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Japanese Cartridge Comparison

jusphish

jusphish

Enthralled by Naim
Hi all, am thinking of my next cartridge and am intrigued by some of the newer Japanese offerings, particularly the Hana.

Am looking to stay in £350 neighbourhood for this, so that means the well-regarded Hana-EL is a potential if moving to MC. Anyone have experience with this one?

As an alternative, had considered the Nagaoka MP-200 (or even the MP-150 to save a bit) if staying with MM. Have read good things about the sound though also supposedly not a good value?

I hope to get a chance to hear one or both of these soon, although the likelihood of a head to head on the same equipment is rather low. For that reason, am also interested in thoughts from anyone who’s owned/heard either of them. For the avoidance of usual admonitions, I know there is no substitute for a proper audition. :cool:

Note, this would be for a Rega P5 turntable with Neo PSU and aluminium sub platter. I like both warmth and detail, though not a fan of overly pronounced highs.
 
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I think £350, is exactly where a good moving magnet cartridge will beat a high output moving coil every time. In any case moving magnets are so easy to match to a phono stage. I really like the Ortofon 2M range.
The bronze is designed to sound as you wanted. Plenty of detail, not quite as much as the black, but a slightly warmer fuller sound. No trace of harsh highs.

I do love Hana Low output moving coils, but those really start above £500. Nagaoka are excellent but I can’t comment on the sound of the models you suggest. Goldring would be my other choice. The 1042 has been around an age but that’s because it’s one of the best moving magnets on the market still.
 
I suspect Nagaoka would be a good match for a Rega and they seem far less sensitive to loading than conventional MM carts (they are MI). I’ve got an MP-500 and I’m very happy with it. I’ve owned an MP-11 Boron in the distant past and that was a great cart too.
 
Rockmeister said:
I think £350, is exactly where a good moving magnet cartridge will beat a high output moving coil every time. In any case moving magnets are so easy to match to a phono stage. I really like the Ortofon 2M range.
The bronze is designed to sound as you wanted. Plenty of detail, not quite as much as the black, but a slightly warmer fuller sound. No trace of harsh highs.

I do love Hana Low output moving coils, but those really start above £500. Nagaoka are excellent but I can’t comment on the sound of the models you suggest. Goldring would be my other choice. The 1042 has been around an age but that’s because it’s one of the best moving magnets on the market still.
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Some interesting observations here Rocky. It was at around the £350 price point, or equivalent a few years back, that I moved away from a Goldring 1042 to an AT33PTG. As good as the Goldring was, to my ears the AT MC beat it hands down for delicacy in the top and upper mid-range. I've tried other mm carts since but have always gone back to a low output mc AT.
 
MikeMA said:
Some interesting observations here Rocky. It was at around the £350 price point, or equivalent a few years back, that I moved away from a Goldring 1042 to an AT33PTG. As good as the Goldring was, to my ears the AT MC beat it hands down for delicacy in the top and upper mid-range. I've tried other mm carts since but have always gone back to a low output mc AT.
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Fully agree if you can get an AT33 under £400 it’s well worth considering, I like it way more than the Hana EL I have, it sounds fine but just a bit safe for me, maybe well rounded is a better/fairer description, the AT is just better at imaging, details and textures. I use it in preference to my previous goto Dynavector 10x5, have had every iteration of them since Ultimo 10x back in the day apart from the very latest MK2 Version.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by the Goldring or 2M MM carts I tried but I think my Cyrus stage suits MC carts much better.
 
+1 for M/C cartridge .. its more 3 dimensional. I went to Tokyo every 2 or 3 years and I never saw a Hana brand there. I saw cartridges from DV, AT to Koetsu and a few that is not available in the west but no Hana and I am starting to wonder if they are really Japanese made. I said this because Hana's body has an engraved Chinese character that means "China". Hope I didn't stir up anything!
 
Amber Audio said:
Fully agree if you can get an AT33 under £400 it’s well worth considering, I like it way more than the Hana EL I have, it sounds fine but just a bit safe for me, maybe well rounded is a better/fairer description, the AT is just better at imaging, details and textures. I use it in preference to my previous goto Dynavector 10x5, have had every iteration of them since Ultimo 10x back in the day apart from the very latest MK2 Version.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by the Goldring or 2M MM carts I tried but I think my Cyrus stage suits MC carts much better.
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Well, to be fair, I got the AT33PTG at a very good price as a personal import from Japan via a chap on the Wam before they were widely available in Europe. I've since had it retipped by ESCO and it still sounds as good as new if not better! I think I'd pay full UK price for a new one if I had to.
 
The AT33PTG is superb IMO. I really enjoyed the one I had, which found its way to the UK in a similar manner. I’ve no idea how I’d compare it to the MP-500 as so much has changed in my system since (basically everything) and I’m now in a position where MCs just don’t suit as well from a turntable, arm and phono stage perspective. Regardless, if an AT33 with a decent tip profile can be found for £400 or so then it is unquestionably a contender. A great cart.
 
