"And no seasoned audiophile would blink."

Angsty

Angsty

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I read this review excerpt today in amazement...

"Having spent too much time of late comparing different stylus profiles and cantilever materials, suffice it to say the UltraGold's recipe of nude Shibata stylus, boron cantilever, neodymium magnet and PC-OCC wiring could just as easily describe a cartridge costing £5000. And no seasoned audiophile would blink."

I blinked! :oops:

www.hifinews.com

MoFi UltraGold Cartridge

With a range of affordable turntables and a trio of MM pick-ups already in its catalogue, the launch of a premium MC has been long-anticipated from this supremo of the vinyl LP One thought dominated my recent rediscovery of the old Decca (now London) cartridges: there was much to be said for...
www.hifinews.com www.hifinews.com
 
Angsty said:
I read this review excerpt today in amazement...

"Having spent too much time of late comparing different stylus profiles and cantilever materials, suffice it to say the UltraGold's recipe of nude Shibata stylus, boron cantilever, neodymium magnet and PC-OCC wiring could just as easily describe a cartridge costing £5000. And no seasoned audiophile would blink."

I blinked! :oops:

www.hifinews.com

MoFi UltraGold Cartridge

With a range of affordable turntables and a trio of MM pick-ups already in its catalogue, the launch of a premium MC has been long-anticipated from this supremo of the vinyl LP One thought dominated my recent rediscovery of the old Decca (now London) cartridges: there was much to be said for...
www.hifinews.com www.hifinews.com
Click to expand...
I'm a MoFi fan, and I'm sure this sounds fantastic and yes, in it's price pool it's competitively priced, but I hate reviews like this because they come off a bit targeted towards a "mentality" rather than anything else.

I mean, he concludes with "Prices seem irrelevant in high-end hi-fi, when top cartridges exceed £15k, so the UltraGold, at one-tenth of that?"..........ya, and? ;)
 
AnthonyI said:
I'm a MoFi fan, and I'm sure this sounds fantastic and yes, in it's price pool it's competitively priced, but I hate reviews like this because they come off a bit targeted towards a "mentality" rather than anything else.

I mean, he concludes with "Prices seem irrelevant in high-end hi-fi, when top cartridges exceed £15k, so the UltraGold, at one-tenth of that?"..........ya, and? ;)
Click to expand...

I kinda hate that we can have a habit in this hobby of normalising the expensive rather than celebrating good value, not that $1500 for a cartridge is necessarily good value lol.
 
If I were in that price range, I’d be looking at at A/T ART9 series ($1280) or the Ortofon Quintet Black S. I really like the Ortofon at $999.
 
I have to admit that $1500 for a cartridge does not seem as far fetched as it once did before I purchased a Hana SL. For that cash, my next upgrade would be the ... Hana ML! I guess I was taken aback by the notion that no one would "blink" at a cartridge priced at $5000+ just based on the bill of material.
 
Angsty said:
I have to admit that $1500 for a cartridge does not seem as far fetched as it once did before I purchased a Hana SL. For that cash, my next upgrade would be the ... Hana ML! I guess I was taken aback by the notion that no one would "blink" at a cartridge priced at $5000+ just based on the bill of material.
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Honestly, and this is just based on my experiences, I don't feel the need to purchase a cart over $1k. The Hana SL is probably my tippy top, although the Soundsmith Zephyr ($2k) is still a tempting "carrot" based on their $350 rebuild cost.

There are just too many under $1k options that are brilliant.
 
AnthonyI said:
Honestly, and this is just based on my experiences, I don't feel the need to purchase a cart over $1k. The Hana SL is probably my tippy top, although the Soundsmith Zephyr ($2k) is still a tempting "carrot" based on their $350 rebuild cost.

There are just too many under $1k options that are brilliant.
Click to expand...

For sure, especially as it’s a consumable. Buying something very expensive that lasts and has a sell on value is one thing, buying something expensive that i have to replace every 18-24 months is a completely different thing. It’s why I keep wondering if the Nag MP500 might be a good call, as much as I love the Hana.
 
AnthonyI said:
Honestly, and this is just based on my experiences, I don't feel the need to purchase a cart over $1k. The Hana SL is probably my tippy top, although the Soundsmith Zephyr ($2k) is still a tempting "carrot" based on their $350 rebuild cost.

There are just too many under $1k options that are brilliant.
Click to expand...
Despite the fact that I’m running a Zephyr MIMC, I tend to agree with you. When it’s time to send the SoundSmith in for a rebuild, I’m definitely sticking to the shallower end of the pool for a backup.

Thankfully, I’ve still got a few hundred hours left on my MasterTracker.
 
Joe Mac said:
For sure, especially as it’s a consumable. Buying something very expensive that lasts and has a sell on value is one thing, buying something expensive that i have to replace every 18-24 months is a completely different thing. It’s why I keep wondering if the Nag MP500 might be a good call, as much as I love the Hana.
Click to expand...
Agreed, we tend to forget that part of the formula, that it will wear out and what's the replacement cost. For the most part "high end" carts don't have the luxury of user replaceable styli, so it's not only cost, but down time if you don't have a back up.
 
AnthonyI said:
Agreed, we tend to forget that part of the formula, that it will wear out and what's the replacement cost. For the most part "high end" carts don't have the luxury of user replaceable styli, so it's not only cost, but down time if you don't have a back up.
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Plus once your cartridge is aligned to perfection, you have to take it off so send it out for a rebuild or exchange.

You should still check everything when changing a cartridge with a user replaceable stylus on the off chance the cantilever is slightly different in length. The chances of that are very low if you buy a genuine replacement and not one from a different supplier.
 
Joe Mac said:
For sure, especially as it’s a consumable. Buying something very expensive that lasts and has a sell on value is one thing, buying something expensive that i have to replace every 18-24 months is a completely different thing. It’s why I keep wondering if the Nag MP500 might be a good call, as much as I love the Hana.
Click to expand...
Steve Leung at VAS replaced the cantilever on my Hana SL for $245 with return shipping in September 2020. At that price, it was as economical as replacing the stylus on my 2M Blue. He did recommend replacement with a fine line instead of a Shibata, but it still sounded great. Supply chain disruptions may have changed things now, but I was incredibly happy with the result.
 
I wonder if this is another rebadged AT, just this time a tweaked version of one of their MCs (specs are almost identical to the AT-33Sa albeit in a heavier case). If so I have to say its absurd to talk about value when the same manufacturer offers similar carts for less.

I’m sure it sounds great, I’m a fan of both Audio Technica carts and the MoFi StudioPhono, but it’s hardly a value. I’m just a bit fed up with rebadged Japanese carts being priced up in the west because some western “golden ear” lended his time to help the poor folks at Audio Technica learn how to make their products better.

When a company has as big of a lineup of MCs as AT does and they don’t offer a particular body with a particular stylus / cantilever combo I’d have to think they feel they can provide something even better for the price, which is presumably why they offer the 9 series and not this thing themselves.

I wouldn’t care really, but as others have said above it’s quite tempting for many people to go “cartridge poor” at this price point and push off stylus maintenance. AT rates their Shibata styli at 800hrs, probably an underestimation. Probably best to get a Shibata tipped cart (or stylus for MM) you can feel financially comfortable replacing or retipping after ~600hrs.
 
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