FEBRUARY 2017
HANA SL MOVING COIL PHONO CARTRIDGE REVIEW / HANA / SL MOVING COIL PHONO CARTRIDGE
HANA
SL MOVING COIL PHONO CARTRIDGE Distributor: Audio Magic $895 RRP
Ask a bookkeeper to assess the
profit and loss approach to audio
worth of Hana’s SL MC cartridge
and maybe even existence over
and the reply could please or
the centuries.
pee you off. It all depends on your disposition. Bottle-half-empty type of guys or gals will be chuffed by the ledger keeper’s report. But if you’re a
Take Russian novelist, Dostoevsky, who for one of his novels created a character who spent his life proving the existence of God using maths.
bottle-half-full chappie or missy,
Everything to them makes perfect
your response is likely to include
sense ‘’…measured in dollars
a large dollop of consternation
and cents, pounds shillings and
and righteous anger. And
pence,’’ as Roger Waters opines
justifiably so.
in the album, Amused to Death.
Because whatever way you slice
What else would you expect from
and dice it, these Lords Of The
these Ebenezer Scrooge’s of the
Abacus will delight in telling you
human spirit?
the Hana SL will cost you about 50 cents per hour each time you play one of your cherished LPs. The figure is premised on the cost of the Hana that is $895, and the 2000 hours average life expectancy of a high-quality diamond stylus, before it goes to God.
Not much, if my experience with one “music lover” counts for anything. And they wouldn’t be Hana buyers. Way back when I worked at an audio store, before making the plunge in and out of teaching and then settling on a career in the print media, an older
Creatives have debated the
gentleman bought his speakers
Ledger Keepers’ delight in a
in to be repaired.
“You’ve got to love the simplicity, elegance and prices” The customer was an uber-
refurbishing audio gear. The point
cartridges over the decades,
rich retired surgeon unhappy
is to be rational about pricing and
is questionable.
with his speakers. They lacked
not obsess about it.
treble, he told me. Removing the grills showed one of the pair was missing a tweeter. When an upgrade to a pair of $495 Mordaunt-Short speakers was suggested, he baulked.
As to this particular moving coil
making cartridges for other
cartridge, it’s built by Japanese
brands for nearly seventy years.
brand Excel and marketed
Closer to home, some may recall
under the Hana brand. All of
the original Garrott cartridge
which raises some interesting
which I think was from Excel’s
questions about the state of
ES70 series.
He didn’t buy new speakers. But
cartridge manufacturing since oh,
I hoped he was smart enough to
about 1984 when CD made its
avoid returning to the city store
pompous entrance into the world
at the top end of Melbourne that
of audio and music.
had built him a pair of speakers with a single tweeter. The irony of measuring musical pleasure with dollars and cents still rankles to this day.
killer. Some new old stock of search hard and smart, and well
and for some illustrious brands,
worth buying ‘cos it’s much more
a terminal decline. Did Audio
than a trip down memory lane.
Technica for example, allow its and builders to shuffle off into a
women of numbers, there is a
Tokyo sunset? And if they did,
case to be made for the price
what relationships do these
of owning a Hana or a similarly
skilled craftsmen and women
priced cartridge.
have vis-à-vis Audio Technica’s current batch of cartridges?
Do Re Mi to get you up close and
An educated guess suggests
personal, as well as comfortable
it’s, ‘’zip”.
in your living room.
a bit of a moving magnet giant
manufacturing went into a steep
used by these hollow men and
any orchestra, group or performer
time, but as a Garrotised ES70,
the ES70 is still available if you
experienced cartridge designers
to the recorded music version of
An underrated cartridge at the
From that date, cartridge
Even in the cost-cutting formula
Especially when it costs very little
Be that as it is, Excel has been
Time does move on. So it’s hardly a surprise given the ongoing vinyl revival, that Excel is making and marketing its own select cartridge range. Within this four-model range, the Hana SL is a bit of a standout. You’ve got to love the simplicity, elegance and prices the range. There’s nothing confusing about
Most cartridge brands laid off
a choice between the low output
their skilled workers and closed
Hana SL or its high output
up shop long ago. The brands
version called the SH. Or, the
If it costs a few cents an album to
that continued to ply their trade
cheaper EL low output, which
revel in the sheer hedonistic joy of
include Grado, Ortofon, Denon,
comes in a high output model,
your favourite music in the comfort
Stanton, Shure, Excel and
called the EH.
