Walk the halls, corridors and sound rooms of High End Munich 2023 with Tracking Angle editor Michael Fremer, with particular emphasis on turntables, phono preamplifiers and cartridges on the present.
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The following is a press launch issued by HANA.
March 2023 – The HANA-Umami Blue high-end shifting coil cartridge from Excel Sound’s Master cartridge designer Maseo Okada-san makes use of particular supplies, basic Japanese strategies, and trendy audio engineering.
The HANA-Umami Blue cartridge follows within the Hana “Brilliant and Gorgeous” custom of offering the listener with chic enjoyment. Embodying the true sense of synergy, the HANA-Umami Blue combines the important components of the HANA-Umami Red with the ALNICO primarily based generator of the HANA ML.
The HANA-Umami Blue incorporates the Auricle
physique design, distinctive and unique to our Umami sequence. CNC machined from Duraluminum, it makes use of a particular Melamine Thermosetting Process (MTP), enameling the physique with an excellent blue shiny end. Sharing different key Umami Red components, together with the precision-cut Microline diamond stylus, Boron cantilever, and high-purity copper wires, the Umami Blue synergizes these specialised components with the ALNICO magnet-based generator used within the Hana ML.
The publish Hana Umami Blue Introduction appeared first on The Absolute Sound.
Equipped with a dandy micro-ridge stylus (thus the “MR”) and a sophisticated magnetic engine, the Benz LP S has less of an electromechanical signature than most other ’coils. As a result, transparency to sources is markedly increased. This is a very high-resolution, very low-noise mc with a remarkably sweet and lifelike treble. In the right ’arm, it can consistently reveal details you’ve never heard before without ever sounding analytical. One of JV’s mc references.
Yoshiaki Sugano’s (1907–2002) legacy of iconic masterwork moving-coil designs is perfectly exemplified by the current Rosewood Signature. Expect breathtaking soundstage transparency combined with a tuneful full-bodied lower midrange, 3-D spatiality, and unrestrained dynamics. It tracks well at 1.8g and resolves low-level detail without sounding analytical. It sings with emotional intensity while avoiding upper-octave brightness. The bass range is tightly defined and well-integrated with the lower midrange. It is in essence a gift for the music lover who would like to kick back at the end of a day and just enjoy the music.
With a body handmade of Hawaiian koa wood triple-coated with a special Stradivarius-type lacquer, the Crimson uses 24-karat gold coils and a cantilever that is solid boron with a VDH Type 1s (2×85-micron) stylus. The Crimson XGW Stradivarius is impartial across most of the frequency spectrum (including the presence range), with large macro-dynamics from the power region on down. Quite forceful on transients but less delicately detailed than its twice-as-expensive Colibri XGW Signature Stradivarius cousin, the Crimson counters by surpassing the Colibri in sheer bottom-octave drive on propulsive music.
The optical cartridge with internal LED and photo sensors is a relatively new thing. That the folks at DS Audio are taking the perfection of the concept seriously is shown by the remarkable sonic progress they’ve made from the Nighthawk to the DS-002/003 to this, their new flagship transducer. The Master1 cartridge and Master1 equalizer are simply outstanding components, setting new benchmarks for vinyl playback in several areas (mechanical silence, neutral voicing, and midrange-to-midbass realism). Even where DS Audio’s offerings aren’t setting standards, they are now competitive with the finest coils and moving magnets in all respects. If JV were in the market for a new phono cartridge and he had the money, the Master1 system would be at the very top of his short list of must-hears.
Befitting a transducer from Koetsu, the latest Rosewood Signature Platinum mc boasts a midrange to die for. What differentiates it from the other two Rosewood models in the line (the less pricey Rosewood and the Rosewood Signature) are a stiffer body composed of lacquered, aged rosewood, plus the rare platinum magnets and silver-plated 6N copper coils normally reserved for Koetsu’s stone-body cartridges. Along with that famous midband expect a wide-open, highly convincing recreation of the recorded soundstage, with plenty of air and depth, a seductively rich palette of instrumental colors and textures, and plenty of bottom-end wallop. A classic, Koetsu’s Rosewood Signature Platinum seduces our ears, brains, and beings with intellectual and emotional pleasure.
Considerably more massive than the virtually vestigial A90, Ortofon’s top-line Anna incorporates technological advances in coil, magnet, and chassis design. Still a breathtakingly neutral, high-resolution transducer, the Anna adds a bit more body, color, warmth, and weight to the classic (rather austere) Ortofon balance, without going over to the “dark side.” Though not quite the equal of the Goldfinger Statement in speed or bass slam, it comes close, with less upper-midrange brightness and, arguably, superior overall neutrality.