MikeMA said:
Well, to be fair, I got the AT33PTG at a very good price as a personal import from Japan via a chap on the Wam before they were widely available in Europe. I've since had it retipped by ESCO and it still sounds as good as new if not better! I think I'd pay full UK price for a new one if I had to.
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I got one off eBay best offer under £400, they seem to have edged up towards £500 recently, I’d still buy one over the 10x5 now I've spent sa reasonable amount of time with the AT.
 
I loved my Len Gregory Musicmaker so intrigued when I came across another moving iron design: Soundsmith Othello. Going for 300ish on the bay. Just my tuppenth worth....
 
Amber Audio said:
I got one off eBay best offer under £400, they seem to have edged up towards £500 recently, I’d still buy one over the 10x5 now I've spent sa reasonable amount of time with the AT.
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Haven't cartridge prices increased hugely lately? I think I paid about GBP 190 for the G1042 and around 250 for the AT33PTG, though that was a few years ago.
 
Aye noticed that, not just carts though, combination of Brexit, COVID, Silicon shortages and doubtless some opportunism, heard dCS were bumping 5-7% across the board in July and have ceased the Bridge due to manufacturing costs of the case. Was looking at an Ortofon Winfield ti, seems to have gone from 3100 to 3800 quid on a fair few online shops very recently.
 
MUTTY1 said:
I loved my Len Gregory Musicmaker so intrigued when I came across another moving iron design: Soundsmith Othello. Going for 300ish on the bay. Just my tuppenth worth....
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The Nags are all MI, as are Grado. I find the Nag way less sensitive to capacitance than AT or Ortofon MMs, I’d be curious to know if that is a trait of MI designs. Loading makes or breaks an MM IMO, I’m sure a lot of the negativity towards them as a genre comes from hearing them in less than ideal electrical conditions. A lot of the ‘art’ has been forgotten since their heyday in the ‘70s and everyone seems to expect them all to work with every phono stage and arm lead capacitance.
 
MUTTY1 said:
I loved my Len Gregory Musicmaker so intrigued when I came across another moving iron design: Soundsmith Othello. Going for 300ish on the bay. Just my tuppenth worth....
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Weren't the Musicmakers reworked Grado moving iron carts? I had a Grado Gold until recently and liked it a lot. I never got to hear one of Len Gregory's versions. I sold the Grado Gold recently with a turntable, then looked up the current price and wished I hadn't !
 
MikeMA said:
Weren't the Musicmakers reworked Grado moving iron carts? I had a Grado Gold until recently and liked it a lot. I never got hear one of Len Gregory's versions. I sold the Grado Gold recently with a turntable, then looked up the current price and wished I hadn't !
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Yes they were and looking at a musicmaker you would think £50 max: absolutely no perceived value. I’ve just a emotional attachment because it was my first ‘ expensive’ cart and so right I never looked at anything else until I found I can’t get it retipped easily.
 
Tony L said:
The AT33PTG is superb IMO. I really enjoyed the one I had, which found its way to the UK in a similar manner. I’ve no idea how I’d compare it to the MP-500 as so much has changed in my system since (basically everything) and I’m now in a position where MCs just don’t suit as well from a turntable, arm and phono stage perspective. Regardless, if an AT33 with a decent tip profile can be found for £400 or so then it is unquestionably a contender. A great cart.
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I agree regards the MP11 Boron, I’m using an MP11 Boron on a Rega arm fitted to an LP12. Sounds great to my ears. I had an MP50 in the past but couldn’t justify the outlay for a replacement stylus when it eventually needed replacing.
The MP11 Boron was a back up and I was also lucky to find a NOS stylus for it.
I’ve used other carts such as AT440mlb, Denon DL110, Rega Exact, Ortofon 2M Blue, but it’s the Nagaoka I prefer.
 
Over time owned a few nags, the Stilton bodied mp11 still lingers pleasantly in hifi memories.
The mp 500 is better technically but was not as not as loved as earlier models.
Not sure if still available but the Reson Reca (rebadged 1042) was one of my fave music makers, and you could use Goldring replacement stylus .Talking of which tried music maker and found it overly fussy and bit crude.
 
MikeMA said:
Some interesting observations here Rocky. It was at around the £350 price point, or equivalent a few years back, that I moved away from a Goldring 1042 to an AT33PTG. As good as the Goldring was, to my ears the AT MC beat it hands down for delicacy in the top and upper mid-range. I've tried other mm carts since but have always gone back to a low output mc AT.
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I’d no idea they were that price. Sure a 33 would be a fine choice though would we call it warm’ sounding? Dunno. Memory not good enough!
 
thomasp said:
+1 for M/C cartridge .. its more 3 dimensional. I went to Tokyo every 2 or 3 years and I never saw a Hana brand there. I saw cartridges from DV, AT to Koetsu and a few that is not available in the west but no Hana and I am starting to wonder if they are really Japanese made. I said this because Hana's body has an engraved Chinese character that means "China". Hope I didn't stir up anything!
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That's very interesting!
 
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