OAKLAND, CA (PTA) — Little gets us more electrified than new phono cartridges from Musical Surroundings. Today HANA made an official announcement of their newest Umami-Red moving coil cartridge. From the pictures and specs they’ve sent us, we all agree it aims to be a world-beater just like the Hana ML which we reviewed earlier this year.

The HANA-Umami Red retails for $3,950 USD and sales officially begin on September 22, 2020, which also happens to be Autumnal Equinox Day (秋分の日 or Shūbun no Hi in Japan). Quite nice. Check it out.

Press Release and Documents Below

HANA UMAMI RED OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Umami Sound means Wonderful Taste in Music

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 Masao Okada-san applies this concept as he combines brilliant materials and classic Japanese techniques with modern audio engineering in creating his HANA-Umami Red MC cartridge.

The HANA-Umami Red exclusive Auricle™ body design, mimics the shape of the human outer ear to rigidly support the “Open Air” MC 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.

The cryogenically treated MC generator features a samarium/cobalt magnet with a Permalloy square plate armature, hand-wound with high purity 30-micron copper wire for an internal impedance of 6Ω and .4mV output. A Nude Microline stylus is bonded to a solid Boron cantilever for tracing the most delicate musical nuances from the LP.

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 Okadasan brings over 50 years of experience to this design, applying the Umami concept of synergy with the HANA-Umami Red.

Specs

Body: Duralumin A7075, Ebony inlay
Finish: Urushi Red Lacquer
Cantilever: Boron
Stylus: MicroLine
Armature: Permalloy Square Plate
Magnet: Samarium Cobalt
Coil: 6Ω High Purity Copper
Output: 0.4 mV
Loading: > 60Ω
Tracking Force: 2 grams
Weight: 10.5 grams
Dynamic Compliance: Estimated at 17 x 10(-6)cm/dyne at 10Hz