Hana’s ‘Master Cartridge Designer’ Maseo Okada elevates the highly-acclaimed S Series cartridges to Mk II status with a number of substantial design enhancements.
The new S Series sees a host of improvements applied to its widely successful design. Hana has adopted an even higher standard of parts specification and has trickled down “technical processes” from its upper-tier stablemates, all said to provide “brilliant and gorgeous” sound performance.
The new S Series low (SL) and high (SH) output Moving Coil cartridges feature a redesigned tapered aluminium cantilever while Maseo Okada has also reduced the mass load at the stylus tip (a ‘Nude Diamond Shibata’ type), a strategy which is said to enhance clarity and “music transfer” from the black vinyl to the cartridge generator.
The yoke, pole pieces and the gold terminals have been cryogenically treated in order to provide what Hana states is a more natural sound. In another trickle down from the ‘M’ Series, the cartridge body shell has been redesigned with a refined architecture which better controls resonance and vibrational distortions. In addition, there’s further damping via a matte “Soft Feel Black elastomeric resin paint. A brass cap holds threaded cartridge mounting fittings.
The S Series Mk II cartridges are designed to better couple to a variety of tonearm designs in a way that is said to result in improved low-frequency and dynamic performance. As per the Umami Blue and ML cartridges, the SL MK II generator features an AlNiCo magnet and cross coil system which employs high purity 30 micron copper wire.
The S Series Mk II cartridges include a Mono model with a 230 ohms load while the load impedance for the SL model is of 80 ohms and the SH model is 47 kohms. Frequency response is quoted as spanning from 15 Hz to 32 kHz, while channel separation is stated as 28dB at 1 kHz. Cartridge weight is 8.6 grams and Vertical Tracking Force (VTF) is 2 grams.
The new Hana S Series Mk II cartridges will be available in Australia from January 2025 via local distributor Audio Magic.
Hana S Series Mk II Moving Coil Cartridges
Price: AU$1390
Australian Distributor: Audio Magic
+61 3 9489 5122
www.audiomagic.com.au