The Etna offers the most winning set of attributes that Lyra has produced. Vocals have a physicality and palpability that provide an unprecedented realism. The sense of snap and pacing is also exemplary. A silky continuity that eluded previous Lyra efforts is also abundantly apparent, partly a product of very quiet backgrounds. Careful matching with a phonostage will be necessary, especially in the case of the Super Low (SL) version, which outputs a mere 0.25mV. But this amazing cartridge will take most vinyl reproduction to a new level.
My Sonic Lab is one of those little cartridge companies that are unknown to all but a lucky few. The design goal was to increase a moving-coil’s output signal without also increasing the number of coil turns. (More coil turns result in losses of detail and bandwidth.) The discovery of a new core material (SH-ÊX) allowed the designer to replace the commonly used iron alloys and create his dream mc, with the lowest amount of signal loss combined with the highest relative output. The Signature Gold hits all the right notes: It tracks like crazy, delivers exceptional detail, energy, and dynamics, and generates a holographic soundstage with spot-on imaging, as well as a great purity of tone and “your-are-thereness.”
Using neither magnets nor coils, Soundsmith’s strain-gauge cartridge generates a signal via a crystal that modulates the flow of DC through it in response to pressure generated by stylus movement. This scheme requires a specialized preamplifier to deliver this DC, and to decode the audio signal. The sonic virtues of the Soundsmith system include extremely low noise, a highly resolved soundstage, and natural rendering of timbre. Price varies according to the preamplifier’s features, display, and number of inputs.
The Etna offers the most winning set of attributes that Lyra has produced. Vocals have a physicality and palpability that provides an unprecedented sense of realism. The sense of snap and pacing is also exemplary. A silky continuity that eluded previous Lyra efforts is also abundantly apparent, partly a product of very quiet backgrounds. Careful matching with a phonostage will be necessary, especially in the case of the Super Low (SL) output version, which supplies as mere 0.25mV. But this amazing cartridge will take most vinyl reproduction to a new level.
Three paramount virtues triangulate Ortofon’s MC Anna Diamond phono pickup: phenomenal control, über-transparency, and unprecedented dynamic range. It exhibits an astonishing clarity, and its timing is impeccable. Its tonal balance leans toward the “brilliant” side, with an emphasis on overtones. If you feel your vinyl playback could stand a jolt of electricity, a veil or three stripped away in the transparency department, and some rhythmic kick and drive, the Anna MC Diamond might be just the tonic you need, albeit at a scarily stratospheric price. In all the other areas of pickup performance the Anna MC Diamond is state of the art.
As good as the AT PC-1 is, this considerably pricier moving-coil from Air Tight is substantially better in every way. Like the PC-1, the Supreme is a model of low internal impedance and high energy. Killer good on transients top to bottom, with phenomenal grip and definition in the low bass, it is also exceptionally lifelike in the midband, with even more of the gorgeous density of tone color, high resolution, and superior soundstaging that made the PC-1 such a breakthrough. RH’s reference.
If you’re in the market for a top-end cartridge, Lyra offers not one but two versions of its signature Atlas. The first has 0.56mV output, the second 0.25mV. Which one to choose? The regular Atlas offers a bit more slam and sizzle than the super-low-output version. But the lower-output Atlas provides more finesse and lower noise. Rock aficionados will probably gravitate to the regular Atlas, but for classical the higher-priced cartridge is probably the better match. But both are superlative cartridges that will provide a spellbinding presentation of well-nigh any LP.
The top-of-the line Colibri XGW Signature Stradivarius (0.75mV output) features a Koa wood body with triple Stradivarius-type lacquer coating, 24-karat gold coils, solid boron cantilever, and VDH Type 1s stylus. It is characterized by a clarity and lucidity in the presence region, coupled with a smoothness and sweetness in the treble. It is also dynamically authoritative, with lively and propulsive transient reproduction.
The X-Quisite cartridge is constructed in Switzerland with horological precision. Right off the bat, the translucency and transient accuracy of this 0.3mV moving coil are abundantly apparent. There may, in fact, be no other cartridge that quite manages to duplicate its lock on the transient note, a quality that provides a kind of window into the performer’s intention that is difficult to forget. The X-Quisite revels in disinterring previously obscured detail but is in no way astringent. The finest shadings, the most delicate filigree, are presented with aplomb.