of your own listening space, give
perhaps a hand full of others. But
me more Hanas, I’d say.
to what degree these survivors
Of course no one should ignore the cost of buying, repairing or
retained all the accumulated experience of manufacturing
Or the pricing which is $895 for SL and SH models and just $590 for the EH or EL.
Specs for the exact people The Hana SL carries a classy Shibata Nude
But frankly I don’t give a toss. But I very much
Diamond stylus on the end of an aluminum
care about cantilever material when the time
cantilever. Say what you will about boron,
arrives to pay big bucks to have it retipped or
diamond, or other exotic cantilevers, but
replaced. And as to the cost of retipping and
approached rationally rather than obsessively,
refurbishing cartridges universally these days,
humble aluminum is pleasing for a couple of
it’s fair to say it’s expensive.
reasons to do with sound and cost.
It’s almost as if these talented craftsmen
Used on the end of a solid cartridge design,
have formed an unofficial cabal. The truth is
the resonance of an aluminum cantilever
cartridge refurbishment is a painstaking, highly
fitted with a quality diamond stylus is frankly
skilled craft and more importantly, it’s labour
pleasingly musical. Make of that what you will.
intensive. Hence the high cost of the process.
But as Ken Kessler defending his addiction to valve amplifiers once said after someone helpfully pointed out he was listening to distortion, “If it’s distortion, then give me more…’’. I understand what the boron cantilever on my Garrottised, very early Sugano period Koetsu Rosewood Signature contributes to its sound in the way of greater neutrality, transparency, and detail.
The alternative, the cartridge trade-in scheme offered by some brands makes even less sense. Why so? Because the scheme operates by way of trade-in prices that are usually meagre rather than generous. Some consider the whole notion insulting. Personally, caught between two unaffordable options, I typically chose refurbishment rather than trading-in a cartridge I’ve grown to love and cherish through habitual use.
“a quality diamond stylus is frankly pleasingly musical”
This assumes Father Time hasn’t hardened
frequency response is said to be 15-
the dampening rubber suspension used in
32,000Hz.
Moving Coils.
Suggested impedance is 30Ω at 1KHz and a
Brian Garrott used to lubricate weathered
load Impedance of 400Ω is recommended.
rubber suspensions by applying a jot of arm
Figures that turned out to be spot on in use
dampening silicon using a match honed with
although the Hana SL sounded mighty fine
a razor blade to a point. A process I watched
at 300 Ohms in the context of the review
him accomplish with awe many times when
system. With an overall weight of 5 grams the
they were living near Ballarat in Victoria.
Hana SL is a medium compliance cartridge
Either way, if you buy a Hana SL the aluminum cantilever will be cheaper to retip/ replace, and it contributes to an ear-pleasing, musical sound. Your money also buys a cartridge finished with a high quality nude natural diamond Shibata-stylus. Under a microscope, it’s a thing of beauty and mounted without a hint of excess adhesive. An output of 0.5MV at 1KHz qualifies the Hana SL as a low output model requiring a step-up. Output balance is 1.5dB at 1KHz and recommended tracking force is 2grams. Channel separation is 25dB at 1KHz and
that will perform well in a huge number of affordable tonearms, and excel bolted to the more expensive models. Our review sample Hana was used at the end of a Rega RB300 before the bulk of the review was completed with an SME V tonearm. The sound was highly detailed on the Rega arm but even more assured and accomplished via the SME V.
The Sound The Hana was installed in our resident SME
concepts. And while the Eroica has soul,
20/2 turntable and the SME V tonearm. The
the Hana has composure in spades a quality
rest of the system comprised the never less
that will take you further and deeper into
than excellent sounding RCM Sensor 2 phono
your music.
stage, Elektra PNYX preamplifier and matching Elektra Reference HD amplifier driving a pair of Wilson Audio Series 1 Sasha speakers.
