HANA - Umami Black

Umami Sound - Wonderful Taste in Music

What is HANA Umami Sound? 
Umami Sound is a uniquely captivating musical experience—an exceptional sensuality that immerses you in the performance and leaves a lasting emotional impression. It is music that brims with harmonic richness, delicate textures, pinpoint imaging, sweet highs, solid bass, rhythmic vitality, and lifelike dynamics. Most of all, it offers the rare “you-are-there” presence that elevates music listening into something unforgettable. Just as umami in cuisine describes a deep and satisfying flavor created through a perfect blend of ingredients and techniques, Umami Sound represents this same concept for your ears—a harmonious, synergistic fusion that delivers more than the sum of its parts. It’s the wonderful taste in music.

Crafted by a Master
Master cartridge designer Masao Okada-san of Excel Sound celebrates over 5 decades of innovation and excellence. His deep expertise brings Umami Sound to life, blending state-of-the-art materials with time-honored Japanese craftsmanship and continued advancements in audio engineering.

The HANA Umami Legacy
The HANA-Umami Black continues the brand’s legacy of “Brilliant and Gorgeous” sound. In 2020, the HANA-Umami Red introduced the concept of Umami Sound to the world, earning widespread acclaim. The 2023 arrival of the HANA-Umami Blue further proved that these core design principles can offer a singular and emotionally powerful experience to more music lovers. Okada-san’s latest vision comes to life with the HANA-Umami Black, the new flagship, offering an even more profound expression of the Umami philosophy.

HANA-Umami Black – A New Reference in Analog Playback
The HANA-Umami Black is Okada-san’s new masterpiece. It features a diamond cantilever and new “OKD” High-Efficiency Moving Coil Generator, and delivers pure musical enjoyment that elevates the listener’s experience to new heights.

Diamond Cantilever
In a category first for HANA, the Umami Black incorporates a diamond cantilever, the hardest possible material, ideal for signal transfer. Its exceptional rigidity ensures direct and precise transmission of groove modulations to the generator, preserving every detail and dynamic shift with astonishing clarity.

High-Efficiency “OKD” Moving Coil Generator
Another category first, the Umami Black uses the newly developed “OKD” with the world’s first “Integrated Pole Piece and Rear Yoke” and Inverted U-shaped Front Yoke, optimizing energy transfer from the diamond cantilever while reducing unwanted resonance. The breakthrough OKD Generator is cryogenically treated to increase signal purity.

Inverted U Front Yoke
The U-shaped (bifurcated) inverted front yoke is engineered for both mechanical resonance control and magnetic field alignment, while also providing precise support for the diamond cantilever. This U-shaped structure minimizes resonances, channeling significantly less energy into overtone modes due to its shape and proportions. The open-bottom design of the U Front Yoke creates a more homogenous flux field for the magnetic generator, reducing saturation, and precisely locates the diamond cantilever, eliminating tracing error.

High-Power Rare Earth Magnet and Hybrid Armature
Unique to the Umami Black, the rare earth neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet is used for the high-efficiency generator, delivering superior energy conversion. A 2mm square hybrid Carbon permalloy armature, comprising 78% carbon-infused nickel-iron, is precisely hand-wound with 30-micron, 4N high-purity copper wire on Excel’s proprietary machinery. This ultra-light moving coil has an output of 0.3mV at 5 ohms, ideal for both modern MC phono stages (both voltage and current amplification circuits) and step-up transformers.

Auricle™ Cartridge Body
At the heart of the Umami series lies the exclusive Auricle™ body design, engineered to rigidly support the “Open Air” Moving Coil generator. Inspired by the shape of the human outer ear, it is machined from A7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, among the strongest and lightest alloys available. The Umami Black body features a black zirconia inlay on its facia for added damping and visual elegance. Tapped and threaded mounting holes ensure optimal tonearm integration, enhancing focus, dynamics, and low-frequency definition.

Special Urushi Enameled Finish
The HANA-Umami Black features an exquisite Urushi lacquer finish, inspired by traditional Makie Japanese artistry. Applied through a specialized thermosetting process at 120 C, the lacquer bonds to the aluminum body via vapor deposition, creating a durable, high-gloss surface. This multi-stage treatment not only adds visual elegance—it also serves a functional purpose: by controlling resonances, it enhances clarity, imaging precision, and bass definition, contributing to the Umami Black’s uniquely rich sonic signature.

Microline Stylus
The ‘nude’ natural diamond Microline stylus mirrors the shape of the original cutting head stylus used in mastering vinyl records. With a .22mm square profile and precisely mounted to the diamond cantilever, it captures the subtlest musical nuances.

Cryogenic Processing
Cryogenic treatment enhances metal properties by subjecting them to extremely low temperatures, typically below -300°F (-184°C), to refine their microstructure for enhanced conductivity, reduced distortion, and remarkable tonal purity. All magnetic and signal path components— U front yoke, integrated pole piece/rear yoke, and 24k gold-plated brass output pins—are subjected to deep cryogenic treatment.

Hand-Built in Japan
Each HANA-Umami Black cartridge is meticulously handcrafted by Excel Sound’s skilled artisans in Japan. With 55 years of tradition and excellence, every cartridge is assembled with precision and care. The result is music that merges the signature HANA brilliance with the evocative Umami Sound. Every detail reflects a dedication to musical beauty, ensuring an experience that is both intensely satisfying and unmistakably HANA.

A Masterwork of Musical Synergy
From its materials to its manufacturing, every element of the HANA-Umami Black exemplifies the synergy of Umami Sound. Under the direction of master cartridge designer Masao Okada-san, modern audio engineering harmonizes with time-honored Japanese craftsmanship to deliver a musical experience beyond your expectation. The HANA-Umami Black embodies this synergy, delivering the unmistakable essence of Umami Sound—an emotional, immersive, and truly musical experience.

Body
Material: Duralumin (A7075)
Shape: Auricle open air
Finish: Urushi lacquer through thermosetting process

Cantilever
Cantilever: Diamond
Stylus: Microline Nude Diamond

Magnetic Circuit
Structure: “OKD” generator with Inverted U Front Yoke and Integrated Pole Piece and Rear Yoke 
Armature Material: Permalloy, 78% carbon-infused nickel-iron 
Armature Shape: 2mm Square Plate
Parts Material: Pure Iron
Magnet: Neodymium (NdFeB)

Coil
Coil Impedance: 5 Ω
Output Voltage: 0.3mV
Load Impedance: > 50 Ω

Treatment
Cryogenic: “OKD” generator with U Front Yoke, Integrated Pole Piece and Rear Yoke, Gold-plated Output Pins

Specification
Frequency Response: 15-50,000Hz
Output Balance: 0.5dB/1KHz 
Channel Separation: 30dB/1KHz
Tracking Weight: 2g
Trackability: 70μm/2g
Dynamic Compliance: 10 x 10-6 cm/dyne (100Hz) Estimated at 17 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 10Hz
Cartridge Weight: 11.3g

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