Air Tight’s top-line moving-coil cartridge adds even more resolution, dimensionality, and energy to the beautiful reproduction of tone color and superior soundstaging that the PC-1 Supreme is justly famous for. Though not quite the non-stop thrill-machine and sonic vacuum cleaner that the Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement is, the Opus has a smoother, better-behaved upper midrange and treble and (building on one of the strengths of the Supreme) phenomenally deep-reaching, superbly defined, extraordinarily quick and powerful bass. Quite neutral in balance, it has the speed and resolution of über-cartridges, without any trace of the analytic. One of JV’s references.
The DS Audio Grand Master optical transducer comes closer to the sound of R2R tape than any other phono cartridge on the market. Yes, it is expensive, though you don’t have to buy the dedicated Grand Master EQ/PS units to get your sonic money’s worth. (Any DS Audio EQ device will work with it—and there is a wide variety of them at a wide variety of prices, starting below $2k.) Unlike every other phono cartridge and phonostage on the market, the Grand Master and its EQ units are dead quiet—without a trace of the hum, buzz, RF, and self-noise that we’ve simply learned to live with with everything else. The elimination of the usual background racket, coupled to an optical system’s inherently deeper and fuller presentation of the bass and lower midrange, rich, supremely detailed midband, and sweet, airy, ribbon-like treble, makes for the most “complete” and (given a great LP) most realistic reproduction of the music and musicians on LPs JV has yet heard. A Grand Masterpiece.
Simply the best—which is to say, the most sonically complete—moving-coil cartridge JV has heard. Peter Suchy has here managed to combine all the virtues of past Goldfingers (their phenomenal low-level resolution, their tremendous energy, their vast soundstaging) with a previously unattained richness of tone color to produce a cartridge unlike any other. Like a cross between a Koetsu and a Clearaudio, the Statement will appeal to just about any kind of listener (provided he’s got enough do-re-mi). JV’s reference mc.
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Welcome to the Best Phono Cartridges, Tonearms, and Headshells section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank].” This collection represents […]
Does anyone really NEED a $34,000 turntable/arm/cartridge setup like the Acoustic Signature Typhoon NEO, TA-5000 and Acoustical Systems Palladium? Well, of course not! Okay, let me qualify and rephrase that. If someone is a serious […]
Can you smell that? It’s that NEW cartridge smell. Three (or four if you count both the Blue Point hi and lo; or only two if you don’t and don’t count a stylus either) phono […]
The announcement of a new flagship Hana cartridge has most of us at Part-Time Audiophile in a frenzy. We all want to review the new $3950 Hana Umami Red, and I think we’re going to have to enter Thunderdome to determine which of us gets the honor. I think I should advance to the finals, since I’m the one who just reviewed the extraordinary Hana ML and loved it. Also, I’m the editor-in-chief, dammit, and what I say goes! Some long-forgotten bit of altruism deep inside of me squeaks, in a tiny little voice, “Let someone else review the Hana Umami Red. Spread the love that is Hana cartridges.” Here’s the thing: the Hana ML costs just $1200, and we feel it’s one of the best cartridge values there is. That goes for all of the Hana designs, which start at an incredible $475. These are Japanese cartridges, made in Japan by a master craftsman who has figured out an efficient design that doesn’t have to cost a fortune to buy. So the question became: “If Hana can make a cartridge this good and sell it in the US for just $1200, imagine how good an, oh say, $3950 Hana […]
OAKLAND, CA (PTA) — Little gets us more electrified than new phono cartridges from Musical Surroundings. Today HANA made an official announcement of their newest Umami-Red moving coil cartridge. From the pictures and specs they’ve sent us, we all agree it aims to be a world-beater just like the Hana ML which we reviewed earlier this year. The HANA-Umami Red retails for $3,950 USD and sales officially begin on September 22, 2020, which also happens to be Autumnal Equinox Day (秋分の日 or Shūbun no Hi in Japan). Quite nice. Check it out. Press Release and Documents Below HANA UMAMI RED OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Umami Sound means Wonderful Taste in Music The HANA-Umami Red hand-built MC cartridge embodies Umami, officially coined in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda-san as a very pleasing or delicious flavor on the palette, a synergistic effect resulting in higher taste intensity. Hana’s Master cartridge designer Masao Okada-san applies this concept as he combines brilliant materials and classic Japanese techniques with modern audio engineering in creating his HANA-Umami Red MC cartridge. The HANA-Umami Red exclusive Auricle™ body design, mimics the shape of the human outer ear to rigidly support the “Open Air” MC generator. It is machined from […]