Cartridge woes

[miketruman]

I'm hoping for some help. I have an upgraded Project X2 fitted with a Hana SL cartridge. Rest of the system: Quad Artera Play +, Quad Artera power amp, Primare R35 phono stage Bluseound Icon and ATC SCM11 speakers. All deliberately chosen mid-range stuff built up over time as it suits the position I'm in and sounds very good indeed..
My problem is that the turntable's output should be better than that of the streamer and it isn't. At best it is the same and sometimes lower quality. I know there are variations in recording/pressing quality but still... I have spent ages trying to set up the cartridge, tweaking the vta and so-on, but the Project, built to a price, I suppose, is a bit crude in the adjustment department. So the question - have I over invested in a cartridge with a shibata profile that the turntable can't cope with? Should I downgrade to an MC cartridge with an easier profile, like one of the new Ortophon range. I have an Ortophon 2M blue with a damaged stylus, should I buy a new stylus and try that instead? Or should I partex the whole thing and upgrade to something that is out of my usual price range, Mitchell, Vertere, Rega or Clear Audio?
I look forward to your expert comments.

 

[nopiano]

I sense your frustration, but I’m a bit puzzled that you’re so certain “…that the turntable's output should be better than that of the streamer…”.

In what way better? The LP is a mechanical storage medium which can bring great pleasure, but objectively it cannot approach a digital stream for quality. For example, thanks to inherent noise a record can’t resolve more than 11 or 12 bits, versus even a plain old CD is 16 bit.

Has something changed recently that’s prompted your concern?

 

[miketruman]

Hi, thanks for the response. I suppose it's on the basis that 'you get what you pay for'. the turntable/cartridge/phono pre-amp combo is way more expensive than the streamer -so it should be better, no?

 

[abacus]

Hi, thanks for the response. I suppose it's on the basis that 'you get what you pay for'. the turntable/cartridge/phono pre-amp combo is way more expensive than the streamer -so it should be better, no?

If your talking about the same type of equipment than yes, in most cases that can hold true. (But not always)
A turntable and streamer are 2 different technology's, so you are effectively comparing apples and oranges.

Bill

 

[Revolutions]

That setup should sound good comparted to streaming. I had a Hana ML cartridge on an P6, worked great. I did shim the tonearm a few mm higher as it’s deeper than a rega cart. Not sure if Hana SL is the same?

If the sound is lacking, I’d suggest it might be somewhere else in the chain.

For example, have you got the right output settings on the phono preamp? Also a low output MC will probably be quieter than streamer when you switch them- are you comparing at the same volume?

Would be worth swapping interconnects too, to see

 

[Integralista]

I'm hoping for some help. I have an upgraded Project X2 fitted with a Hana SL cartridge. Rest of the system: Quad Artera Play +, Quad Artera power amp, Primare R35 phono stage Bluseound Icon and ATC SCM11 speakers. All deliberately chosen mid-range stuff built up over time as it suits the position I'm in and sounds very good indeed..
My problem is that the turntable's output should be better than that of the streamer and it isn't. At best it is the same and sometimes lower quality. I know there are variations in recording/pressing quality but still... I have spent ages trying to set up the cartridge, tweaking the vta and so-on, but the Project, built to a price, I suppose, is a bit crude in the adjustment department. So the question - have I over invested in a cartridge with a shibata profile that the turntable can't cope with? Should I downgrade to an MC cartridge with an easier profile, like one of the new Ortophon range. I have an Ortophon 2M blue with a damaged stylus, should I buy a new stylus and try that instead? Or should I partex the whole thing and upgrade to something that is out of my usual price range, Mitchell, Vertere, Rega or Clear Audio?
I look forward to your expert comments.

Hi Mike, I think you have interesting HiFi system with several very good components, speakers as well. I use and listen mainly to analogue for over 30 years. My personal trial to compare my old Rega Planar 25 that time with Rega Exact mm and Rega Aria phonostage with Cambridge Audio CXN streamer on some Metalica, Dead Can Dance and Pictutes from The Exhibition from Tchaikovski as I remember has closed the door for streamer for me for years. Rega was so much better here. And it was "just mm". I know Bluesound Icon is very good streamer (and pretty good preamp as well). Primare R35 is well respected phonostage comparable with Electrocompanient ECP 2. There are a lot of dip switches on the back for correct loading of cartridge. Important: impedance of coils on your Hana SL is 8 Ohm. So impedance loading is recommended at 80 Ohms on Primare. You have 21 values to choose from 10 Ohm to 47kOhm on your Primare. This is very good widd scale, better than on average phono preamp. Wrong impedance setting will influence sound a lot. Project X2 has a lot of possibilities for precise adjustment of the arm etc. Pls. Check setup here as well. Hana SL is also very popular midclass mc cartridge with "normal electric characteristics" and 0,4mV lower output voltage, which is not too low. It shall be OK for your Primare phono. I recommend to use middle gain position. High position is more for cartridges with ultralow output voltage (0,20mV and less). Pls. have a look on setup of dip switches on Primare on the back panel (below masked little panels with screws) and make some pictures in which positions they are switched now with your Hana SL cartridge. And send us this info, share here on forum. Pls. check also tracking force and antiscate if setup is right one. Hana SL is solide cartridge, but your deck and phonostage can bear even better one. Ortofon MC for Project deck is truly great combination. But lets solve your issue first.

 

[daytona600]

Try increasing the Gain 50/76

Gain adjustment up to 50db MM and 76db MC - Look at the back of the unit near the input connectors. You’ll see a small toggle labelled “Gain selector”