Playing Dylan’s dirge-like track ‘It’s Not Dark Yet’ from his Time Out Of Mind album amply showed the Eroica’s ability to entertain and
Goldring’s Eroica low output moving coil
the Hana’s manner of privileging of informing
priced at $899 provided a handy comparative
but letting the music provide the spark
cartridge to the $895 Hana. The two
of entertainment.
cartridges are very different and exhibit two opposing types of personalities.
This track features insistent and repetitive guitar chords underpinned by insistent and
The Hana is the more even tempered of
repetitive bass. It has all the character of a
the pair, with an audibly flatter frequency
funeral march and the title leaves no one in
response, loads of transparency and plenty of
any doubt that Dylan is exploring the coming
overt detail if lacking some of the subliminal
darkness. You have to wonder if his prophetic
detail that’s a characteristic of much dearer,
artistic vision envisioned the coming of the
more credentialed cartridges of the calibre of
Trump thugs well before these gangsters were
Ortofon’s Quintet Black.
primed to take office.
The Eroica had its own hand to play. Whilst it
Whatever the case, the Eroica plumbed the
wasn’t as detailed and had a slight lift in the
darkness of this melancholic track, but the
upper treble, it was dynamically more alert
Hana showed you how the darkness was
and its personality was vibrant where the
musically created.
Hana’s was more composed. As the review proceeded it was clear the Eroica’s character was part of the musical presentation and no less enjoyable for that.
And speaking of albums exploring themes well before their times, The Who’s Quadraphenia is again finding favour with music lovers and those who haven’t failed to notice that
But with the Hana, one got the sense that it
Western youths are restless and on the move
allowed the music to provide the excitement
mainly for worse rather than better.
and involvement. Leading to the notion that the Eroica is a perfect foil for systems with a laid-back character, and the Hana exhibiting all the traits that would suit systems that are intrinsically dynamic. It’s fair to say the Eroica is a very British sounding cartridge with a lift in the treble and a real-life midrange supported by decent if underwhelming but informative bass, underpinned by exquisite timing. The Hana’s sound falls into the best of the Japanese approach to audio with its abundance of detail, balanced frequency response, loads of transparency and even temperament ensuring a cartridge for long, non-fatiguing listening sessions. The Hana takes you further into the inner structure of the music. It’s both informative and neutral in the best sense of these audio
The album’s eponymous tack, ‘Love Rein O’er Me’ has a power and majesty carried by soaring guitar riffs, unsettling percussion and powerful, poetic lyrics presented by gut wrenching vocals. The Hana, with the supporting cast of the Elektra pre/power combination effortlessly driving the Wilson Sasha, yielded a huge soundstage with wall-to-wall lateral imaging and commendable back-to-front depth. The Eroica’s soundstage was smaller laterally but by comparison it had cavernous depth. And again, the sense was that the Eroica was adding its character to the unfolding musical drama, while the Hana retreated allowing the music to shape and move the emotions. Female vocals are nearly always a hurdle for inferior cartridges because they fail to
penetrate the heart of the lyrics, lingering
The Hana and Eroica’s are mid-priced,
instead on the shallow periphery of the
mid-level cartridges and if the Linn gospel is
singer’s intonation and phrasing.
correct, and I think it is, you can mount either
The Hana swept into the spiritual centre of the track ‘My Best To You’ from Joni Mitchell’s
in a top-ranking arm the caliber of the SME V and hear them working to their full potential.
album, Taming The Tiger. Each change of
Of course, this route also highlights any sonic
phrase accompanied by dynamic micro and
weakness. Which is what happened playing
macro shifts in Mitchell’s voice, were preserved
the track ‘Let The Mystery Be’ from the Iris
and reproduced with ease.
Dement album, Infamous Angel.
