starting with an Ssssss, occasionally Tss too, but sibilance is nowhere near as bad here. I'm also using a RB300. Alignment looks fine. I've tried increasing VTF but to no avail. I listened to the album on Spotify before buying, no sibilance there, but I'm only using an ageing little notebook PC, which probably is not capable of making sibilance audible even if it is present.

I've got a brand new Hana EH in the draw. I bought it a couple of months back to beat the last price hike, so that's something. If I'm in the right frame of mind then I'll install it tomorrow. I find the Hana a fiddly little sod to fit though, especially with my arthritic hands, unlike the AT440mla, you need to remove the poor excuse for a stylus guard to allow intstallation. My good woman will assist me there though as she did when I installed my current cartridge. If successful I shall reward her with a nice bouquet of red roses. :)

Thanks for taking the time to help Ricky. I'll post the outcome here when all is done and dusted.
 
Installed my brand new Hana EH without any mishaps. Wish I could say there was a dramatic improvement, but no, sibilance was pretty much the same with this cartridge as it was with the old one. Not an entirely wasted exercise however, at least I can rule out stylus wear and I now know that I can get more than 900 hours out of the Hana so will stash the old one for a rainy day. I also tried realigning the cartridge a couple of times but it made no difference. Anyway, it's no big deal really, although sibilance is pretty bad on this album (for whatever reasons?) I can still enjoy great music and what is otherwise an excellent recording.
 
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