Hana Umami Red Moving Coil Phono Cartridge
The Absolute Sound - 2023 Editors Choice Award, Phono Cartridges $2000-5000
2021 TAS Phono Cartridge Of The Year:
The HANA-Umami Red hand-built MC cartridge embodies Umami, officially coined in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda-san as a very pleasing or delicious flavor on the palette, a synergistic effect resulting in higher taste intensity.
Hana’s Master cartridge designer Maseo Okada-san applies this concept as he combines brilliant materials and classic Japanese techniques with modern audio engineering to create his HANA-Umami Red MC cartridge.
The cryogenically treated MC generator features a samarium/cobalt magnet with a pure-iron square plate armature, hand-wound with high purity 30-micron copper wire for an internal impedance of 6Ω and 0.4mV output.
A Nude Microline stylus is bonded to a solid Boron cantilever for tracing the most delicate musical nuances from the LP.
The HANA-Umami Red exclusive Auricle™ body design, mimics the shape of the human outer ear to rigidly support the “Open Air” Moving Coil generator. It is machined from A7075 Duralumin with a multi-layered Urushi lacquer finish originating from the Japanese Makie-artistic tradition, and incorporates an Ebony Wood inlay, tapped mounting holes, and stylus guard.
All the major parts of the HANA-Umami Red are manufactured in house by Excel Sound, with its highly-trained craftsmen skillfully hand assembling each cartridge. Master designer Okada-san brings over 50 years of experience to this design, applying the Umami concept of synergy with the HANA-Umami Red.
*We do also handle the Etsuro Urushi line, by inquiry.
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Umami Red Specifications
| Body | Material | Duralumin (A7075), Ebony Wood |
| Finish | Gloss Urushi Lacquer/ Red | |
| Cantilever Assembly |
Cantilever | Boron |
| Stylus | Microline Nude Diamond | |
| Armature Material | Permalloy | |
| Armature Shape | Square | |
| Magnetic Circuit |
Parts Material | Pure Iron |
| Magnet | Samarium Cobalt | |
| Terminal Plate | PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) | |
| Terminal Pin | 24K Gold Plated | |
| Coil | Coil Impedance | 6 Ω/1KHz |
| Output | 0.4mv/1KHz | |
| Coil Wire Material | High Purity Copper | |
| Terminating Impedance | > 60 Ω | |
| Treatment | Cryo-genic | Yes |
| Specification | Frequency Response | 10-50,000Hz |
| Output Balance | 0.5dB/1KHz | |
| Channel Separation | >30dB/1KHz | |
| Tracking Force Weight | 2g | |
| Trackability | 70μm/2g | |
| Dynamic Compliance | 10 x 10(-6) cm/dyne (100Hz) | |
| estimated | 16 x 10(-6) cm/dyne (10Hz) | |
| Cartridge Weight | 10.5g |
