Головки звукоснимателя — HANA SL MK II

The HANA SL MK II is the low-output MC member of the revised S Series, developed by designer Masao Okada at Excel Sound in Japan, and its MK II update of the S Series added a new cantilever, cryogenically treated parts and a heavier body. The US retail price is USD 850, the body is black, and HANA backs it with a two-year guarantee.

Key specs that matter

The Shibata stylus is carried on a tapered aluminium cantilever. Rated output is 0.4 mV at 1 kHz, the coil impedance is 8 ohms at 1 kHz and the suggested load is above 80 ohms. Frequency response covers 15 Hz to 32,000 Hz. Channel separation is 28 dB at 1 kHz and output balance stays below 1.5 dB. Dynamic compliance is 10 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz. Tracking force is set at 2 g, and trackability reaches 70 microns at that force. Mass is 8.6 g, the same as the high-output SH MK II.

Engineering and use context

Okada moved to a tapered cantilever for the MK II because the taper adds stiffness and trims tip mass, a change HANA links to better transfer of groove modulation into the generator. The Shibata tip has an extended line contact with the groove wall. In the generator an Alnico magnet works with a cross-coil of high-purity 30 micron copper wire, wound with few turns to keep impedance low. The yoke, pole pieces and gold terminal pins are cryogenically processed. The non-resonant body follows the shape of the HANA M Series, is coated in a matte black elastomeric resin for damping, and has a brass cap with threaded inserts for the screws. HANA made the MK II body heavier on purpose, for firmer contact with the headshell and wider arm compatibility.

Pairing

The very low output needs real moving-coil gain in the phono stage. Otherwise a transformer or an active head amp has to sit in front of an MM input. Because the coil impedance is very low, an SUT with a low primary impedance is the logical transformer choice, and active MC stages can be set to any load above the suggested minimum. Since the output is five times lower than that of the SH MK II, background noise of the phono stage matters more, and a quiet MC input or transformer is the better route. The medium compliance fits tonearms of medium effective mass, and the threaded body makes mounting straightforward.

Alternatives

The HANA SH MK II keeps the same Shibata stylus and tapered cantilever but raises output to 2 mV for direct use with moving-magnet phono inputs.