A New Standard for Musical Performance and Value
Hana's Master cartridge designer Maseo Okada-san offers you an exceptional listening experience, synergizing special ingredients and techniques to create musical richness with his Hana Umami Blue hand-built MC cartridge from Japan.
When you experience a special sense of taste in food, it's Umami. The specific ingredients meld together synergistically and harmoniously to become more than the sum of their parts. Many of the world's most delicious and memorable food experiences possess the Umami quality.
The Hana-Umami Blue cartridge follows in the Hana "Brilliant and Gorgeous" tradition of providing the listener with sublime enjoyment. The Hana Umami Red won accolades and critical acclaim worldwide for the highest achievement of sound quality. The Hana ML moving coil cartridge is recognized for a level of musical enjoyment and satisfaction unique in its price range. Embodying the true sense of synergy, the Hana Umami Blue combines their essential ingredients to establish a new standard for musical performance and value.
The Hana Umami Way
The Hana Umami Blue high-end moving coil cartridge combines the vision of Master cartridge designer Okada-san with the history of special materials, classic Japanese techniques, and modern audio engineering. The Auricleâ„¢ body design, unique and exclusive to the Umami series, is CNC machined from Duralumin. Sharing key Umami Red ingredients, including the precision-cut diamond stylus, Boron cantilever, and high-purity copper wires, then combining these with the Alnico magnet based generator found in the famous Hana ML, creates the exceptionally musical Umami Blue.
This synergistic relationship in MC cartridge design between specific materials, unique body design, a sophisticated generator, and hand-built precision is the critical aspect for outstanding cartridge performance. This creates a memorable and emotional experience, reminiscent of meal at a Michelin 3-star restaurant, with every element and detail working in concert.
All the major parts in a Hana Umami Blue are manufactured in-house by Excel Sound with its rich history spanning well over 50 years. Excel's highly trained craftsmen skillfully hand assemble the Hana Umami Blue, and all Hana cartridges, ensuring an intensely musical experience furthering the Hana "Brilliant and Gorgeous" sound.
Auricleâ„¢ Cartridge Body
The Hana Umami Blue incorporates the exclusive Auricleâ„¢ body design, first developed for the Umami Red. It mimics the shape of the human outer ear to rigidly support the "Open Air" Moving Coil generator.
The unique body shape is machined from A7075 aluminum, one of the strongest and lightest alloys, often specified in aerospace engineering. The Umami Blue body features a white POM inlay on its front facia to provide damping properties and as homage to the Hana ML, the first cartridge using a POM body. Tapped and threaded mounting holes in the Auricleâ„¢ body assure secure attachment to the tonearm.
Special Body Finish
The Hana Umami Blue uses a special Melamine Thermosetting Process (MTP) to impart the brilliant blue glossy finish to the Auricleâ„¢ body. Originally developed by Dupont, the melamine resin bonds to the aluminum body via vapor deposition by baking at 120 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes for increased hardness and resonance control. The Melamine Thermosetting Process contributes to the rich sound with increased clarity, better imaging, and bass definition. The luster of the Umami Blue glossy finish is brilliant and gorgeous, assuring long life with special optics.
Microline Stylus
The Hana Umami Blue 'nude' natural diamond stylus is cut and polished to mimic the cutting head stylus used to Master or "cut" all vinyl records. This critical part, also used on the Hana Umami Red, offers the most precise fit into the vinyl groove, tracing the most delicate musical nuances.
Boron Cantilever
Boron, with a hardness comparable to diamond, was selected for the Hana Umami Blue to rigidly hold the Microline stylus. This solid Boron cantilever, a critical ingredient of the Hana Umami Red, allows the smallest audible details and micro-dynamics to be transmitted without loss to the moving coil generator, capturing the artists' intent.
Alnico Magnet-Based Moving Coil Generator
The Alnico magnet material selected for the Hana Umami Blue, as found in the Hana ML generator, creates a classic sonic quality. Alnico magnets provide greater linearity with reduced saturation, creating a rich musical quality. The pure copper wires are expertly hand-wound onto the Permalloy cross armature, found in the Hana ML generator. The pure iron pole piece featured in the Umami Blue is another key ingredient found in both the Hana Umami Red and Hana ML generator.
Cryogenic processing
A 'cold annealing' process at near absolute zero temperature is used to treat the pole piece, both front and rear yoke in the Hana Umami Blue generator as well as the gold-plated signal output pins. The cryogenic process alters the molecular structure of the materials.
Exceptionally Musical
The Hana team is proud of their seamless integration of brilliant materials, modern audio engineering, and traditional Japanese techniques. Master designer Okada-san brings decades of experience to this design, furthering the exceptional musicality of this cartridge.
