Analog Gear News

Hana is back to doing what they do best, as they’ve just announced the upcoming release of their SL Mk II moving coil (MC) cartridge. The Mk II is considered to be an upgrade to the company’s globally best-selling Hana S series cartridges. Hana notes that, for the SL Mk II cart, master cartridge designer Masao Okada has implemented a new tapered aluminum cantilever with increased rigidity and effective mass reduction at the nude diamond Shibata stylus tip. The cart’s non-resonant body shape, modeled after the Hana M series, is damped with a matte soft feel black elastomeric resin paint, and features a brass cap with threaded cartridge mounting fittings. The heavier Mk II cartridge is said to, in Hana’s own words, “offer better coupling with expanded compatibility to a wider range of tonearms.”

The SL Mk II generator, as found in the company’s Umami Blue and ML carts, incorporates an Alnico magnet and cross-coil using high-purity 30μm copper wire with an 8Ω impedance.

The SL Mk II’s pure iron yoke, pole pieces, and gold terminal pins have all been cryogenically treated for, according to Hana, “a more natural sound.”

Other specs for the SL Mk II cartridge include an output level given as 0.4mV/1kHz, suggested load impedance as ≥80ohms, frequency response as 15Hz to 32kHz, channel separation as 28dB/1kHz, output balance as <1.5dB/1kHz, vertical tracking force (VTF) as 2g, trackability as 70µm/2g, and weight as 8.6g.

Finally, the Hana SL Mk II MC cartridge has an SRP of $850, and its availability/onsale date has been given as September 23, 2024.

For more about Hana cartridges, go here.
To find a Hana retailer near you, go here.