Hana MC Unami Red

The HANA Umami Red is a high-end, low-output moving coil (MC) phono cartridge made by Japan’s Excel Sound Corporation. It sits near the top of the HANA cartridge lineup—just under the flagships like the Umami Blue—and is widely regarded in high-end audio circles as a "giant killer".

Key Design & Materials

• "Auricle" Duralumin Body: Machined from lightweight, rigid A7075 aerospace aluminum, shaped explicitly to mimic the human outer ear to stabilize and damp the generator assembly.

• Urushi Lacquer Finish: Finished using a traditional Japanese lacquer technique featuring a black base layer, red pigment mixed with silver powder, and hand-polished lacquer topcoats.
• Ebony Wood Inlay: An ebony wood insert on the front face provides specific resonance-damping properties to fine-tune tone.
• Boron Cantilever & Microline Stylus: Uses a solid boron cantilever paired with a nude Microline diamond stylus, which matches the profile of record-cutting heads to track ultra-fine groove detail with minimal wear.
• Cryogenically Treated Generator: The internal generator—featuring a Samarium-Cobalt magnet, pure iron armature, and 30-micron copper wire coils—undergoes deep cold annealing to realign metals at the molecular level for clearer sound reproduction.