Hana Umami Black MC Cartridge

Crafted by a Master

Master cartridge designer Masao Okada-san of Excel Sound celebrates over five decades of innovation and excellence. His deep expertise brings Umami Sound to life, blending state-of-the-art materials with time-honoured Japanese craftsmanship and continued advancements in audio engineering. Through his unique approach, he balances tradition with technological innovation, creating components that offer a deeply emotional and immersive listening experience.

The HANA Umami Legacy

The HANA-Umami Black continues the brand’s legacy of “Brilliant and Gorgeous” sound. In 2020, the HANA-Umami Red introduced the concept of Umami Sound to the world, receiving widespread acclaim. The 2023 launch of the HANA-Umami Blue further demonstrated how these core design principles could bring a profoundly emotional experience to a broader audience. With the arrival of the new flagship model, the HANA-Umami Black, Okada-san’s vision reaches new levels of sonic expression, deepening the philosophy of Umami Sound for the most discerning audiophiles.

A New Reference in Analogue Playback

The HANA-Umami Black is Okada-san’s new masterpiece, establishing a new reference in analogue playback. It features a diamond cantilever and the innovative “OKD” High-Efficiency Moving Coil Generator, offering pure musical enjoyment that elevates the listener’s experience.

The diamond cantilever, a first for HANA, is the hardest known material, ensuring maximum rigidity for precise transmission of groove modulations. Combined with the groundbreaking OKD Generator—featuring the world’s first Integrated Pole Piece and Rear Yoke—it delivers exceptional signal purity and minimises resonance through cryogenic treatment and precision engineering.

Engineering Innovations

The Inverted U-shaped Front Yoke in the Umami Black is engineered for superior magnetic alignment and resonance control. Its unique structure reduces overtone energy and improves flux field uniformity, resulting in highly accurate cantilever positioning and virtually eliminating tracing error. A powerful neodymium-iron-boron magnet powers the high-efficiency generator, while a hybrid carbon permalloy armature—hand-wound with ultra-pure copper wire—delivers an output of 0.3mV at 5 ohms. This configuration ensures ideal performance with both modern moving coil phono stages and traditional step-up transformers.

Artistry and Craftsmanship

The heart of the Umami series is the exclusive Auricle™ body design, inspired by the shape of the human outer ear. Machined from A7075 aircraft-grade aluminium and featuring a black zirconia inlay, the body ensures rigidity, resonance control, and elegant aesthetics. Its threaded mounting holes provide excellent tonearm compatibility.

The stunning Urushi lacquer finish, applied through a high-temperature bonding process, not only adds visual beauty but also enhances sonic performance by controlling resonance and improving bass and imaging. A nude natural diamond Microline stylus, precisely mounted to the cantilever, mirrors the shape of a record-cutting head and captures the finest musical detail. All key components undergo deep cryogenic processing to refine conductivity and tonal purity, culminating in a cartridge that defines the essence of Umami Sound.

Specifications