A major part of the track’s dramatic impact
While it’s musically an unsophisticated country
derives from larger than life, closely miked
music track, ‘Let The Mystery Be’ is superbly
guitars that flank, as it were, Mitchell’s
recorded and Dement’s backing group’s
vocals. The track is a generous paean to old
playing is as tight as the proverbial drum.
friendships and has an alluring pathos that invites several playings at the one sitting. The music will flow over you like a warm summer breeze, if the system it’s played on is alluring by dint of its tonal veracity.
The Hana, compared to the Koetsu Rosewood playing back the same track lacked this classic and much more expensive cartridge’s, tonal weight, and frequency extension. The Eroica exhibited the same
But borrowing a phrase from the Linn Hymn
foibles adding a slight coarsening to Dement’s
book, the sonic character of any system
occasionally abrasive and nasal vocals.
begins at the source, in this case the turntable, arm, and cartridge. I also agree with Linn’s ideology that you can’t plonk an expensive cartridge on a budget tonearm and turntable and hope to hear the best that cartridge has to offer.
But with both the Eroica and Hana mounted on the Rega RB300 tonearm installed on a MK2 Gyrodec, this lack of frequency extension passed unnoticed though the Eroica’s slight treble lift remained.
“solidly built and has a sonic performance that is smooth, highly detailed and assured”
Adding it all up At 50 cents an hour of playtime, the
The Hana and cartridges priced to about
Hana cartridge provides a sophisticated
$2200 do open a sonic window into the
performance and yields much more than
performance, but you can’t amble through it.
a taste of what’s on offer from much more
All you can do is lean in and enjoy the music.
expensive moving coils.
But you’ll still remain on the outside.
What your money buys is a mid-priced, mid-
The difference between the sliding doors or
level Japanese cartridge that’s solidly built
a window is down to the incrementals the
and has a sonic performance that is smooth,
very best cartridges exploit. What appears
highly detailed and assured.
as slightly more detail, air, neutrality, and
Like the better Japanese moving coils, the Hana has impeccable manners and if used with complimentary equipment will rarely
soundstage solidity from a top-flight cartridge mounted on a mid to upper-mid fi turntable is misleading.
offend. As stated previously, the Hana allows
Use the same cartridge with the best
the music to provide the excitement and this
turntables and tonearms and those
prized quality invites long, listening sessions.
incremental gains become monumentally
Measured against cartridges twice the price, the Hana doesn’t plumb the frequency extremes and lacks the ability to give the ultra-discerning buyer all the subliminal detail carried by well-recorded music albums.
audible. So much so you cease thinking about more air, better imaging, transparency or working dynamic response for a simple reason: the reproduction becomes so life-like, so real mundane audio concepts no longer matter because they can’t describe a totally,
What it does give is a taste of what the elite
sensual immersive experience that envelopes
cartridges offer thanks to its even frequency
both the body and the mind.
response, lucid tonal balance, commendable soundstage, and great level of transparency.
But all things being equal, the Hana is the perfect candidate for anyone with a mid to
But there is a caveat: install a Pagani-class
upper mid level turntable and arm combination
cartridge like a Koetsu Agate, Kiseki Purple
who is on the hunt for a value-for-money
Heart or a top end Lyra on an elite tonearm
moving coil cartridge.
mounted on heavyweight turntables such as the Air Force 1, and that fabled sonic window disappears replaced by gigantic panoramic sliding doors. The music and performers are all there with nothing between you and the music.
With a performance close enough to challenge cartridges priced to $1500, the Hana SL punches well above its weight division and represents good value for money, and as such comes warmly recommended.
SPECIFICATIONS
Model No.
Channel separation
// HANA-SH or HANA-SL
// 25dB/1KHz
Stylus
Frequency response
// Shibata Nude Diamond
// 15-32,000Hz
Cantilever
Impedance
// Aluminium
// 130Ω/1KHz (SH) or 30Ω/1KHz (SL)
Output level
Suggested load Impedance
// 2mv/1kHz (SH) or 0.5mv/1KHz (SL)
// 47KΩ (SH) or >400Ω (SL)
Output balance
Cartridge weight
// <1.5dB/1KHZ
// 5g
Vertical Tracking force
Body Colour
// 2g
// Black
Trackability // 60μm/2g
WORDS: Peter Familari